In this article, we are going to discuss the top 20 largest seafood companies in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of the global seafood market and sustainability in the seafood industry, and go directly to Top 5 Largest Seafood Companies in the World.
Over three billion people worldwide depend on fish and other seafood products for vital nutrients, and the fishing and seafood sectors employ between 10–12% of the global workforce. The seafood industry is an integral economic generator as seen in the United States, bringing in over $200 billion in revenue each year, with imports accounting for over twice as much as exports. According to NOAA, approximately 2.4 billion pounds of seafood were exported from the United States in 2020, whereas 6.1 billion pounds of seafood from other countries ended up on American plates. Commercial farming, processing, retail, and harvesting of marine food sources are substantial assets for the regional and local economies.
Global Seafood Market:
The size of the global market for seafood was $310.75 billion in 2021, and it is expected to rise from $333.25 billion in 2022 to $605.46 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.92% during the forecast period. The primary growth factors fueling this industry are – the rising demand for seafood that has been processed or is ready to cook, the increasing inclination toward pescetarianism adoption, etc.
The COVID-19 pandemic was exceptional and startling for the seafood sector, with demand for seafood exceeding expectations in every region when compared to pre-pandemic levels. The data indicates that in 2020, the market expanded by 12.34% compared to 2019.
Sustainability in the Seafood Industry:
Seafood that is considered sustainable is defined as having been fished in the wild or farmed and harvested in a way that safeguards the ocean’s biodiversity and the health of the local ecosystem, communities, and wildlife, preventing the extinction of marine life.
Having a less negative impact on the ecosystem, aquaculture (fish farms) has proven beneficial over wild-caught seafood. This is demonstrated by the growing proportion of farmed aquatic creatures that are fed directly to humans—about 50% at the moment. However, aquaculture can have fatal results if it is poorly planned or maintained. Neighboring rivers, lakes, and other water sources can become destroyed by disease and pollution that leaks from fish farms. Fisheries can effectively remove fish waste and stop it from entering nearby waters by using appropriate filtration or fishing systems walled off to surrounding ecosystems.
Despite paying close attention to unsustainable practices like overfishing, the unintentional capture of marine life in fishing nets, water pollution from poorly managed fish farms, and the use of wild fish as food for farmed fish, sustainable fishing demands environmental and economic justice for the communities that depend on the fishing industry. Improved technical advancements, such as electronic monitoring devices installed on boats, hold the potential to provide the information required by regulatory agencies and scientists to assess the effectiveness of sustainable fishing methods.
Illegal fishing, which may account for up to 30% of the capture of high-value species, is closely linked to overfishing. Tens of billions of dollars are transferred through untraceable supply chains by this widespread practice, which is damaging to the environment and financially detrimental to legitimately operated fisheries. Future technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), may make it easier to detect and trace the path of seafood which often travels abroad for processing before returning to the US.
The ecological impact of seafood is also influenced by the size of the fishing operation. Since 2012, aquaculture has surpassed the capturing of seafood from natural sources. The U.S. agency responsible for protecting and managing marine and coastal ecosystems, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stated in a 2022 report that the populations of the most overfished species had fallen to an all-time low in 2017.
Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) is a giant seafood wholesaler in the United States with over ten years of experience in sustainability. Since 2009, the company’s commitment to seafood has resulted in the acquisition of approximately 700 million pounds of more sustainably farmed seafood and has altered the global footprint of the food service sector with regard to ocean health. By the end of 2019, 79% of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)’s top 5 farmed species and 99% of the company’s top 15 wild-caught species were sourced from more sustainable sources.
With great enthusiasm, Sysco and WWF announce a renewed collaboration to source seafood more sustainably, as well as their seafood sustainability commitments for 2025. The new pledges expand on previous achievements and strengthen the Houston-based company’s standing as a world authority on sustainable seafood, set high benchmarks for the seafood sector, create long-term sustainability objectives, and foster customer confidence. For all of its seafood products, Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) will restrict the sale of any species that are threatened or critically endangered and continue to work with WWF.
