Some in seafood industry see Trump as fishermen's friend, but tariffs could make for pricier fish

[December 13, 2024]  By PATRICK WHITTLE

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is likely to bring big changes for one of the oldest sectors of the U.S. economy — seafood — and some in the industry believe the returning president will be more responsive to its needs.

Economic analysts paint a more complicated picture, as they fear Trump’s pending trade hostilities with major trading partners Canada and China could make an already pricy kind of protein more expensive to consumers. Conservationists also fear Trump's emphasis on government deregulation could jeopardize fish stocks that are already in peril.

But many in the commercial fishing and seafood processing industries said they are excited for Trump’s second presidency. They said they expect he’ll allow fishing in protected areas as he did in his first presidency, crack down on offshore wind expansion and cut back regulations they describe as burdensome. And they expect a marked shift from the administration of President Joe Biden, who prioritized ocean conservation and championed wind power from the start.

The seafood industry isn't hungry for another tariff war, which hurt fishermen during Trump's first term, said Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association. But she said the new Trump administration has a unique chance to throw its support behind U.S. fishermen.

“I think we should be focused on feeding Americans,” Casoni said. “The ‘America First’ administration I think will make that point loud and clear. Know where your food is coming from.”

But the seafood industry, which is international in nature, could be seriously disrupted if Trump goes through with a plan to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada, said John Sackton, a longtime industry analyst and founder of Seafood News. Canada is the largest seafood market for the U.S. for both imports and exports, and nearly a sixth of the seafood imported by the U.S. is from its northern neighbor, according to federal statistics published in November. In total about 80% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported.

Losing Canada — an especially important buyer of American lobster — as a market for U.S. seafood could cause prices to fishermen to collapse, Sackton said. And some products could become unavailable while others become more expensive and still others oversupplied, he said. He described the seafood industry as “interdependent on both sides of the border.”

In Canada, members of the country's seafood industry are watching closely to see what changes Trump ushers in, said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“A potential trade war will cost everyone more (in Canada and the U.S.) and cause damage to the seafood section in Canada and the United States,” Irvine said via email. “We are working with allies in Canada and the U.S. to send this message to all governments.”

Snow Crab with lemon sits on a plate at the Au Pied De Cochon restaurant, April 18, 2008, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes, File)

One of the major changes for fishermen under a new Trump administration is that they can expect to have a seat at the table when high-level decisions get made, said representatives for several commercial fishing groups. Last time around, Trump sat down with fishermen and listened to their concerns about loss of fishing rights in Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a nearly 5,000-square mile (13,000 square kilometers) protected area off New England, said Robert Vanasse, executive director of industry advocate Saving Seafood.

That goodwill is likely to carry over into Trump's new presidency. And the industry feels it has already scored a win with election of a president who is an outspoken critic of offshore wind power, said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney who represents the New Bedford, Massachusetts-based Sustainable Scalloping Fund. Fishermen of valuable seafoods such as scallops and lobsters have long opposed offshore wind development because of concerns wind power will disrupt prime fishing grounds.

“There is excitement in the industry that offshore wind will basically be contained to its existing footprint and nothing beyond that,” Minkiewicz said.

Others in the industry said they're concerned about how Trump will handle the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency that regulates fisheries. The undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, who is currently the Biden-appointed Rick Spinrad, will be one of Trump's key appointees. Trump went through three different administrators at the post during his first term of office.

The industry has recently suffered major recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and trade hostilities with another major trading partner in Russia, and isn't in a position to withstand unstable leadership, said Noah Oppenheim, coordinator for Fishing Communities Coalition, which represents small-scale commercial fishing groups.

"The Fishing Communities Coalition is always deeply concerned that any administration’s shifts away from a fishery management focus on conservation and accountability will do serious lasting damage to the industry," Oppenheim said.

Conservation groups who have pushed for stricter vessel speed rules and new fishing standards, such as new gear that is less likely to harm whales, said they're also waiting to see the direction Trump takes fisheries and ocean policy. They said they're hopeful progress made under Biden can withstand a second Trump presidency.

“It would be extraordinarily short-sighted for the incoming administration to ignore the science and set off a fishing free-for-all that will only hurt fisheries — and healthy oceans — in the long run,” said Jane Davenport, a senior attorney with Defenders of Wildlife.

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