Why Small-Boat Fishermen Belong in Federal Policy Rooms

By Kinsey Brown, AMCC Board Co-Chair

I recently traveled to Washington, D.C. with the Fishing Communities Coalition (FCC) as a representative of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council (AMCC) and an independent harvester of Alaskan seafood. Alongside a powerhouse group of Alaskans, including Jamie O’Connor, Deputy Director of AMCC; Harmony Wayner, a Naknek Village tribal member, Bristol Bay harvester, and fisheries scientist; and Maddie Lightsey, owner of Alaska Boats and Permits—we brought the voices of small-boat fishermen to the heart of federal decision-making.

The FCC brings together community-based fishing organizations from across the country, and what I’ve learned this week is clear: from Cape Cod to Kodiak, we may fish different species with different gear, but our challenges and aspirations are strikingly similar.

In just two days, we met with half a dozen Senate offices and key committees to talk fish, from recent Executive Orders to the future of the American seafood industry. This was my first experience on Capitol Hill and I was struck at how fast-paced the atmosphere is. It feels like no one in D.C. has time for anyone, so I was particularly grateful to Senator Dan Sullivan, who met us in person, even as he came off the Senate floor. But that’s the nature of federal engagement: you rush into a hallway meeting, pour your heart out to an aide-of-an-aide, and hope your story becomes a memo, then a brief, then maybe, if you're lucky, part of policy. It requires patience, persistence, and a lot of hope. Luckily, fishermen specialize in optimism.

Kinsey Brown, Jamie O'Connor, Harmony Wayner, Maddie Lightsey and Senator Sullivan

Our profession is built on long odds and longer days. That’s why it’s so important we bring our voices into these rooms. When small-boat fishermen from around the country sit down together, we find connection, camaraderie, and shared purpose. This week has also demonstrated to me just how much we have to teach one another—and how urgently we need to collaborate to survive. At a happy hour after our Hill visits, I found myself swapping longline techniques with folks from Louisiana, laughing at regional slang with a permit broker from Cape Cod (“tow-blocked,” it turns out, is New England’s version of “corked”), and commiserating about how to get a skate out of a gillnet with a young fisherman from Massachusetts. It felt like home.

If we can find this much unity among ourselves, we should expect—and demand—the same from our government. Positive examples of this certainly exist, such as the recent FISH Act, which was co-sponsored by Sullivan, R-AK, and Booker, D-NJ. But federal fisheries policy often struggles under the weight of its own complexity. What makes American fisheries strong; our diversity and regional distinctiveness, also makes one-size-fits-all policymaking ineffective. Still, there’s promise in the recent Executive Orders that gesture toward seafood innovation, workforce development, and domestic market expansion. But promises must be backed by action. 

We can’t champion seafood innovation while programs like NOAA’s Saltonstall-Kennedy grants go unfunded. We can’t promote workforce development while programs like NIOSH are on the chopping block, making us less safe and less confident on the water.  And we can’t grow a competitive fleet while neglecting the basic infrastructure that keeps our boats running and our businesses afloat. Our industry is under enormous pressure: consolidation, climate change, aging infrastructure, loss of working waterfronts, and global market competition threaten to erode the independence and viability of small-scale fishing businesses. We can’t afford to be isolated. To stay competitive on a global scale, American fishermen must be connected, coordinated, and speak with a unified voice at the highest levels of government. 

Of all the efforts by the administration lately to boost American seafood, the one that excites most fishermen I spoke to is the leg up in competition against foreign seafood importers through tariffs and refocusing the domestic market. This is a well-deserved acknowledgment of hard-working American fishermen’s unfair playing field in global seafood trade against players who, without consequence, disregard environmental regulations and abuse human rights to flood our markets with cheap seafood products. Our group spoke to lawmakers about our need for long-term investments in processing infrastructure as well as short-term buffers for the upcoming season, such as the former Seafood Trade Relief Program. 

Our nation’s fleets stand ready to dominate the high-quality, wild-caught seafood market--but first, we need a level playing field when it comes to shoreside production. Working waterfronts are the backbone of our fisheries. They let us build vessels, land our products, and keep seafood fresh and local. Public facilities strengthen free trade and competition by allowing direct market fishermen and small business owners to compete alongside large-scale processors. From updated docks and clean harbors to energy-efficient processors and affordable freight from rural communities, every link in the supply chain matters. These investments don’t just serve fishermen; they serve national food security, rural economies, and coastal readiness.

If we want a future where American seafood is strong, sustainable, and sovereign, then small-boat fishermen must be part of the conversation, not as an afterthought, but as leaders. We’re not asking to be saved. We’re asking to be heard, respected, and partnered with. American fishermen are not just harvesters; we’re stewards, small business owners, and ambassadors for coastal communities. And we’re ready to put on boots and go to work, across regions and across the aisle, to keep our industry thriving.