Kennedy rolls out US-caught seafood labeling, Seafood.gov

The Trump administration unveiled new initiatives for U.S. fishermen Friday, including a new government website known as Seafood.gov .

At a rally in Fort Myers, Fla., Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the creation of a voluntary label made for U.S.-caught fish, which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began offering Friday, the White House said.

Kennedy said at the rally that fish caught in the U.S. is of higher quality than European-caught and imported seafood.

“No European country will take them, so they ship them all over here,” Kennedy said, referring to shrimp. “President Trump is rebuilding the infrastructure, he’s reopening the markets for our commercial fishermen.”

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows that in 2023, an estimated 80 percent of fish consumed in the U.S. was imported from other countries.

The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) reacted to Kennedy’s announcement, saying in a statement shared to the social platform X that the U.S.-made label is a “major win” for Americans.

“We believe U.S. seafood is the most sustainably harvested in the world, and this label gives consumers a simple, recognizable way to identify American-caught seafood while supporting our domestic fishing, processing, and retail industries,” NEFSA director of advocacy Jason Joyce said.

The new fishing initiative comes after the president’s trade war with Canada ruffled feathers with some in the industry.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said in August it feared becoming “collateral damage” in the trade war because Canada purchases large quantities of lobster from Maine fisheries.