Abstract

Recent federal executive actions prioritize restoring American seafood competitiveness through deregulation and production targets, yet these policies overlook the fundamental threat posed by climate-driven natural hazards. We argue that true seafood competitiveness cannot be achieved through production gains alone because competitiveness also relies on stable production. Disaster resilience is therefore essential to long-term seafood competitiveness as it promotes stability and shortens recovery times. To address this policy gap, we propose a three-pillar framework that encompasses adaptive governance, a politically insulated safety net and quantified climate risk assessments as the foundation for a durable, competitive and resilient American seafood industry. We illustrate our point using fisheries from U.S. Gulf states as an example of a system increasingly exposed to natural hazards, the most prominent of which are hurricanes. This climate vulnerability is not unique to the Gulf nor to hurricanes. Other climate-driven impacts such as marine heatwaves and harmful algal blooms are becoming increasingly prevalent and impose analogous shocks along U.S. waters.