Supporting Small Boat Fisheries: The Importance of the Domestic Seafood Production Act
Nov 15, 2024
Original Article by Rob Seitz (DailyAstorian.com)
Summary By Genesis Mena, Outreach Coordinator at Get Hooked
The Struggles of Small Boat Fisheries
I’ve seen firsthand how much our community values fresh, sustainably caught seafood. But small boat fisheries, like the ones that bring us local rockfish, halibut, and other seafood species, are struggling to keep up against corporate fishing giants. These industrial operations focus on high-volume species like pollock and salmon, often leaving our local fishing families at a disadvantage.
Why the Domestic Seafood Production Act Matters
That’s why the Domestic Seafood Production Act is so important for communities like ours. This legislation would provide $90 million in funding nationally to help small boat fisheries thrive by supporting local processing facilities and offering resources for family-owned operations to sell their catch directly to consumers. This means more access to fresh, local seafood for all of us and more support for our friends and neighbors in the fishing industry.
A Win for Sustainability
The Act is also a win for sustainability. By keeping massive offshore fish farms out of our waters, it protects wild fish populations and the coastal ecosystems we depend on. By supporting direct market efforts of small producers, fish will stay closer to where it was caught and will travel fewer miles to your plate. And by focusing on a wider range of species, like Petrale sole and Pacific sand dabs—fish that are often left behind by large-scale processors—the Act promotes biodiversity in our local waters, which means there will be more fish species thriving and that we will have access to.
More Than Just Fish
For our communities, this means more than just fish. It means preserving the livelihood of local fishermen, processors, and dock workers who help make our seafood supply chain resilient. It’s about keeping control over our food systems and ensuring that high-quality, sustainably harvested seafood stays accessible to our community.
