2022 Sustainable Seafood Trends
Fresh and frozen seafood hit record sales in 2021, and seafood industry analysts expect the positive sales trend to continue.
I, for one, am incredibly excited to see more and more people incorporating seafood into their diets. I’ve said it over and over again: seafood is one of the the healthiest foods on this planet! And since seafood is the core of community and culture in many parts of the world, these seafood trends are a positive step forward for the future of our sustainable food systems.
These 2022 seafood trends are a reflection of how our society has begun to rethink our food systems. We’re gravitating away from meat and towards ocean-based proteins, we’re becoming more open to regenerative species like marine plants and bivalves, and interest in sustainable seafood education has skyrocketed, proving that we’re more mindful not only of our own health, but of the health of the ocean too.
Here are some of the biggest seafood trends to keep an eye out for in 2022.
Seacuterie Boards
Move over charcuterie, there’s a new kid on the block: SEAcuterie. I hopped on the seacuterie train early and have been loving it. Largely inspired by the talented Chef Charlotte Langley at SCOUT Canning, I have been incorporating tinned seafood and smoked seafood into every snack board that I’ve made in the last couple of years. It seems like people are less interested in the classic charcuterie meats and more excited to top fresh bread with sardines or sustainable Canadian mussels.
At-home master shuckers
Prior to the pandemic, oysters were mostly eaten in a restaurant. The delicious bivalves were often too imitating to shuck at home. But with COVID-19 shuttering restaurants, we had no choice but to figure out how to master the shucking knife if we wanted to enjoy oysters on the half shell at home. The result? A growing population of at-home oyster shuckers. While I wouldn’t consider myself a master shucker just yet, I’m definitely way more comfortable shucking at home than I was before. Now I love purchasing oysters to serve at gatherings with friends and family. In 2022, we expect to see people continuing to purchase more oysters from consumption at home.
Growth in Regenerative Farming
Now before we all learned our way around a shucking knife, the oyster industry did face some struggles. But the silver lining was a major win for conservation. Many oyster farmers turned to regenerative farming throughout the pandemic. The practice has been gaining momentum with small, locally-owned oyster farms. This type of oyster farming not only supports local businesses and jobs, but it also helps to restore marine environments! Expect to see this become mainstream over the next decade.
P.S. I collaborated with Ocean Wise to write all about regenerative seafood. Read more about it here!
Enjoying seafood on the go with seafood snacks
It was only a matter of time before the growing markets for snacking and seafood collided. Seafood jerky and kelp snacks have been all the rage recently, with more and more people looking for ways to incorporate healthy ocean-based protein into their busy lives.
Some of my favourite seafood snacks include 12 Tides Kelp Chips and Neptune’s Seafood Jerky.
Convenience seafood demand on the rise
As life gets busy again, we still want to keep seafood in our lives and so ready-to-eat seafood meals are becoming more and more popular. Retailers are selling more ready-to-eat seafood meals and consumers love having this available. I’m definitely appreciative of these grab-and-go offerings. Some days I find myself finishing the workday at 7pm, so being able to grab a ready to grill fresh salmon portion on a cedar plank or a pack of tasty coconut shrimp is a lifesaver.
Embracing different seafood cultures
Maybe it’s because we haven’t been able to travel as freely as we once could, but we’re seeing a rise in people experimenting with multicultural flavours at home. According to the Pinterest Predicts trends forecast, more people are embracing their roots (or somebody else’s!) and trying traditional dishes from all over the globe. According to Pinterest, the largest increase in search terms is related to traditional Norwegian recipes, and nothing is more Norwegian than adding seafood to your table!
Reading labels and paying attention to packaging
Seafood providers have stepped up their packaging and labelling game recently. They are continuing to innovate to improve traceability and making it easier for consumers to buy sustainable seafood. You may remember that in July 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, I partnered with a seafood company doing just that. . You can expect to see more companies adopting various boat-to-plate traceability mechanisms in 2022.
Boom in online seafood sales
Where we buy seafood has also changed and that’s expected to continue into 2022 (and probably beyond!). Due to pandemic-related restrictions, many seafood purveyors turned to online outlets to provide consumers with an opportunity to safely access seafood. It turns out that this method of seafood buying has been a huge hit! I’m not entirely surprised. I personally love being able to get high-quality, sustainable seafood delivered directly to my door.
P.S. My go-to online seafood retailer is Organic Ocean. Shop their sustainable products here.
Reducetarianism
You’ve likely heard of vegetarianism and even pescetarianism, but have you heard of reducetarianism? This was a new term we heard in 2021 and reducetarianism is on the rise. The term refers to reducing the consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs without cutting them out completely. Sustainable seafood has become a core part of the movement as people aim to limit the environmental impact of their food choices while still consuming nutritious protein.
It can be difficult to predict food tends, but one thing that we know for sure is that sustainable seafood is trending upwards! Seafood has important health and immune boosting benefits, is an environmentally-friendly protein choice, and thanks to online storefronts, it’s easier to access than ever before!
Did I miss anything on this list? What do you predict some of the major seafood trends will be this year?
