This week US Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren released a "Blue New Deal" plan touting ways in which she will grow and support US seafood markets if she is elected president.
In the plan, Warren explains she will spend $5 billion over 10 years to expand the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Local Agricultural Market Program, "funding food hubs distribution centers and points-of-sale."
"As we work to restore America’s fisheries, we must also rebuild the necessary infrastructure to once again support vibrant coastal communities and a local seafood economy," Warren said.
"Today, roughly one in four fish eaten in the United States waters was caught here and sent to Asia for processing before being re-imported for American consumers. By building processing plants in the US, we can not only decrease the carbon footprint of the seafood industry, but we can also create a new class of jobs in the Blue Economy."
Warren said NOAA needs to "make it easier" for fishermen to sell food directly to US consumers, and that it needs to add "vulnerable species" to its Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).
A focus on algae and shellfish
Warren's plan would prop up ocean farmers of algae and shellfish such as oysters that "fight against climate change."
"I’ll also fully include ocean farming, including shellfish and seaweed production, in critical agricultural programs like the USDA Biomass Crop Assistance Program and disaster assistance programs, because ocean farmers should pay into and have assurance from climate-caused crop loss, just as land-based farmers currently do," she wrote.
Preparing fisheries for climate change
A large component of Warren's plan includes preparing US commercial fisheries for the impacts of climate change, which is already causing changes in fish movements and spawning times, and has threatened major salmon companies in North America such as Mowi.
"I will direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service to issue new guidance and regulations to better prepare fishing industries and communities for the impacts of climate change," Warren wrote.
Much of her plan focuses on ocean health, and expanding marine protected areas with "threatened marine ecosystems."
Reducing ocean trash is another area where Warren is looking to mandate changes, with reductions in single-use plastic production.
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