By Martha Beach-Yeo
For Canadian chefs and restaurant operators, seafood can be both a menu highlight and an operational balancing act. Seafood products and dishes are often accompanied by high guest expectations, strong health and sustainability perceptions, and increasingly unpredictable pricing and availability. Behind every fillet, shell, or sashimi cut is a complex seafood industry that includes wild fisheries, aquaculture, global trade, and regulatory oversight. Understanding how Canada’s seafood industry functions can help chefs and operators make more informed decisions around pricing, sourcing, and menu choices in a category where margins and availability are constantly in motion.
Canada’s seafood industry is one of the country’s most economically significant food sectors, with direct implications for restaurant sourcing and pricing. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, commercial wild fisheries landed approximately 687,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish in 2022, with a total value of about $4.7 billion. Shellfish accounted for the majority of that value, roughly $4.1 billion, driven largely by lobster, crab, and shrimp. At the same time, Canada’s aquaculture sector produced an additional 166,000 tonnes of seafood, valued at approximately $1.34 billion, with farmed salmon representing the majority of production and offering a more consistent year-round supply for foodservice. Canada is also a major seafood exporter, shipping products to more than 118 countries and generating roughly $7.6 billion in export value in 2023, while importing over $5.5 billion in seafood annually to meet domestic demand. This dual role as both exporter and importer means that global markets, currency shifts, and international demand play a direct role in the cost and availability of seafood on Canadian restaurant menus.
For restaurants, the seafood category can be volatile, with wild-caught species like high-value shellfish more exposed to seasonality, weather events, regulatory limits, and global export demand, which can create sharp pricing swings and availability gaps. Aquaculture has become an option offering more stability for foodservice establishments. Farmed fish, led by salmon, offers more consistent sizing, supply continuity, and cost forecasting, making it a staple many restaurants have come to rely on. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, aquaculture now represents a significant share of Canada’s total seafood production by value, showing its growing role in feeding domestic markets. As labour pressures, food costs, and sustainability expectations continue to shape restaurant operations, farmed seafood is becoming more than just an alternative to wild fish, but a strategic menu tool as well, allowing chefs to balance premium offerings with operational reliability while still meeting guest expectations around taste and quality, traceability, and responsible sourcing.
Michelle Naumann with Export Packers says operators are increasingly looking for seafood that balances “cost, sustainability and menu flexibility”, and notes that Blue Cod has been one option gaining popularity with chefs and operators. Naumann describes Blue Cod as “an affordable fish with a mild flavour, firm but delicate flesh and moist texture,” and says it is “a great value alternative to Haddock or Cod.”
Rob Graham with Oceanfood Sales says he is seeing restaurant seafood choices shifting as demographics and costs reshape what Canadians order and what operators can afford. Even so, he says the seafood category’s “usual suspects” are still leading the pack. “Tuna was always number one, and salmon and prawns are 2 and 3… They’re always the most popular things.” But the cost reality is hard to ignore. “Everything just keeps going up and up in price,” Graham says, adding that some items have simply become unattainable for many diners. “Crab is $100 a pound- it’s out of reach for many” he says.
For operators looking for stability, Graham points to aquaculture as the practical direction the market is heading. “Aquaculture is the way,” he says, “Everything wild just keeps going up in price.” Graham says the wild fish supply is tightening and pricing pressure is steady. “I’ve been buying salmon for over 30 years, and there’s less wild salmon every year, and it keeps going up and up in price.” He pushes back on the idea that seafood “should” be wild when most other food categories aren’t. “Your vegetables, your meat, your chicken, everything’s farmed, why not your seafood?” For salmon specifically, he emphasizes consistency and performance in the kitchen. “Farmed salmon cooks really well,” Graham says.
Neumann notes that restaurants looking to control costs in their seafood offerings should look to some of the under-utilized species available ,and points to Hoki as an example “Hoki is a less familiar fish among Canadian consumers and chefs,” she says, adding that “its branding and consumer recognition is underdeveloped in comparison to the iconic Cod or traditional Haddock varieties, but Hoki is MSC certified.” She describes it as “a mild, clean tasting fish with a delicate texture,” noting that it is “often compared to Haddock and Cod.” Neumann also highlights its versatility, saying “Hoki is a versatile fish that can be baked, fried, steamed or grilled,” and notes that it “comes in a variety of formats such as loins, fillets and portions, used in foodservice.” Naumann adds that limited-time offers can help introduce lesser-known species. “LTOs remain a powerful tool for operators to create excitement around new menu items,” she says, suggesting “there is an opportunity to showcase under-utilized options such as a Hoki for added value and differentiation.”
When it comes to what chefs can look to next when planning seafood menus, Graham also suggests there are opportunities in less-hyped species, especially where flavour and margin align.“Out here on the West Coast, there’s a ton of rockfish fillets around, and they’re cheap and delicious, but people aren’t really getting into them yet,” Graham says. “If I had a restaurant that did fish tacos or curried fish or anything, I’d be using rockfish over basa for sure… at least something wild that has flavour at a better price point.” He also points to black cod, particularly smaller sizes. “Black cod is another wild option that is less used, but there’s a lot of black cod around- small black cod, not the big stuff,” he says
Naumann says sustainability is another topic that continues to play a major role in seafood programs.“Diners want to know what they’re eating is ethically and environmentally sound,” she says, adding that “restaurants are focused on sourcing responsibly sourced seafood.” She notes that sustainability is a core consideration for Export Packers. “Our significant presence in the seafood market means that seafood sustainability is an important consideration for our business.” This means the company looks for alignment with its suppliers - “We look to partner with suppliers who share our same view and catch or farm seafood in a sustainable and responsible manner,” says Neumann. She highlights the importance of third-party certifications when it comes to sustainability, nothing that the company offers a wide variety of products that have been certified by third-party organizations and is working on advancing sustainable and responsible seafood practices, including “MSC certified wild-caught seafood products and BAP and ASC certified farmed seafood products.”
As Canada’s seafood industry continues to evolve, chefs and restaurant operators are navigating a category shaped by rising costs, limited supplies, and complex environment challenges. Wild fisheries remain a vital part of the country’s seafood supply while aquaculture has become an increasingly important source of supply stability and menu consistency for foodservice. In a category where prices and availability can shift quickly, informed sourcing and thoughtful menu design remain key tools for keeping seafood both profitable and delicious and keep guest coming back for more.