Another seafood company that takes sustainability seriously is the Kyokuyo Co., Ltd. (TYO:1301.T) Given concerns about the preservation of marine resources, the fishing of bluefin tuna—a form of tuna that is highly valued by the Japanese and is regarded as a luxury commodity—is internationally regulated. To begin farming bluefin tuna, the company founded Kyokuyo Marine Farm Co., Ltd. in Kochi Prefecture in 2007. It established Kyokuyo Nippai Marine Co., Ltd. (now Kyokuyo Feed One Marine Co., Ltd.) in Ehime Prefecture in 2012 to commercialize full-life-cycle bluefin tuna farming via everything from seed production to fish farming and sales to fulfill market demand while tackling the concern of marine resource depletion and minimizing the impact on ecosystems. Kyokuyo Co., Ltd. (TYO:1301.T) shipped its Hon-Maguro no Kiwami TUNAGU full-life-cycle bluefin tuna product for the first time in November 2017.
Since 2006, when the Kyokuyo Group started to process MSC/ASC certified products, the quantity and variety of registered fish have gradually increased. It gives in-house training to the person in charge of the specific fish type and product for registration, in addition to those involved in purchasing and sales, while handling certified items. The first part of this course covers the importance of protecting biodiversity and making effective utilization of marine resources. It also teaches how these certified products enhance company value and support a sustainable society.
With that said, here are the Largest Seafood Companies in 2024.
Methodology:
We have picked the Top 20 Largest Seafood Companies based on their annual revenue for 2022. For private companies on our list, we estimated their revenues by comparing them with public companies of the same size and in the same industry. It should be noted that we have taken into account conglomerates that although are not pure-play companies and don’t make the bulk of their revenue from seafood, but still have a significant impact on the industry.
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20. Parlevliet & Van der Plas
2022 Revenue: ~ $1.58 billion
Comprising subsidiaries such as Heiploeg and Ouwehand, Parlevliet & Van der Plas is one of the largest fishing companies in Europe. PP Group was founded as a shipping company and now operates seafood enterprises and processing plants in the Faroe Islands, Morocco, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Lithuania. Furthermore, the business holds shares in the seafood market of the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, the Ivory Coast, and Madagascar, among other nations.
19. Astoria Pacific
2022 Revenue: ~ $1.6 billion
Despite difficulties brought on by the world economic downturn, Astoria Pacific remains steadfast in its commitment to distributing seafood products, which include frozen, cured, and fresh fish, among other seafood products. Additionally, since its founding in 1941, the company has been among the global leaders in the fish industry.
18. F.C.F Fishery Co.
2022 Revenue: ~ $1.7 billion
Established in Taiwan in 1972, FCF Co., Ltd. (FCF) is a privately owned notable global provider of extended supply chain services for marine products, with a special focus on tuna. FCF has been selling and marketing tuna products for 50 years. To meet the needs of its consumers, the company has set up more than 30 subsidiaries, fishing sites, and shipping agencies worldwide.
As a pioneer in the field of sustainability, traceability, and FAD-free fishing methods, the firm collaborates extensively with governmental and non-governmental entities to guarantee the environmental sustainability of tuna stock and marine life products worldwide.
17. Kyokuyo Co. Ltd
2022 Revenue: $1.85 billion
Kyokuyo Co., Ltd. (TYO:1301.T) is one of the leading fishing and agricultural enterprises for seafood in Japan. They have a reputation for being among the leaders of environmentally friendly-sustainable skipjack tuna fishing, featuring over 2,112 workers. Products certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Aquatic Stewardship Council (ASC), and the Marine Eco-Label (MEL) are offered by Kyokuyo.
16. SalMar
2022 Revenue: $1.92 billion
SalMar is a major salmon producer with 100% sustainable feeds and 173,500 tons of gutted weight harvested in total in 2020. In 1991, they recruited over 1,700 people and made significant expenditures in both onshore and offshore salmon aquaculture plants. The Norwegian company uses feed that is free of GMOs and does not rely on fish stocks that are endangered or at risk of extinction.
