Update on Tinned Fish

February 06, 2023

Pantry staple and gourmet food.

Since I wrote our original article in 2016, canned seafood has continued to surge in popularity. U.S sales of canned seafood rose 9.7% to $2.7 billion in 2022. Industry executives credit the rise in demand to a surge of interest and demand among younger shoppers looking for novel but affordable foods. Canned seafood is a shelf-stable (up to five years) pantry item, good for a quick meal when you are not able to buy fresh.

As a result, canned fish sellers are launching new products, and using social media more than ever in efforts to promote their products. Innovative versions of canned fish now have flavored olive oils, tomato sauces and varied herbs and spices. You can find canned barnacles, octopus, oysters, mussels, and clams in various sauces or smoked, wild salmon, mackerel and more.

Wildfish Cannery is a small family business based in Alaska that provides sustainably caught wild seafood from the Pacific Northwest and is trying to keep up with the demand for canned fish.

Gooseneck Barnacles in Brine, a new product, are $49.00. Their description is “The latest, most curious little member of the Wildfish family’. They are harvested by hand, packed in ice, and shipped. The shells are not removed and resemble dinosaur toes. Only 300 tins are made at a time, and they are currently out of stock. You can request to be notified when they are restocked.

https://wildfishcannery.com/collections/all/products/gooseneck-barnacles-in-brine

Being based in Alaska, this company offers many varieties of tinned smoked salmon – White King, Smoked Pink, and Classic Coho. $10.00 – $16.00.

https://wildfishcannery.com/collections/all

Wildfish Cannery also carries tinned Rockfish, Smoked Herring, Smoked Octopus, Smoked Geoduck (a rare giant clam), and more.

Bumble Bee Foods, LLC is also increasing their product line and marketing efforts. Based in San Diego, the company is touting the health benefits to younger audiences. They offer ready-to-eat pouches of seafood that come with a spork. A dozen 2.5 oz. pouches is $17.88.

https://www.bumblebee.com/products/

Scout is a canned seafood company from Prince Edward Island, Canada. Due to the surge of interest on TikTok in canned seafood, their revenues rose 82% last year. They offer smoked fish, smoked wild Albacore tuna, canned Atlantic lobster, wild pink salmon, and smoked mussels from Prince Edward Island. The mussels are smoked in a paprika and fennel tomato sauce. It is suggested that you serve a couple of mussels with some sauce on top of slices of baguette. Top with crème fraiche

A three-pack of 3.5 oz. cans for $25.99.

Another recommendation from The Infatuation is Squid (calamari) in its own ink 3.5 oz. for $21.00.

Patagonia Provisions carries many varieties of Spanish canned seafood. Spaniards consume more than 50 lbs. of seafood per person a year. Canned seafood is considered a delicacy in Spain, even when served straight from the tin. This mussel sampler includes Smoked, Savory Sofrito and Lemon Herb Organic Mussels. https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/collections/all

Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co. has Smoked Rainbow Trout that gets good reviews. It is sourced from a certified trout farm in the U.S., smoked in small batches, raised in pure spring water, and has 62x less mercury than the FDA allows. Each can is 2.8 oz.

The two most popular varieties of canned salmon are Pink and Sockeye. Canned salmon is a versatile ingredient and a great source of Omega 3s. It can be used in chowders, pot pies, risotto, tacos, and when mixed with mayo makes a great sandwich filling. Here are two brands that are highly reviewed:

Wild Planet’s Wild Sockeye Salmon, skinless and boneless wins many great reviews. It is sustainably caught. Each can is 6 oz.

A pack of 12 is $51.35.

For a less expensive option but still considered good quality go for Bumble Bee Canned Pink Salmon. This comes in a 14.75 oz. can. A pack of three is $24.99.

TinCanFish was started to bring fish lovers in the U.S. top-quality gourmet seafood coming from the local fishermen and producers along the European coastline. The seafood is caught using sustainable harvesting methods, and carefully hand packed. They offer Portuguese and Spanish sardines, mackerel, cod, tuna, mussels, and more. This 6-pack sampler has an assorted variety of Portuguese Tinned Mackerel. $36.00.

The Gulf of Maine Conservas is dedicated to the sustainability of the bluefin tuna fishery. For those of us who love a great tuna fish sandwich, or tuna melt, I read reviews of this tuna fish that made my mouth water. The tuna is line caught in the Gulf of Maine. Here is a quote from the reviewer, David Neimanis for The Infatuation, the food and restaurant review site, “If you’re going to try one thing off this list, make it this tuna because it is divine. Giant bluefin is the only tuna species that forages in the Gulf of Maine and their flavor is especially rich, delicious, and versatile.”