The chief federal official in charge of a new push by President Trump to promote the seafood industry recently toured the Portland Fish Exchange.
Mike Illenberg, acting director of the new U.S. Office of Seafood, was featured Wednesday in a National Fisherman news account visiting the exchange.
Illenberg met at the auction with Mary Hudson, fisheries programs director of Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.
Trump earlier this year announced the formation of the Office of Seafood, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The office says it is identifying ways existing USDA programs can better serve commercial fishermen and seafood producers.
Since U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the office in April, USDA has been reviewing agency programs that could be available, according to Illenberg.
“USDA has been meeting with and gathering feedback from fishermen, aquaculturists, processors, policymakers, and other stakeholders to inform the development of the America First Seafood Strategy,” Illenberg told National Fisherman’s Carli Clandy, senior associate editor.
The office was established to follow up on Trump’s executive order issued last year, titled “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness.”
The goal is bringing seafood more fully into USDA’s food-policy and rural-development programs.
