There is little doubt that delicious domestic seafood is an iconic part of Americas wider harvest. Shrimp and oysters from the Gulf of Mexico, salmon from Washington, crabs from Alaska and Lobsters from Maine are as red, white and blue as the oft intoned amber waves of grain. But via  Imports Work for America we can see just how important imported seafood is to our economy.

According to the Department of Commerce the seafood industry as a whole impacts a little over a million jobs and $116 billion in sales. Imported seafood impacts 454,352 of those jobs and $77 billion in sales. Imported seafood is part of not only the American waterfront but the American Main Street, providing families, retailers and restaurants alike with healthy affordable meals while pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy.

The USDA Dietary Guidelines are clear when they say Americans should eat at least two seafood meals a week for optimal health and fish brought in from around the globe and harvested right here at home combine to fill that need.

Imported seafood helps keep America and the seafood community healthy.