What Bornstein Seafoods does

Bornstein Seafoods is a third-generation, family-owned seafood processor and distributor founded in 1934 and headquartered in Bellingham, Washington. The company sources, processes, and distributes wild-caught Pacific seafood — including Dungeness Crab, Cold Water Shrimp (Oregon Pink Shrimp, MSC-certified as the world's first sustainable shrimp fishery), wild Salmon, Albacore Tuna, Pacific Whiting, Sablefish, Sole/Flounder, and Pacific Rockfish — across a footprint spanning Southeast Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. Processing assets include facilities in Bellingham, Astoria (Oregon), and a seasonal plant in Seward (Alaska), supplemented by a wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary and the Warrenton Deep Sea retail market.

Core processing capability centers on blast-freezing technology that pulls core temperatures to -20°F within minutes of catch, enabling sashimi-grade Albacore Tuna output. Value-added processing services (IQF, portion control, custom cuts, cold-smoked products) extend the commodity base into foodservice-ready formats. The company sells primarily through a direct B2B sales team targeting large-volume wholesale buyers (500lbs+), with restaurant chains, hotels, cruise lines, and institutional foodservice as named end-markets; smaller volumes route via partner Merino Seafoods and direct consumer channels including the Warrenton retail market, Park N' Load drive-thru events, and online ordering.

The business model is wholesale B2B seafood sales with adjacent direct-to-consumer retail. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; large-volume orders are negotiated directly with the sales team, while sub-500lb orders are directed to Merino Seafoods as not cost-effective for standard shipping. Revenue is not disclosed; the company is privately held with no funding rounds and no M&A activity in the input data.

Name

Bornstein Seafoods

Legal name

Bornstein Seafoods

Website

https://bornstein.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Bornstein Seafoods is a third-generation, family-owned wild seafood processor founded in 1934, sourcing and distributing Dungeness Crab, shrimp, salmon, albacore tuna, and other Pacific species from Alaska to Northern California to wholesale foodservice buyers and direct consumers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seafood Processing

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (31171), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (311710), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (3117), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (424460), Fish and Seafood Retailers (44525)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092), Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Primary Seafood Processing (Heading/Gutting/Deheading; Icing) (AFANADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Seafood Wholesale (Fresh & Frozen) (AFAIADAD), Shellfish Wholesale (Crustaceans & Mollusks) (AFAIADAF), Frozen Seafood Meals & Value-Added Seafood (CRADADAG), Smoked, Cured & Salted Seafood (Lox, Kippers, Bacalao) (AFANADAF), Surimi & Minced Fish Products (Imitation Crab, Fish Paste) (AFANADAG)

Keywords

• Wild seafood processing
• Pacific Northwest seafood
• Wholesale seafood distribution
• Seafood processing services
• Value-added seafood

Headquarters

HQ city

Bellingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Seafood Sales: B2B wholesale sales of wild seafood products including Dungeness Crab, Cold Water Shrimp, Salmon, Albacore Tuna, Pacific Whiting, Sablefish, Sole/Flounder, and Pacific Rockfish. Large volume orders (500lbs+) are handled directly through their sales team with processing facilities in Oregon and Washington.
2. Retail Seafood Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales through retail markets including Warrenton Deep Sea market, Park N' Load events, and online ordering for smaller volumes under 500lbs.
3. Value-Added Processing: Custom processing options to meet modern consumer needs, including IQF products, portion control, and various product forms. Value-added seafood products help reduce waste, increase shelf life, and provide wider consumer options.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bornstein Seafoods is a third-generation family-owned seafood processor that sources, processes, and distributes wild-caught Pacific seafood including Dungeness Crab, Cold Water Shrimp, Salmon, Albacore Tuna, Pacific Whiting, Sablefish, Sole/Flounder, and Pacific Rockfish. The company operates processing facilities in Oregon, Washington, and Alaska and supplies wholesale buyers (500lbs+) globally as well as retail consumers through storefronts, drive-thru events, and online ordering.

