IS FISH A FOOD, A NATURAL RESOURCE, OR BOTH? AND WHY IT MATTERS

The Great Lakes, a source of over 20% of the planet’s freshwater, provides diverse resources and services for millions of people, with fish being one of the most important. However, the fish supply chain in the Great Lakes region is poorly understood. To address this gap, in 2023, we collected data, and surveyed and interviewed fish producers (farm-raised and wild-caught) and processors in nine states that form the base of the Great Lakes seafood supply chain. Specifically, this case study attempted to map the flow of seafood across the region to better understand what enables or impedes market availability of local seafood. This study primarily focuses on fish as a food product, while also acknowledging the other three “F” values: Fun, Finance, and Function. These additional dimensions shape the supply chain and highlight the complex role of fish as a natural resource, which in turn complicates the regulatory landscape.

We will discuss the data leading to four takeaways from this project:

1. Access to Great Lakes seafood data is challenging and limited. There are data gaps that need to be addressed to inform decision making and investment opportunities at the state and federal levels. Of the data available, data are not collected or reported consistently. This lack of and incomparability of data limits our knowledge of the quantity and value of seafood produced in the Great Lakes region.
2. In 2023, there were nearly twice the number of seafood processors than farm-raised or wild-caught fish producers in the Great Lakes region. More research is needed to understand where Great Lakes seafood originates, to what extent processors are vertically integrated, and where processors are absent.
3. The Great Lakes seafood supply chain is a complicated and complex system influenced by significant differences in state regulations, relationships within industry, and regional differences in species demand. To determine the most impactful and specific interventions to improve local access, future studies might take a narrower approach based on species, source (farmed or wild caught), and product type (live, frozen, processed, value-added), rather than the regional seafood industry as a whole.
4. The complexity and lack of clarity in regulatory authority across the supply chain creates access barriers that limit the supply of seafood available and heighten costs of production due to regulatory inefficiencies and redundancy. Actors in the supply chain we interviewed called for regulatory agencies to develop a process for multi-agency collaboration that includes participatory input from producers and seafood processors.

This project is an important step toward understanding the Great Lakes seafood value and supply chains. Lessons learned will inform methods to support better access to local seafood.