The New Species Story: How Underutilized Fish Become Familiar and Why It Matters

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The pitch for an underutilized species rarely begins with a spreadsheet. It begins with a taste.

A buyer brings in a chilled fillet that doesn’t have a “big-name” reputation yet. A chef takes a bite, looks up, and does the small nod that means this could work. That nod is the first link in a long chain because in seafood, a “new species” isn’t just discovered. It’s translated into a name people recognize, a cut that cooks reliably, a spec that holds up in distribution, and a story that helps shoppers feel confident putting something unfamiliar into a familiar weeknight routine.

Done well, this is one of the most constructive trends in seafood right now: broadening what we eat so markets aren’t overly concentrated on a handful of favorites.

Why the Market Needs New Species Stories

In the U.S., seafood consumption has historically clustered around a short list of staples. The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) reports that in 2022, Americans consumed 19.7 pounds of seafood per capita, and the Top 10 species accounted for 79% of total consumption.

That’s diversification compared with past decades – but it still means most demand is concentrated in a narrow lane. And globally, the stakes are even clearer: FAO’s 2025 review of marine fishery resources reports 64.5% of fishery stocks are within biologically sustainable levels, while 35.5% are overfished; when weighted by production, 77.2% of global landings come from biologically sustainable stocks.

So the “new species story” is partly culinary and partly strategic: it’s about keeping seafood desirable and accessible while aligning demand with what’s abundant and well-managed.

The Four Steps That Turn an Underutilized Species Into Dinner

After talking with processors, chefs, and sustainability folks, the pattern looks surprisingly consistent.

1. Make it legible: name, format, and use-case

Underutilized species often fail not because they taste bad, but because people can’t picture them. The first job is to make the fish legible: a clean name, a clear flavor profile, and a “what do I do with this?” answer.

Research on underutilized species market-building emphasizes exactly this: enduring markets depend on collaboration “from point of origin to the end consumer,” plus consistent accessibility and real marketplace interest. In practice, that means deciding whether the first on-ramp is a mild fillet for tacos, a smoky spread, a breaded portion, or a chef-driven special that teaches people how to order it.

2. Standardize quality: specs, defects, and “what good looks like.”

New species can’t thrive on novelty alone. Retailers and foodservice operators need predictability: portion size, trim, texture, and a defect language that’s consistent.

This is where processing companies matter. They’re the translators between wild variability and consumer expectations—building specs, training teams, and tightening cold-chain execution so the product experiences “less surprise” from dock to plate.

Pacific Seafood’s CSR reporting spells out how it approaches this kind of systems consistency: it says it developed proprietary traceability technology to track products “from the dock to the dinner table,” and that it works with 550 independent commercial fishing vessels in addition to its own fleet – an ecosystem where standardization and documentation are essential. The report also notes Pacific’s global reach allows it to offer “a wide variety of responsibly-sourced seafood…to meet the needs of a growing and demanding marketplace.”

That line—wide variety—isn’t just brand language. It’s the enabling condition for species diversification: you can’t introduce the unfamiliar unless you can support it with the familiar.

3. Create trust: traceability, management, and third-party signals

If you’re asking a customer to try something new, you’re also asking them to trust.

On the public side, NOAA reminds consumers that U.S. fisheries operate under science-based fishery management and notes that seafood harvested from federally managed U.S. fisheries is considered inherently sustainable as a result of that management process. On the private side, trust often comes from traceability, consistent documentation, and (when applicable) reputable certifications and audits.

Pacific Seafood positions traceability as a core part of its value chain—monitoring products “every step of the way,” whether imported or harvested from fishing partners. In the context of “new species,” that matters because traceability and clear sourcing reduce the hesitation that often surrounds unfamiliar labels.

4. Teach people how to buy it: the chef-to-consumer relay

The most effective marketing for an underutilized species is often a recipe that works.

Chefs are the early adopters because they can explain a new fish in the language diners actually use: this eats like cod; treat it like halibut; it’s the weeknight version of… That relay—from dock to processor to chef to home cook—is exactly what the academic literature points to: diversified markets grow when supply-chain collaboration meets consumer-facing education.

Does It Really Reduce Pressure on Popular Fish?

This is the right question, and the honest answer is: it can—if it’s done with intent.

Recent research on consumer adaptation and fisheries diversification argues that broadening preferences to include locally abundant but underutilized species has the potential to alleviate pressure on overfished stocks, but also stresses a key caveat: diversification only works if consumers are willing to purchase and integrate those species into their diets.

In other words, diversification is not automatic conservation. It’s a market behavior change—and those are famously hard.

Still, there are strong reasons to be optimistic:

Diversification can spread demand across a wider portfolio, reducing “all the pressure in one place” dynamics when a few species dominate menus.
Management matters more than marketing. FAO’s 2025 assessment is blunt that outcomes improve where effective fisheries management is in place, and it provides hard baselines for what’s sustainable globally.
Climate is reshuffling availability, especially in regions like the Northeast U.S., where researchers are explicitly studying underutilized species as part of climate-smart adaptation strategies and market resilience.

The best-case scenario is not “everyone stops eating salmon.” It’s a steadier, more resilient seafood culture—where salmon remains beloved, but it doesn’t have to carry the entire “healthy protein” narrative by itself.

Pacific Seafood’s Role in the Portfolio Approach

Pacific Seafood’s CSR report reads like a company building the infrastructure for variety: wide sourcing, traceability, and distribution strength. It also describes strategic moves that expand optionality—like acquiring Kodiak processing operations to strengthen its position in wild whitefish and reinforcing its ability to support West Coast groundfish and crab fisheries through an expanded distribution network.

That portfolio mindset is exactly what the new species story requires. Underutilized species need an on-ramp, and the most practical on-ramp is often a company that can:

keep quality consistent across regions,
educate customers with specs and use-cases,
and move product efficiently enough that “new” doesn’t become “risky.”

If you want a single-line summary of the best new-species work happening now, it’s this: make the sustainable choice the easy choice—because it’s delicious, reliable, and well-explained.

*This article is based on personal suggestions and/or experiences and is for informational purposes only. This should not be used as professional advice. Please consult a professional where applicable.