Seafood Expo North America 2026 Opens in Boston, Spotlighting Traceability and Sustainability

The 44th edition of Seafood Expo North America opened Sunday at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center in Boston, pulling together thousands of buyers, suppliers, processors and policymakers across a three-day run that closes Tuesday at 3:00 PM. Traceability and sustainability are dominating the conversation on the show floor and in the conference rooms, and for anyone in the tuna supply chain, Monday's schedule deserves a close look.

The session drawing the most direct relevance for the tuna sector is SFP's Tuna Transparency Science Fair, running Monday, March 16 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM in Room 105. That session feeds directly into FishWise's afternoon block: "Vessel-Level Due Diligence: From Data Collection to Actionable Insights," scheduled Monday from 3:15 to 4:00 PM in Room 152. FishWise presenter Michelle Beritzhoff-Law takes the stage alongside technology companies demonstrating traceability innovations, with Beritzhoff-Law and colleague Alyssa Newhall walking through the organization's Vessel Risk Dashboard, described as "a tool that helps companies assess vessel-level risks in their supply chains and turn traceability data into actionable intelligence."

FishWise, which has worked in counter-IUU traceability systems, vessel risk analysis and corporate accountability frameworks for more than 20 years, framed its return to Boston as arriving "at a pivotal moment for the seafood industry." That framing lands with weight given the broader regulatory and supply chain scrutiny bearing down on tuna sourcing right now.

The conference program tops 30 expert-led sessions across the three days, with a Full Conference Passport also unlocking post-event recordings. Macro-economist and bestselling author Nomi Prins returned as keynote speaker, focused on steadying nerves around global economic uncertainty.

On the product side, Alaskan Leader Seafoods used the expo's opening to debut a new pink salmon product, with company representative Keith Singleton on hand. Icy Waters also had reason to show up with momentum: the company earned the 2025 Seafood Excellence Award for Best New Retail Product with its Atlantic Salmon with a Guinness Sweet Honey Mustard Melt and Panko Crumb. Meanwhile, Shoreline Freezers announced it is nearly quadrupling its New Jersey cold storage footprint, expanding from 7,000 to 27,000 pallets of space.

The Seafood Nutrition Partnership brought its National Seafood Council Task Force to Boston as well, running a "Fall In Love With Seafood" progressive party across participating member booths to put seafood nutrition in front of industry leaders and buyers simultaneously.

The expo, organized by Diversified Communications, runs through Tuesday, March 17.