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Seafood and the USDA: Challenges and Opportunities

Our blog is a space for sharing and learning about various food systems topics across Alaska. We occasionally have Guest Blogs that highlight particular issues and stories of interest. The views in our Guest Blogs are not reflections of APFC positions. If you are interested in writing a Guest Blog, please contact info@alaskafoodpolicycouncil.org to discuss your idea!

By Elizabeth Dubovsky, Feeding Change Consulting / Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust

In Alaska, when we think about the foods that are most central to our local food systems, our communities, and our culture, seafood rises to the top. Seafood is a key driver of our state’s economy, contributing $6 billion annually in economic outputs and employing 48,000 people. At a national scale, our country’s fishing and seafood industry contributes 8.4 billion pounds of nutritious seafood, over $183 billion in sales, and 1.6 million jobs annually. Yet, despite their crucial role, seafood producers have lacked equitable access to the same USDA programs that have long supported terrestrial agriculture. New research just published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems shines a light on these challenges at the USDA as well as opportunities to make the USDA more accessible to the seafood sector. 

To help better understand where the USDA has awarded its grant funding, the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust teamed up with the University of Maine’s Social Oceans Lab to build a database of 146,720 USDA grants distributed between 2018 and 2023, focusing on grants awarded by the four USDA agencies primarily responsible for strengthening domestic food systems: Agricultural Marketing Services, Food and Nutrition Services, National Institute for Food and Agriculture, and Rural Development. The research team developed a filter to help identify grants that have supported the seafood sector, including wild capture fisheries and aquaculture. What they found is that of the USDA’s $31.2 billion in awarded funding, only $261.7 million went to support projects associated with the seafood sector, representing 0.52% of the grants during the 6-year study period. Of that 0.52%, 78% went to aquaculture, 3% went to wild capture fisheries, and the remaining 19% did not specify in their project. 

Other findings include:

  • USDA funding was primarily directed at production-related activities in the supply chain (48%)
  • Businesses were the most commonly funded entities (53%) followed by universities (32%)
  • Maine, Washington, Alaska, and Mississippi received the most seafood-related grants by number, while Maryland, Washington, and Maine received the most funding in terms of dollar value
  • USDA grant funding increased by 161.5% between 2018-2023, although the number of grants stayed fairly stable (some of this increase was due to congressional funding associated with COVID-19 pandemic relief)

To help better understand these numbers and the barriers that seafood producers face when seeking USDA grant funding, the research team conducted 15 interviews with 19 people representing 18 USDA grants that were focused on fisheries and aquaculture. Through those interviews we identified several core disabling factors that seafood-related projects face, including:

  • Confusion around seafood eligibility for USDA grants
  • Ineligibility of wild capture fisheries
  • Definition of “local” (400 miles)
  • Misalignment between grant requirements and fishing practices
  • Misinformation within the USDA about the seafood sector and how it functions. 

A few key recommendations for addressing these barriers emerged in the interviews, including: increased clarification around eligibility for the seafood sector across USDA grant programs; increased investment in technical assistance and boundary organizations; and review and update USDA grant programs to ensure inclusivity and salience to the seafood sector. 

Several members of Congress have already been working to make the USDA’s programs and funding more accessible to the seafood sector. In 2023, Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan introduced the National Seafood Supply Act of 2023 (S.2208), which would establish an Office of Seafood Policy and Program Integration at the USDA. In early June, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski and Maine Senators Susan Collins and Angus King reintroduced the Working Waterfronts Act (S.1968), which would make seafood projects eligible for USDA’s AMS grant programs, addressing the issue of frequent ambiguity and inconsistencies in the USDA’s communications around seafood eligibility. 

With the Farm Bill up for reauthorization, we have an exciting and important opportunity to elevate seafood at the USDA and ensure that all food producers have equal access to the USDA’s food system-related grant programs. Contact Alaska’s Senators (Murkowski, Sullivan) and encourage them to remain champions for Alaska’s fishing and seafood industry and educate their colleagues in Washington D.C. about the critical role seafood plays in America’s food system.

Resources for seafood businesses interested in learning more about USDA funding available to the seafood sector: