What is the largest seafood company in the United States?

The largest seafood company in the U.S. is Trident Seafood, a vertically integrated seafood company that specializes in wild-caught seafood from Alaska. It is not a publicly traded company.

What is the seafood capital of the U.S.?

There isn't really a seafood capital in the U.S., though Alaska is the leader in wild-caught seafood. Other parts of the country, like New England or the Gulf of Mexico, are known for specific kinds of seafood.

Are seafood stocks safe investments?

Seafood stocks tend to be relatively safe investments. These are typically established, profitable companies that pay dividends. However, seafood stocks face risks that include volatile market prices, catch limits, and environmental changes.

Are seafood stocks considered a growth or defensive investment?

Typically, food stocks like seafood are considered defensive investments since people need to eat even in a recession, so demand for food, including seafood, tends to be relatively stable. Demand for seafood is not going to go away, providing some degree of safety for investors in the industry.

Best Seafood Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest in Them

See what's fresh in the seafood industry these days.

By Jeremy Bowman – Updated Jun 8, 2026 at 11:31 PM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

Seafood stocks, like Mowi and Lerøy, offer dividends and indicate sector resilience.
Norwegian companies dominate the market, with significant global seafood shares.
Investing in seafood stocks can be stable due to constant demand and advancements.

Seafood stocks are publicly traded companies that make money from fishing, harvesting, processing, and selling seafood. There are a lot of reasons to be bullish on the seafood industry, especially as fish and seafood are generally considered to be the healthiest animal proteins available. It's also a consumer staple, meaning it's a relatively recession-proof product.

If you're looking for public seafood companies, you won't find any of substantial size in the U.S. since the domestic industry is highly fragmented. In fact, the best place to look for fishing industry stocks is Norway, which is the second-largest seafood exporter in the world behind China.

Keep reading to see five of the top aquaculture stocks you should consider today.

Top seafood stocks to consider

The top seafood stocks in the world hail from Scandinavia with operations off the coast of Norway, Denmark, the British Isles, and Iceland. Those include Mowi, Leroy Seafood, P/f Bakkafrost, Atlantic Sapphire, and Salmar.

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Ticker Information Table
Name and ticker	Current price	Market capMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.	Dividend yield
Mowi Asa (OB:MOWI)	NOK 197.90	$102.3 billion	3.48%
Lerøy Seafood Group Asa (OB:LSG)	NOK 40.78	$24.2 billion	6.16%
P/f Bakkafrost (OB:BAKKA)	NOK 444.20	$25.9 billion	1.16%
Atlantic Sapphire Asa (OTC:AASZF)	$0.13	$4.6 million	0.00%
SalMar Asa (OTC:SALRY)	$12.62	$6.8 billion	2.03%

Data as of Jul 16, 2026. Showing 5 of 5 total entries.

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1. Mowi

OB: MOWI

Mowi Asa

Today's Change

(2.01%) $3.90

Current Price

$197.90

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$102B

Day's Range

$193.50 - $198.30

52wk Range

$179.40 - $245.80

Volume

904.2K

Avg Vol

1.1M

Gross Margin

24.88%

Dividend Yield

3.48%

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Formerly known as Marine Harvest, Mowi (MOWI +2.01%) is one of the largest seafood companies and is based in Norway. With an estimated 20% share of the global salmon and trout market, it's the world's largest producer of Atlantic salmon.

In 2025, the company brought in 5.7 billion euros in revenue and 559,000 metric tons of fish, representing a 6.2% compound annual growth rate since 2018. Operating profits were solid as well at 960.5 million euros, showing that the company generates healthy operating margins of around 17%.

The company continues to expand both organically and through acquisitions. In October 2025, it completed its acquisition of Nova Sea, a Norwegian salmon farming company in which it was a minority owner previously.

Mowi is making significant investments in technology to become more efficient. It plans to use advanced imaging technology, intelligent sensors, automatic feeding, and real-time monitoring of fish and other biomass through its 4.0 Smart Farming concept, which is rolling out over the next five years. If successful, such advances could give a significant boost to Mowi's bottom line. The company also offers a 3.5% dividend yield.

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2. Lerøy Seafood

OB: LSG

Lerøy Seafood Group Asa

Today's Change

(0.44%) $0.18

Current Price

$40.78

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$24B

Day's Range

$40.30 - $41.12

52wk Range

$37.74 - $52.40

Volume

361.9K

Avg Vol

696.2K

Gross Margin

6.14%

Dividend Yield

6.16%

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Also headquartered in Norway, Lerøy Seafood (LSG +0.44%) counts on salmon for more than half of its revenue, but it also does significant business in trout and whitefish. The company's revenue increased 10% in 2025 to $3.62 billion, while operating income fell slightly to $264.1 million. Harvest volume rose in 2025 by 14.2% to 195,600 metric tons, but revenue was affected by lower prices. Historically, the company's performance has been volatile, fluctuating with factors such as fish prices. Lower fishing quotas on whitefish have also restricted the company's catch volumes recently. In 2025, catch volumes fell 11.3% to 57,700 metric tons.

Lerøy is making a wide range of investments, including in land-based farming, adding new whitefish fishing vessels, and adding shielding to its fish farms and mature salmon operations. The company expects those investments to drive growth over the coming years. Still, the unpredictability of quotas remains a risk, and the outlook for wild catch is challenging due to lower quotas, though it is expected to drive higher prices for white fish in 2026. Management expects quotas to begin to increase again, potentially as early as 2027.

The company is also committed to its annual dividend, which currently offers a yield of 6.4%.

3. P/F Bakkafrost

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OB: BAKKA

P/f Bakkafrost

Today's Change

(1.60%) $7.00

Current Price

$444.20

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$26B

Day's Range

$431.60 - $444.20

52wk Range

$388.00 - $526.00

Volume

55.3K

Avg Vol

102.5K

Gross Margin

9.62%

Dividend Yield

1.16%

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Bakkafrost (BAKKA +1.60%) is the leading producer of high-quality salmon from the Faroe Islands and Scotland. It's officially headquartered in the Faroe Islands, which is part of Denmark. It also has vertically integrated salmon farming operations, in which it manages every stage of the process, from producing feed to value-added products like smoked salmon.

In 2025, the company generated $1.08 billion in revenue down 4.5% from the previous year, while operating profit fell from $158 million to $136 million, due in part to lower prices in the farming segment.

Harvested volumes rose by 18% to 106,823 metric tons, though prices were down modestly.

However, management continues to plan to reach 162,000 metric tons by 2030, driven by its large smolt (young salmon) capacity and expansion of its land-based freshwater hatchery. Like Lerøy Seafood, it's also struggled with lower salmon prices and seen profits decline.

Like the other seafood stocks on this list, Bakkafrost is a solid dividend payer, offering a yield of 1.2%, which is paid on an annual basis.

4. Atlantic Sapphire

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OB: ASA

Atlantic Sapphire Asa

Today's Change

(-1.10%) $-0.01

Current Price

$0.99

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$36M

Day's Range

$0.75 - $1.00

52wk Range

$0.75 - $12.00

Volume

408.7K

Avg Vol

207.8K

Gross Margin

-20267.37%

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Also headquartered in Norway, though it has major operations in Denmark and Florida, Atlantic Sapphire (ASA -1.10%) has one of the boldest strategies in the seafood industry.

The company is aiming to raise salmon in land-based fisheries. Typically, farmed fish like salmon are raised in marine net pens that allow seawater to circulate through them.

Atlantic Sapphire says it is the largest global land-based aquaculture company in the world, and it's innovating with its Bluehouse technology.

Bluehouse refers to its fisheries, where water is purified by state-of-the-art filtration systems, where the fish can swim against strong currents. The systems also help protect the fish from lice and wild fish diseases, and they allow the salmon to be farmed locally, making them fresher when brought to market.

The company opened its first Bluehouse in Denmark more than 10 years ago, but it's still a small company with $22.8 million in revenue in 2024. Revenue almost doubled in 2025 to $43.3 million as it benefited from higher prices and better fish quality.

Its Bluehouse in Florida, which is currently under construction, is aiming for 220,000 tons of annual capacity.

Atlantic Sapphire announced in May that it was planning to become a private company and delist from the Oslo stock exchange, which will better address its long-term financing needs.

5. SalMar

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OTC: SALRY

SalMar Asa

Today's Change

(0.64%) $0.08

Current Price

$12.62

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$6.8B

Day's Range

$12.62 - $12.69

52wk Range

$9.83 - $16.17

Volume

22.8K

Avg Vol

18.1K

Gross Margin

15.55%

Dividend Yield

2.03%

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SalMar (OTC:SALR.Y) is one of the biggest seafood companies in the world, and one of the largest and most efficient producers of farmed salmon. Based in Norway, it also owns 52% of Icelandic Salmon, which includes Arnarlax, an Icelandic company that uses sustainable, natural methods of aquaculture.

In addition to its production in Norway, SalMar is also the second-largest salmon farmer in Great Britain. It completed its acquisition of Wilsgard AS in August 2025, increasing its presence in Northern Norway. It's also working with Leroy Seafood on closed production technology for salmon farming.

After a challenging 2024 that included an outbreak of sea lice, the company bounced back in 2025 with revenue up 3.6% to $2.9 billion. Volume jumped 23% in 2025 to 284.5 million tons.

Like agriculture and other food-producing industries, SalMar and its peers are subject to a wide range of risks, including commodity pricing, disease, regulations, and other factors, so volatility is normal in the industry.

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How to invest in seafood stocks

If you're looking to invest in seafood stocks, just follow these steps:

Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

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Benefits and risks of investing in seafood stocks

Investing always carries benefits and risks, and investing in seafood stocks is no different. Let's take a look at the benefits and risks of investing in seafood stocks.

Benefits:

Seafood is considered one of the healthiest foods, and it's also one of the most environmentally efficient sources of protein.
New technologies are improving aquaculture and seafood farming, making it more productive, efficient, and reducing risks like sea lice.
Seafood stocks tend to be solidly profitable and pay dividends.
The global seafood market is expected to experience strong growth, between 7%-8% over the next few years.

Risks:

Farmed seafood faces a wide range of regulatory restrictions and risks.
Wild fisheries face catch limits and environmental risks like climate change.
Prices can vary based on supply and demand dynamics, so business results can be volatile.
Seafood is a commodity product, and it's difficult to establish a competitive advantage in the industry.

Should you invest in seafood stocks?

Fishing is one of the oldest industries in the world, but it's also changing quickly. Technological innovations, salmon farming, and climate change all present opportunities for fishing companies on the stock market, as well as challenges. Seafood supplied from aquaculture could soon surpass wild-caught seafood in volume, and that could make a historically commodity-based industry ripe for innovative players.

Expect the expansion of farming and aquaculture to continue to drive growth in the industry in the coming years.

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FAQ

FAQ: Seafood stocks

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About the Author

Jeremy Bowman has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends since 2011. Before The Motley Fool, Jeremy was a newspaper reporter, restaurant manager, and English teacher abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. One of his Motley Fool headlines was briefly featured on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

TMFHobo

@TMFBowman

Jeremy Bowman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends P/f Bakkafrost. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Best Seafood Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

See what's fresh in the seafood industry these days.

Key Points

Top seafood stocks to consider

1. Mowi

Key Data Points

2. Lerøy Seafood

Key Data Points

3. P/F Bakkafrost

Key Data Points

4. Atlantic Sapphire

Key Data Points

5. SalMar

Key Data Points

How to invest in seafood stocks

Benefits and risks of investing in seafood stocks

Should you invest in seafood stocks?

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FAQ

FAQ: Seafood stocks

What is the largest seafood company in the United States?

What is the largest seafood company in the United States?

What is the seafood capital of the U.S.?

What is the seafood capital of the U.S.?

Are seafood stocks safe investments?

Are seafood stocks safe investments?

Are seafood stocks considered a growth or defensive investment?

Are seafood stocks considered a growth or defensive investment?

About the Author

Read Next

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Top seafood stocks to consider

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

3. P/F Bakkafrost

Key Data Points

4. Atlantic Sapphire

Key Data Points

5. SalMar

Key Data Points

How to invest in seafood stocks

Benefits and risks of investing in seafood stocks

Should you invest in seafood stocks?

5 Best Meat Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Best Food Stocks to Buy in 2026: Are They Right For Your Portfolio?

Best Utility Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest

Best Food Stocks to Buy in 2026: Are They Right For Your Portfolio?

FAQ: Seafood stocks

What is the largest seafood company in the United States?

What is the largest seafood company in the United States?

What is the seafood capital of the U.S.?

What is the seafood capital of the U.S.?

Are seafood stocks safe investments?

Are seafood stocks safe investments?

Are seafood stocks considered a growth or defensive investment?

Are seafood stocks considered a growth or defensive investment?