Earlier this month, the President signed an Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness. It is largely a reprise of his 2020 Order—with one very notable difference: issuing it in the first year of an administration (rather than the last) means there is more time to drive these goals forward, provided there are people and resources to make it happen.
The overarching justification is the need to balance the U.S. seafood trade deficit, so let’s briefly unpack what that means. The vast majority of seafood consumed in the U.S. is indeed imported—but the reasons are complex. First, much of this seafood is actually U.S.-caught and then sent overseas for processing. This is due to limited domestic processing capacity, and the practice helps keep U.S. seafood more competitively priced against foreign-harvested products.
Other seafood is imported simply because the U.S. does not produce enough to meet demand. Consider that over 99% of the coffee consumed in the U.S. comes from imported beans—we don’t grow enough to supply ourselves. It’s the same with shrimp: sustainable wild fisheries in the U.S. are limited, aquaculture production is minimal, and demand is high. The U.S. could theoretically build aquaculture farms to grow its own shrimp—but who would pay, and would it be profitable?
Another path toward equalizing competition is to raise the price of competing products that unfairly disadvantage U.S. producers. This Order directs agencies to explore all options.
Domestic Seafood Production
There are two ways to produce more seafood: capture or cultivate. U.S. wild fisheries are among the best managed in the world, supporting harvests year after year. Managing wild resources is a complex and under-appreciated science, especially in an era where nearly all of our food is farmed. While management efficiencies are worth pursuing, it’s unclear whether U.S. waters can sustain dramatically increased fishing activity. Importantly, this Order does not override the Magnuson-Stevens Act—the principal law guiding sustainable fisheries management in the U.S.
That leaves cultivation—or aquaculture—to fill the gap. Whether in natural water bodies or tanks, fish farms are expensive to build and operate. Still, change is possible. If the government streamlines permitting, finances capital investment, and subsidizes operations as needed, we could increase domestic U.S. seafood production with aquaculture.
Foreign Seafood
The Order also directs agencies to explore punitive actions—such as increased tariffs—against countries engaged in IUU fishing or other illegal activities. This makes sense: U.S. producers and importers already work hard to stay price-competitive without having to contend with stolen goods or slave labor.
A true obstacle lies in fixing some key mechanics of U.S. trade. As seen during the Biden Administration’s attempt to implement a Russian seafood ban, the U.S. is not currently equipped to restrict imports based on country of harvest. In most cases, that information is not collected during the customs clearance process—and even if it is, it is not monitored in real time. Fortunately, there are relatively straightforward ways to close this data gap. These include NOAA's recent proposal to expand SIMP (the Seafood Import Monitoring Program) to require country-of-harvest data for all species, implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act Imports Rule, and closing the de minimis loophole. The issue of monitoring sourcing data is also solvable; at Goldfish, we do it for our customers every day.
Next Steps
Executive Orders are directives—not laws—so implementation depends heavily on how much attention the White House gives to follow-through. Here’s what we might expect if the process moves ahead as intended:
2025: Public Input & Oversight. Agencies will seek public input on how to improve fishery science through technology, management through efficiencies, and spending through prioritization. Expect calls for comment to be issued and appointments of officials tasked with executing the Order.
2026: Budget and New Rules. NOAA will likely align its budget to focus more resources on fisheries and trade. We may see new rulemaking efforts begin in earnest. The FY26 budget is in development, and the FY27 President’s Budget will follow in early 2026. Significant rules in progress will appear in White House public records.
FY 2027-2029: Money and Programs: The Order calls for the creation of an “America First Seafood Strategy,” which will outline new spending and program priorities. Growing domestic seafood production will require substantial government financing—for both infrastructure and operating subsidies—to keep retail prices competitive with imports. Importers should also receive support to ensure compliance with evolving trade programs. On the federal spending side, the Order also calls for increased marketing and education (both domestically and abroad) on the value of U.S. seafood, as well as investment in technology for fisheries management and trade monitoring. This should be reflected in a public-facing strategy and new financial opportunities for industry to implement these initiatives.
Final Thoughts
Fisheries and ocean issues are often left to the tail end of a presidential term, so this early action is a welcome change. I’m hopeful that it will lead to real progress in areas that have long needed it. That said, new initiatives require sufficient leadership, management and staff with time and expertise to advance them. Without people, plans don't come to life. The first indicator I’ll be watching for is the appointment or assignment of officials at the White House, Department of Commerce and NOAA to take ownership of this work.
The key theme of this Executive Order is competitiveness, which ultimately comes down to the retail cost of domestic vs. foreign seafood. In this spirit, I hope to see revenue from tariffs on imported seafood reinvested directly into the U.S. seafood industry—to grow domestic production, support importer compliance, and strengthen enforcement to protect that investment.
Further reading
Executive Order 12476: Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness; April 17, 2025
Executive Order 13921: Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth; May 7, 2020
