The United States runs a seafood trade deficit of roughly $20 billion each year, importing more than 90% of the seafood it consumes. Domestic production is constrained by an aging and shrinking pipeline of workers, limited environmental intelligence, and fragmented technology adoption.

The NSF Seafood Engine in New England, led by the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems, is connecting the region's blue tech sector to its seafood industry to modernize operations, improve efficiency, and expand domestic seafood production.

As the birthplace of the American seafood industry, the region generates $27.7 billion in annual sales and supports 284,000 jobs. The NSF Seafood Engine is advancing environmental sensing, AI-driven ocean modeling, autonomous vessel robotics, and traceability systems, while investing in workforce development. Together, these efforts are designed to improve the outcomes for firms up and down the New England coastline, unlocking a $20 billion market opportunity in the American seafood industry and providing advanced capabilities across small and large ports in New England.