15. Red Chamber Co.
2022 Revenue: ~ $2.2 billion
Seafood products such as shrimp, catfish, cod, haddock, swordfish, halibut, perch, pollock, salmon, scallops, mussels, squid, and imitation crab are exported, processed, and distributed by Red Chamber Co. – a privately held company that has grown from a small business to one of America’s largest and best-equipped seafood producers.
14. Trident Seafoods
2022 Revenue: ~ $2.6 billion
With more than 9,000 workers and projected revenue of $2.6 billion in 2022, Trident Seafoods is among the largest privately held, family-owned seafood companies globally. Headquartered in Seattle, WA, the company takes great satisfaction in its long history of fishing and strong relationships with fishermen, and is renowned in the business for being among the most ethical fishing enterprises as a result.
13. Cooke Aquaculture
2022 Revenue: ~ $2.8 billion
Founded by Canadians in 1985, Cooke is a family-run company that started off as a solo aquaculture company but has now expanded over time to become a massive global fish enterprise. Wild seafood constitutes around 40% of Cooke’s seafood business. Currently, the company ships over a billion pounds of seafood to 67 countries and employs over 10,000 people globally.
12. Nomad Foods
2022 Revenue: $2.94 billion
Nomad Foods, a British company, is the market leader in frozen food in Europe and the proprietor of numerous well-known brands, including Iglo, Findus, and Birds Eye. Despite being founded in 2015, it did not take long for it to rank among the biggest seafood companies.
11. Austevoll Seafood ASA
2022 Revenue: $2.98 billion
Austevoll is a widely known seafood company in Norway, showcasing its product line that includes fish oil, omega-3 oil, fishmeal, frozen fish, and canned fish. It engages in marine activities in fisheries, human consumption products, and the extraction and processing of fishmeal and fish oil. Moreover, the company breeds, processes, and distributes trout and Atlantic salmon fish.
10. Bolton Group SRL
2022 Revenue: $3.04 billion
Bolton is an Italian family-run multinational group that has spent more than 70 years creating and selling a wide variety of cutting-edge, environmentally friendly branded goods. It creates and distributes luxury brands and food items of the highest caliber. Not only is it Italy’s top producer of canned fish under the Rio Mare and Palmera brands, but it leads the European canned tuna industry as well. Rio Mare is a global brand that is available in 40 countries, many of which lead their respective markets.
9. Agrosuper S.A.
2022 Revenue: $4.1 billion
Agrosuper, a meat, seafood, and processed food private business based in Chile, brought in $4.1 billion in revenue in 2022. Founded over 65 years ago as an egg supplier, Agrosuper has expanded to become one of the largest producers of animal protein in Chile. The company also sells salmon in addition to chicken, pork, and turkey.
8. Thai Union Group Public Company Limited
2022 Revenue: $4.36 billion
Thai Union Group is a Thailand-based seafood company that is widely recognized for its international brands in the canned tuna market. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), 2022 placed Thai Union Group PCL at the top of the global food industry ranking. The company’s dedication to sustainability has led to its listing on the DJS for nine years running. In addition, the group’s effectiveness in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations has earned it a second consecutive ranking of #1 on the Seafood Stewardship Index (SSI).
7. Schouow & Co.
2022 Revenue: $4.77 billion
Denmark is one of the top exporters of seafood in the world, and Schouow, a listed corporation with its headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark, was formed in 1878. It has a workforce of about 15,000 and is also a prominent supplier of feed for commercial fish aquaculture.
6. Nissui Corporation
2022 Revenue: $5.21 billion
Nissui Corporation supplies a wide range of marine food products including fresh and frozen seafood, canned fish, fish oils, and fish meal. Therefore, Nissui is one of the biggest Japanese seafood corporations internationally.
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Disclosure: None. Top 20 Largest Seafood Companies in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.