One of the trends in specialty seafood technically isn’t from the sea: it’s freshwater fish.

Within the larger trend of local seafood, New York-based importer and distributor of specialty foods Baldor Specialty Foods has seen a spike in interest in freshwater fish, particularly trout.

Baldor x Pierless Fish works with local fisheries in Pennsylvania that have forged relationships with high-profile restaurants in the New York City area. (Baldor Specialty Foods bought Brooklyn-based seafood supplier Pierless Fish in 2020.)

“Trout have become really popular recently," said Michael Lettas, salesman at Baldor x Pierless Fish. Lettas said Green Walk Trout Hatchery in Bangor, Pa., is an example of this trend.

“With a direct line to Michelin restaurants in the city, Greenwalk trout stands toe to toe with seasonality and sustainability to our industry,” he said.

Baldor Specialty Foods — which serves more than 13,000 restaurant, foodservice, retail, and corporate accounts in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions — curates more than 6,000 items, including meat, poultry, fish, and specialty items, with a focus on local, peak season and small farms.

Lettas said the waters of the Northeast are home to some of the best fishing in the country, with a huge spectrum of seafood — and chefs are taking notice.

“Now more than ever I’ve noticed that chefs only want Northeast Atlantic area fish, Maine fish,” Lettas, said. “They want to feature smaller businesses, smaller fisheries, and local suppliers."

Lettas said Baldor x Pierless Fish expects the trend toward locality and aquaculture to continue as foodservice businesses try to do their part to further sustainability efforts and help the environment.

“Restaurants have historically bought tuna from across the globe, but we source our sustainable, line-caught tuna from Captain Bob in Sea Isle, N.J., and we’re seeing far more interest in the product than in past years,” he said.

Seafood snacks and alt-seafood

• While seafood and on-the-go snacking may not be two things that many people commonly associate, East Coast Tuna Candy Inc. is rolling out new flavors of its dehydrated tuna-based snacks: Pineapple and Pineapple Habanero.
• On the alternative seafood front, Steakholder Foods is launching the world's first plant-based 3D-printed eel. The product is crafted to accurately replicate the texture of eel through precision layering and a unique combination of materials in Steakholder Foods' proprietary 3D printing technology. The company's 3D printed eel is currently based on plant materials and is expected to include cultivated eel cells in the future as economies of scale allow price-competitive cell development.