Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, North America’s largest seafood trade event, opened March 15 at the Thomas M. Menino Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston for its 44th edition. The three-day expo runs through March 17, covering 247,915 net square feet of exhibit space with 1,215 exhibiting companies representing 50 countries.
Major retail buyers in attendance include representatives from Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons, Aldi, Amazon, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Costco, Food Lion, Kroger, Lidl, Publix, Sam’s Club, SpartanNash, Stop & Shop, Target, Walmart and Whole Foods Market, among others.
New countries, growing representation
This year’s show marks the first appearance of exhibitors from Costa Rica, Hong Kong, the Maldives, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland. Brenna Hensley, VP of seafood at Diversified, said the new country representation reflects the event’s growing global footprint.
“This year’s event reflects the truly global nature of our industry, with exciting new representation from Costa Rica, Hong Kong, the Maldives, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland joining our exhibitor floor for the first time,” Hensley said.
“We’re seeing growth from countries including Vietnam, Ecuador, Taiwan and Portugal, a testament to the significance of this event in connecting international suppliers with the North American market.”
What’s on the floor
The exhibit hall spans the full seafood supply chain, with suppliers presenting fresh, frozen, canned, value-added, processed and packaged products. Notable exhibitors include Acme Smoked Fish Corp, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, Clearwater Seafoods, Cooke Inc., Pacific Seafood Group, Royal Greenland, Samuels Seafood and Trident Seafoods, among more than 1,200 others.
The Seafood Processing North America side of the floor features advances in processing and packaging technology, refrigeration, logistics and supply chain services, with companies including JBT Marel, Lineage, Middleby Food Processing, Multivac and REISER participating.
Conference program and keynote
The conference program runs all three days with 40 sessions featuring 125 industry experts covering aquaculture, buyer insights, consumer and market trends, sustainable innovation, supply chain traceability and more. The keynote address — “Fork in the Current: The Economic and Trade Realities Shaping Seafood in 2026” — was delivered at 11 a.m. ET by Dr. Nomi Prins, macro-economist and geopolitical financial expert, covering energy volatility, regulatory shifts and AI integration as they apply to the seafood sector.
Wynter Courmont, group VP of seafood at Diversified, said the programming is designed to send attendees home with actionable intelligence.
“Over the next three days, seafood professionals come together to build connections and understand the trends, challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the industry. Whether you’re here to discover new products, meet new suppliers or forge partnerships, these three days will shape your business moving forward,” Courmont said.
Innovation Hub and Awards
The Wave Makers’ Zone serves as the show’s central gathering space, hosting New and Featured Product showcases, the Seafood Excellence Awards announcement and reception March 15 at 3:30 p.m. ET, and the Connecting Women in Seafood networking reception at 4:15 p.m. ET. March 16 will bring a new Processing Exchange reception for seafood processing buyers, processors and solution providers at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the Oyster Shucking Competition Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET.
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