All Around Seafood Strength in Subdued Month of September
October 20, 2026 | 3 min to read
Seafood prices rose across all three temperature zones, led by shelf-stable seafood, which includes cans and pouches. While remaining the lowest price per unit across fresh, frozen and shelf-stable, the average price per unit for ambient seafood reached $5.76, up 12.3% year over year.
The average price per unit for fresh seafood increased 3.3% year-over-year, with slightly higher inflation for finfish. Frozen seafood items experienced a 7.6% year-over-year increase in September to an average of $11.83 per unit.
At the species level, price movements were a mix of ups and downs. Shrimp and lobster experienced deflation whereas salmon, trout and tilapia experienced various levels of inflation. Crab prices were the most stable, up just 0.8% year over year on a per pound basis. However, the $11.36 average sits 23.2% above the levels seen two years ago.
Fresh/refrigerated seafood
Fresh (refrigerated) seafood sales exceeded $666 million in September, with annual sales closing in on $9 billion. Inflation contributed to dollar growth, but demand also experienced an increase, driven by strong shellfish sales. September unit sales grew 10.5% year over year for shellfish, while pound sales improved 20.7% versus a decline of 1.1% for finfish.
Frozen seafood prices also fluctuated substantially. Shrimp prices increased by 8.3% in comparison to September 2025. Crab had double digit inflation, while tilapia prices decreased by 1.7%.
| September 2026 | Latest 52 weeks | |||||
| Average price per unit | Change vs. YA | Change vs. 2YA | Average price per unit | Change vs. YA | Change vs. 2YA | |
| Total fresh seafood | $10.82 | +3.3% | +6.3% | $10.80 | +3.2% | +4.7% |
| Fresh finfish | $11.70 | +4.1% | +5.2% | $11.47 | +3.0% | +3.5% |
| Fresh shellfish | $10.84 | +3.7% | +9.7% | $11.21 | +4.7% | +8.9% |
| Total frozen seafood | $11.83 | +7.6% | +14.8% | $10.52 | +10.7% | +11.9% |
| Shelf-stable seafood | $5.76 | +12.3% | +16.0% | $5.66 | +9.5% | +8.6% |
Seafood Across the Store
September brought recovery for seafood across all three temperature zones.
- Fresh/refrigerated seafood remained the largest segment, generating $666 million during the four September weeks. Dollar sales grew 5.8% year over year, which was a combination of inflation (+0.9% on a per pound basis) and demand-driven growth. Pound sales grew 4.8% compared with September 2025.
- Frozen seafood ranked second in size at $642 million in September sales, up 9.4% year over year. Gains were also a combination of inflation and pound growth. Compared to the full-year view, dollar and pound growth are improving.
- Shelf-stable seafood was the fastest-growing segment, increasing 14.8% year over year to $305 million in September. Double-digit dollar growth was a combination of inflation and demand growth, with pounds up by 2.3% year over year.
Source: Circana, Integrated Fresh
— Anne-Marie Roerink, President, 210 Analytics