House Farm Bill Includes Funds for New Office of Seafood

Launched on April 15, the USDA Office of Seafood bridges a historical gap by giving seafood producers and fishermen access to USDA programs (like grants, disaster assistance, and loans). It aims to streamline how American seafood harvesters and processors navigate federal resources and to coordinate with the U.S. Department of Commerce on the America First Seafood Strategy.

Creation of the new office signals a shift acknowledging fish as food and fishermen as food producers under USDA definitions. Fishermen have long been excluded from various USDA loan and tax programs because their harvests were not classified as agricultural products. The extensive support structure provided by the USDA to farmers and ranchers, such as marketing, loans and grants, has not been available to the fishing sector.

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed the fiscal year 2027 Agriculture Appropriations Act (H.R. 8646), which includes a specific appropriation of $500,000 to fund the operations and advocacy efforts of the USDA Office of Seafood.

The Senate must now draft and pass its own version of the agricultural spending bill. For the funding to move forward smoothly, the Senate’s version must either include the same $500,000 allocation for the seafood office or accept the House’s inclusion.