Celebrate National Seafood Month by Choosing American Seafood

October is National Seafood Month , a time to celebrate the essential role American seafood plays in feeding our nation, powering coastal economies, and preserving a heritage built around our working waterfronts. I've been part of the seafood sector my whole life, so to me, my family, and my colleagues at NOAA Fisheries, every month is Seafood Month! But October gives us the welcome opportunity to swell the tide of national gratitude for the hardworking fishermen and seafood farmers who feed us. Thanks to them and our science-based management system, American seafood represents the gold standard for sustainability. And while 50 years of management under the Magnuson-Stevens Act has made the United States the model for sustainable fisheries, there is still work to be done.

In my time at NOAA Fisheries, I hope I've made my focus clear: I want to ensure our domestic seafood sector thrives in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. By increasing opportunities in our wild-caught domestic fisheries and expanding seafood farming operations, we can get more American seafood on American plates. And NOAA has been empowered by the President's Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness to do just that.

In recent months, we have committed to tangible agency actions to directly support the industry. We are confronting the economic headwinds facing our seafood sector by driving reforms designed to help our seafood producers. I believe we can go a long way toward meeting these goals by modernizing our regulatory framework, tackling market imbalances, and highlighting the unmatched quality and sustainability of American seafood.

Effective management and regulatory relief must be anchored in solid science and real-world partnerships with those on the water. I have often said: If you don't have good data, you don't have good science. And if you don't have good science, you cannot manage. In order to meet the high standards we've set for ourselves, NOAA Fisheries is transforming how we collect, analyze, and apply fishery data . We are investing in modern data infrastructure, evolving our approach to fisheries survey s, and expanding cooperative research partnerships that directly involve fishermen in data collection.

Looking toward the horizon, strengthening our domestic seafood supply chain also requires embracing the immense potential of marine aquaculture, or seafood farming. By fostering sustainable aquaculture development alongside resilient wild-capture fisheries, we can expand opportunities for coastal economic growth and make our working waterfronts more resilient, all while shoring up domestic seafood production for generations to come.

Our American seafood industry is a vital economic engine, but it's also so much more. It reflects our national heritage, community strength, and food security. This National Seafood Month, NOAA Fisheries reaffirms our deep commitment to-and partnership with-America's fishing and seafood communities. I hope you will join us in this commitment by learning about the people who bring us sustainable seafood , trying one of our delicious recipes , and of course choosing American-caught seafood.

Thank you to everyone across our seafood supply chain for your hard work, dedication, and partnership. Happy National Seafood Month!