The Seafood Industry: Background and the important role of Vertical Integration.
The Seafood industry is diverse and fragmented with an estimated $400 Billion in Annual Revenues globally in 2015. [undercurrent news 10/6/15].
Historically, companies have specialized in a single seafood species segments within the value chain. The Seafood industry is broken down into three main segments with a fourth, we believe, rapidly emerging:
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Harvesting
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Commercial Fishing
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Aquaculture Production (Farming vs. Wild Catch)
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Processing
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Primary – cleaning; sorting; freezing; filleting and packaging
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Secondary – creation of processed products for ready meals or meal components
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Distribution
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Wholesale – U.S. Foods/Sysco Distributors
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Retail – Supermarkets; Specialty Seafood Stores
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In-Trade – Hotels; Restaurants & Institutional
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Emerging Fourth Segment - Fish Feed – as Aquaculture continues to grow, the Fish Feed sub-category is expected to produce strong annual growth. A fifth year of fishmeal shortages is leading to a rush of mergers and acquisitions as companies including Cargill Inc. seek to meet demand for seafood that's growing faster than for beef, poultry or pork. [Bloomberg Feb 15, 2016]
