Ocean Strategies is a public affairs firm specializing in seafood, fisheries and marine resources.
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Congress is back in Washington, but with midterms approaching, a funding deadline looming, and few legislative days left, fisheries policy is competing for limited airspace.
Still, there are threads worth watching. NOAA Fisheries released new priorities under the administration’s seafood competitiveness agenda, while dueling shrimp coalitions are offering very different visions for supporting the American shrimp industry – and raising a bigger question: when we talk about supporting “American seafood,” who exactly do we mean?
These topics offer a limited preview of the fisheries policy questions waiting on the other side of elections:
- Who benefits from a push for greater domestic seafood competitiveness?
- How much should regulators prioritize economic viability alongside sustainability commitments?
- And when we talk about supporting an “American seafood industry,” who exactly are we talking about?
#1 A Tale of Two (or more) Shrimp Coalitions
If you’ve been casually following shrimp policy this summer, you’re probably a little confused. That’s because there are numerous shrimp organizations roaming Washington right now, and despite their remarkably similar names, they are not all advocating for the same shrimp industry.
A quick field guide:
- Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA): Represents the U.S. warmwater shrimp fishing industry across the Gulf and South Atlantic and has spent decades pursuing stronger trade enforcement against imported shrimp.
- American Shrimp Processors Association (ASPA): Represents U.S. shrimp processors and frequently works alongside SSA on trade issues.
- Louisiana Shrimp Association: Represents Louisiana’s domestic shrimp industry and recently supported a petition calling for restrictions on imports and greater federal support for domestic producers.
And then there’s: - U.S. Shrimp Coalition: This new coalition launched in July representing importers, retailers, restaurants and other downstream supply-chain interests, with a very different position on restricting imported shrimp – or more aptly, not restricting it.
The newly formed U.S. Shrimp Coalition argues that imported shrimp is not the enemy of the American seafood industry, but a critical component of it. Nearly 90 percent of shrimp consumed in the United States is imported, and the coalition estimates those imports support billions in economic activity across processing, packaging, transportation, warehousing, retail, restaurants and food service. And they’d like to cash in those chips.
In August, the coalition put their argument into action, asking U.S. trade officials to pursue zero-tariff treatment for shrimp imported from Thailand, claiming that domestic wild-caught shrimp and imports serve “distinct but complementary” roles.
Domestic shrimpers see a very different situation.
Gulf and South Atlantic shrimpers have spent decades battling low dockside prices and cheaper farmed imports. Both landings and prices are showing some signs of recovery in 2026, and domestic shrimp groups point to stronger trade protections as part of the reason why.
The timing on this latest wrinkle is notable. In July, The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) imposed new tariffs on seafood from several major shrimp-producing countries, including Thailand, following a forced-labor investigation. Just weeks later, the new U.S. Shrimp Coalition asked USTR for zero-tariff treatment for Thai shrimp.
Who is behind the new coalition?
That’s hard to pin down. The U.S. Shrimp Coalition describes itself broadly as representing businesses, workers, retailers, restaurants and supply-chain partners, but doesn’t publish a membership list.
Launch materials identify the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), whose membership includes many major seafood importers and distributors, and the National Retail Federation (NRF) as joining the coalition. Additionally, its executive director is Josh Zive, of the Washington law firm Bracewell. Bracewell has long represented global seafood company Thai Union Group on trade and other policy issues, and federal lobbying disclosures have listed Zive among the lobbyists working on the Thai Union account. (Thai Union, whose U.S. businesses include Chicken of the Sea, is a major player in the global seafood trade and U.S. shrimp market.)
This debate could be interpreted as a long-standing, fairly straight forward fight between different factions of the shrimp industry. But it actually illustrates a much broader, growing dialogue around who gets to speak for the seafood industry writ large.
Who exactly is the “U.S. seafood industry?”
That’s the question underneath all of this — and a thread we’ve continued from our May 2026 Principal’s Report.
Much like NFI, the new U.S. Shrimp Coalition is focused on the American market. Imported seafood moves through American ports, processors, cold-storage facilities, trucking companies, distributors, supermarkets and restaurants. Those are real American businesses employing real American workers. In that definition, imported seafood is unquestionably part of the U.S. seafood economy.
Domestic shrimp organizations – and their U.S. fishing industry colleagues – are focused on American production. Their argument is that calling a supply chain “American” because foreign seafood passes through American businesses skips over the people actually producing seafood here. If U.S. fishermen and domestic processors cannot compete against imported products produced under different economic, labor and environmental conditions, a thriving downstream seafood market does little to preserve America’s capacity to produce seafood itself.
The blunt policy question at the center of this: When federal policy promises to support the U.S. seafood industry, are we talking about the people who harvest and process U.S. seafood, or the businesses that import and sell seafood harvested and farmed somewhere else?
And its not always simply one or the other. .
Both are part of the American seafood economy.
- Imported seafood supports U.S. jobs, provides year-round supply and helps make seafood accessible to consumers.
