The commercial fishing industry is facing unprecedented challenges with a graying of the fleet and very few young fishermen joining our industry. In our coastal communities, the average age of a fisherman has increased significantly and the number of “greenhorns,” or beginning fishermen, has continued to decline. Inaction by Congress may make the situation worse.
Despite a deep fishing heritage, coastal and fishing communities across the country are experiencing a generational shift. As current fishermen look to retire, we see fewer younger fishermen stepping up and continuing our fishing tradition as captains and crew. The future of our industry, coastal communities, and access to sustainable, domestic seafood depends on our ability to recruit and train new fishermen. We are already seeing the landscape change as imported seafood becomes more common in our markets. The shortage of young fishermen will only exacerbate this problem and lead to fewer sustainable, domestically harvested seafood options for our fellow Americans.
It is critical that we work to solve this issue at all levels of government. Last year, Congress passed the Young Fishermen’s Development Act to support training for the next generation of commercial fishermen. This new program is modeled after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program and is aimed at training and equipping the next generation of commercial fishermen with the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in the fishing industry. This program will help encourage recruits in the commercial fishing industry by providing funding for states and organizations across the country to develop programs that create hands-on training opportunities for men and women interested in commercial fishing.
The Young Fishermen’s Development Act offers a great opportunity for the commercial fishing industry, and there is already enormous interest in this program across the country. However, Congress has not yet funded the program, and will not have the opportunity to do so unless a broader government funding deal is made.
Additionally, our members have been working to address this challenge locally. For example, the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island has developed an apprenticeship program to help train young fishermen and provide them the opportunity to experience commercial fishing. CFCRI has been successful in recruiting and training new fishermen by providing critical hands-on experience on fishing vessels, offering safety training, and giving young men and women the opportunity to be mentored by veteran captains. We want this type of program expanded and to ensure other states and coastal communities have the funding and support necessary to start their own programs.
Our organization, Seafood Harvesters of America, a national association of 22 member organizations from Alaska to Hawaii to Florida to Maine, has requested Congress fund the first year of this program at no less than $2 million. We are grateful to see the fiscal year 2022 (FY22) Senate appropriations bill direct the National Sea Grant Program to use a portion of its funding to jumpstart this program. As Congress continues to work to reach a deal on funding the government for FY22, we urge lawmakers to support this language and fully fund this important program.
Sustainable commercial fishing is a significant economic driver for our coastal communities. Nationally, according to the Department of Commerce, the commercial fishing industry supported 1.2 million full- and part-time jobs and generated $165.1 billion in sales, $42.9 billion in income, and $67.1 billion in value-added economic impacts in 2018. This is not an industry we can afford to lose.
Our significant economic impacts will continue, however, only if we maintain a healthy, sustainable industry on and off the water. True sustainability depends not only on healthy fish stocks, but a reliable, dependable workforce to prosecute our fisheries. Investing in workforce training for our industry is essential for food security and complements our efforts in conservation and sustainability through the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
By funding the Young Fishermen’s Development Act, Congress can ensure that states have access to funding that will directly support programs to train and equip young men and women with the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in the commercial fishing industry. The future of American seafood is at stake. Congress must act.
Chris Brown is President of the Seafood Harvesters of America and the Rhode Island Commercial Fishermen’s Association. He is a commercial fisherman out of Pt. Judith, Rhode Island. Leigh Habegger is the Executive Director of the Seafood Harvesters, a national commercial fishing association representing fishermen from Alaska to Hawaii to Florida to Maine.