Agency Reforms Aim to Restore American Seafood Competitiveness
By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov.
On July 2, 2026, NOAA Fisheries sent Regional Priorities guidance, providing the regional fishery management councils a clear roadmap of actions designed to reduce regulatory burdens and better support the health of the seafood industry, while maintaining the public trust duty to maintain stock and ocean ecosystem health. To complement the guidance, NOAA Fisheries is applying the same standard of accountability and results to its own operations, regulatory frameworks, and scientific pipelines.
This month, NOAA Fisheries’ announced their priorities for agency-level actions in support of the Seafood Executive Order. It will serve as our operational roadmap for regulatory, scientific, and administrative reform. Informed by the 787 public comments submitted under the 2025 “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness” Executive Order (EO 14276), these priorities focus strictly on the policy levers directly within the agency’s authority.
This announcement outlines the priorities of the agency and serves as a bridge toward a broader, interagency transformation of federal seafood policy. The administration will release the America First Seafood Strategy, a comprehensive, multi-agency initiative developed in close coordination with our federal partners and informed by extensive feedback from stakeholders. The strategy will firmly outline how efforts under EO 14276 have begun—and will continue—to elevate domestic seafood production to a priority in matters of national food security and strategic independence.