- Domestic fisheries support working waterfronts, coastal communities, food production capacity and generations of fishing businesses that cannot simply be rebuilt once they disappear.
The hard policy question is: what happens when policies that benefit one part of that economy undermine another?
That’s why the shrimp fight is worth watching beyond shrimp. The administration has made increasing domestic seafood production, strengthening American seafood competitiveness and reducing reliance on foreign seafood explicit federal priorities. Those goals sound fairly harmonious on paper.
Shrimp is showing us where the harmony breaks down.
If “competitiveness” primarily means plentiful, affordable seafood moving through American businesses, imports are critical. If it means preserving and expanding America’s ability to actually produce its own seafood, the health of domestic fishermen and processors has to carry considerably more weight.
That distinction matters. Because before Washington can decide how to strengthen the U.S. seafood industry, it has to decide who it means when it says “U.S. seafood industry.”
Shrimp is demonstrating pretty clearly that there are two distinct communities vying for that identity. Can we find a balance between the producers and the larger supply chain that supports both sides of the U.S. seafood coin?
#2 NOAA Shows (a few) Cards on Seafood Competitiveness
Remember the Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness Executive Order?
We’re beginning to see what it means at the agency level.
On September 2, NOAA Fisheries released a substantial list of prioritized agency actions intended to advance the seafood competitiveness agenda. The priorities were informed by 787 public comments submitted under the 2025 Executive Order and focus specifically on actions NOAA can pursue within its own authority. There’s a lot in there, but here’s what shows up repeatedly.
A: Fishermen as science partners
One of the strongest throughlines is a push toward cooperative research and greater integration of industry-generated information. NOAA proposes regional cooperative research frameworks co-designed with active fishermen, protocols for incorporating industry-collected data into stock assessments and greater use of commercial vessels as scientific platforms.
That may sound wonky, but it gets at an increasingly important fisheries-policy problem: We have more ways to collect information than ever before, but getting that information into the management system is still difficult. For fishing communities that have spent years asking how observational knowledge, electronic data and cooperative research can actually influence management decisions, this is worth watching.
B: Faster data, more dynamic management
Technology is everywhere in the priorities. Electronic monitoring. Satellite data transfer. Artificial intelligence and machine learning. Cloud-based fisheries databases. Environmental DNA. Uncrewed vessels and drones. Automated trade screening.
But the potentially bigger shift is what NOAA proposes doing with better information.
The agency calls for more adaptive, data-driven bycatch management, including real-time avoidance networks and dynamic spatial management as alternatives to static closures. It also proposes expanding flexibility around catch-limit utilization and carryover provisions.
Basically better information used to create more precise management rather than simply more management. Whether NOAA can build the data infrastructure and regulatory processes required to pull that off, while preserving critical management and conservation benchmarks, is another question.
C: Economic viability gets a bigger seat at the table
NOAA also put particular emphasis on the economic side of fisheries management.
The agency plans to examine how National Standard 8 implementation accounts for small-boat operations and the economic viability of working waterfronts and domestic fleets. It will review Fishery Finance Program authorities for distressed sectors, explore modernization of the Capital Construction Fund and review the fisheries disaster determination and funding process.
This dovetails with a theme we’ve been following throughout 2026: sustainable fish stocks don’t automatically produce sustainable fishing businesses. Increasingly, policymakers are grappling with whether fishermen and fishing communities can remain economically viable enough to access it.
D: Protected resources are firmly inside the competitiveness conversation
Beyond right whales, the agency calls for reviews or changes involving humpback whale interactions with the Dungeness crab fishery, turtle excluder devices in the Gulf shrimp fleet, ice seals in Alaska, pinniped depredation and Endangered Species Act consultations and critical habitat decisions.
The common thread is pretty clear: NOAA leadership wants protected-resource management to put greater emphasis on empirical data, economic impacts and operational feasibility. That will be welcomed by fishing groups that have argued conservation requirements can become disconnected from conditions on the water. It will also attract scrutiny from conservation organizations concerned that “regulatory reform” could weaken precautionary protections.
So, how much actually changes?
The priorities are sprawling, but many are not yet policy changes. NOAA will Review some programs. Explore new approaches. Develop guidance. Work with Congress or regional councils. Establish frameworks.
That makes the document valuable less as a list of things that changed overnight and more as a window into where NOAA leadership wants the agency to go. But implementation will be the test. NOAA itself describes these priorities as a bridge to a broader, multi-agency America First Seafood Strategy expected in the coming months. For now, we have a clearer picture of the philosophy. We’re still waiting on some of the machinery.
In addition to tracking what is and isn’t moving in Congress, the Ocean Strategies team has been reviewing the current state of play of aquaculture in the US and preparing for the future.
Currently there are a few key things worth noting in the national aquaculture space.
#1: NOAA Seeks Input for Additional Aquaculture Areas
First is NOAA’s Request for Information (RFI) for future Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs).
Over the last 5 years, NOAA has created 3 AOAs throughout the US and this RFI is intended to gather insights, feedback and ideas regarding future AOAs. AOA’s are intended to identify specific areas that are well suited for commercial aquaculture (of any kind) and invite engagement from key stakeholders early in the process.
NOAA issued this RFI on July 30th, hosted three public listening sessions in August and will continue to take comments until September 14th. You can submit comments here and find snail mail and email instructions for sending comments as well.
The comments that Ocean Strategies is aware of have been very mixed ranging from specific geographic requests to concerns about commercial aquaculture to information about siting . . . and everything in between.
NOAA is looking for specific information about potential AOAs and only taking comments that answer the 10 questions they have posed within the RFI which can be found at the bottom of this page.
#2: Alaska’s $49M Mariculture Project
In addition to NOAA’s work on AOA’s, the Alaska Mariculture Cluster will wrap up their official grant period later this month (though the website notes some projects will continue until next year). As a quick reminder, the Alaska Mariculture Cluster is a coalition of Alaska’s mariculture partners and stakeholders brought together to execute a $49 million Build Back Better challenge grant that was awarded in 2022.
This funding has supported research, pilot programs, equipment, and coalition work unprecedented in Alaska or any state in the US. The information and lessons learned can inform strategies in other states regarding key resources that could further boost aquaculture.
A couple of key items that are worth noting:
- Alaska Mariculture Insights – This report highlights those involved today, as well as detailed insights on seaweed and oysters with a focus on what is needed for the future.
- In addition, the AMC Database highlights all of the projects funded as a part of this program, with some of the final products available to the public (like the public relations and outreach plan).
As the project winds down, we anticipate more information and next steps for mariculture in Alaska to become available and helpful to the broader industry.
#3: Minimal Congressional Bandwidth
Even with these larger efforts driving and supporting aquaculture throughout the United States, we have yet to see federal policy gain traction with Congress. Earlier this session Senators Wicker and Schatz introduced the MARA Act (Marine Aquaculture Research for America) with a House companion bill introduced in both sessions of the 119th Congressional session.
There is some movement: the Senate MARA Act is now scheduled for a full Senate Commerce Committee markup on September 16. That’s a notable step forward, and one we’ll be watching closely. Still, with only a few legislative weeks remaining before the election break and Congress focused on government funding, the path to broader congressional action this year remains narrow.
While there continue to be small successes in aquaculture at the local and state level, the path to larger scale aquaculture in the U.S. is still under construction.
- We loved NOAA’s Tide to Table snapshots that they put together last year in celebration of Aquaculture Week 2025. Enjoy this reprise of a peek at aquaculture from Hawaii to Washington to Connecticut.
- Out in Maine, dead clams and worms were reported amid a Casco Bay algal bloom. The potential impact on commercial shellfish harvesters could be significant.
- AI, Drones, & Salmon made headlines this summer over on Alaska Public Radio. Fisheries data relies on some fairly archaic equipment (techs hand count each fish that swims by) at times but with new drones set to consistent timing and data collection methods, generating more accurate salmon escapement counts has just gotten a helluva lot easier.
- Did you know that Texas is home to 130-135 aquaculture producers across the state with roughly 6,200 acres in production and annual farm-gate sales exceeding $120 million? Texas aquaculture remains steady despite seasonal challenges of drought and excessive heat faced by many producers.
Listen
New Hampshire Sea Grant was recently awarded $1.2 million to fund six coastal research projects over the next two years. Approved by NOAA, these projects will address topics of particular importance to the state and region, including PFAS contamination, coastal flooding, seafood safety and management, salt marsh restoration, and the northward expansion of marine species. Time to Table, the NH Sea Grant’s podcast just highlighted all six projects in bite-sized… nibbles!
Read
The Salmon Sisters have two new board books (available for pre-order) aimed at inspiring our youngest future fishermen. Combining stunning artwork with a thoughtful Alaska-family centric message, these books are the perfect addition to the bookshelf.
Watch
“Shucking Tradition,” an award-winning documentary by filmmaker David Helfer Wells, follows a cohort of forward-thinking, hard-working New England women bringing new energy and perspectives to oyster aquaculture. Join the Aquaculture Information Exchange and watch the entire feature by September 30!
Bake
Every home needs a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. This report’s feature recipe couldn’t be more simple, but the twist at the end? Instead of topping the cookie with a yum flaky salt right outta the oven – just sprinkle with your favorite salty seaweed shake. Guests, children, and your palate can thank us later.
- September 14-17; 80th Annual Shellfish Conference & Tradeshow, PCSGA Meeting; Blaine, Washington
- September 14; 10th Annual State of the Science Symposium hosted by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership; Washington, D.C.
- September 20-27; Climate Week NYC; New York, New York
- October 19-25; One Ocean Week hosted by Washington Maritime Blue; Seattle, Washington
- November 18, 5:30-9:30pm PST; Mug Up A Toast to Fishing Communities; Seattle, Washington
- November 19-21; Pacific Marine Expo, Seattle, Washington
Here is a list of links to our most recent policy reports. You are always able to find them on our Ocean Pulse Blog. If you’d like to receive them directly, just sign up here.