Product overview

Bornstein Seafoods is a third-generation family-owned seafood processor offering a portfolio of wild-caught Pacific seafood products including Dungeness Crab, Cold Water Shrimp, Salmon (King, Coho, Chum, Sockeye, Pink), Albacore Tuna, Pacific Whiting, Sablefish, Sole/Flounder, and Pacific Rockfish. The company sources from Northern California through Alaska and operates processing facilities in Oregon and Washington. They offer value-added custom processing services alongside commodity seafood products and operate retail markets in Warrenton, OR and Bellingham, WA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dungeness Crab Fresh and frozen Dungeness Crab sourced from Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Available as whole cooks, frozen clusters, and crab meat in various cuts. Sold to wholesale foodservice buyers and retail consumers.
• Cold Water Shrimp MSC-certified sustainable Pandalus jordani shrimp from the Oregon Coast. Available as IQF whole raw and cooked/peeled in various sizes. Season runs April 1 to October 31.
• Salmon Wild troll and net caught salmon from Northern California to Alaska. Available as King, Coho, Chum, Sockeye, and Pink salmon in various product forms including dressed, fillets, and portions.
• Albacore Tuna Surface-caught North Pacific Albacore Tuna with high oil content and quality. Available as skinless boneless loins, steaks, medallions, and cold smoked products. Tuna is blast-frozen within minutes of being caught for sashimi-grade quality.
• Pacific Whiting The most abundant West Coast species, traditionally used for Surimi manufacturing including imitation crabmeat. Available as headed, gutted, and tailed (HGT) and fillets.
• Sablefish Oily and rich white fish (Anoplopoma fimbria), also known as blackcod. Available as frozen J-cut, fresh J-cut, and fillets. High in omega-3 oils.
• Sole / Flounder Includes Arrowtooth Flounder, Starry Flounder, Dover Sole, English Sole, Petrale Sole, and Rex Sole from Washington and Oregon. Sustainable and abundant, available year round.
• Pacific Rockfish Generic term for 102 species in the Sebastes family, sourced from Oregon, Washington, California and British Columbia. Available as fresh or frozen whole round and fillets.
• Value-Added Processing Custom seafood processing services including IQF products, portion control, and various product forms to meet modern consumer and food processor needs. Helps reduce waste, increase shelf life, and provide wider product options.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Perca, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Perca, Inc. has launched a groundbreaking trial using vermifiltration technology to treat shrimp processing wastewater at Bornstein Seafood in Astoria, Oregon. The nature-based system uses earthworms and microorganisms to break down organic matter, offering a low-energy alternative to conventional mechanical or chemical treatment methods. This sustainability-focused partnership aims to assess the technology's scalability across seafood processing operations.
• Oregon State University Seafood Research and Education CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Collaboration partner in the vermifiltration trial project for treating shrimp processing wastewater. OSU provides research expertise and technical assessment capabilities for evaluating the technology's effectiveness and scalability.
• West Coast Seafood Processors AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Industry association collaboration partner in the vermifiltration trial project, helping to assess the technology's scalability across seafood processing operations on the West Coast.
• Oregon Wildlife FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Environmental organization collaboration partner in the vermifiltration trial, partially funding the project and providing environmental expertise for assessing the sustainable wastewater treatment technology.
• Merino SeafoodsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTrusted partner online Seafood Shop for customers seeking smaller wholesale volumes under 500 pounds. Merino Seafoods offers responsibly sourced local seafood direct from Westport, WA.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Icicle Seafoods: PNW and Alaska-based wild seafood processor (salmon, pollock, crab, groundfish) supplying foodservice and retail customers. Closely comparable to Bornstein in wild-caught species focus, processing footprint, and channel mix.
• Atalanta Corporation: US specialty food importer and distributor carrying a broad assortment of seafood, meats, and gourmet items to retail and foodservice. Comparable to Bornstein as a B2B seafood distributor with overlapping customers, though Atalanta is broader in category and more focused on imported product.
• Seafood Producers Cooperative: Alaska-based fishermen-owned cooperative focused on salmon, halibut, sablefish, and groundfish sold under the Sitka Sound and other regional brands. Comparable to Bornstein as a West Coast/Alaska wild-caught processor selling into similar foodservice and retail accounts.
• Ocean Beauty Seafoods: Seattle-based, family-influenced Pacific Northwest seafood processor and distributor with a similar heritage and product portfolio spanning salmon, halibut, crab, and groundfish. Comparable to Bornstein in target customers (foodservice, retail) and species mix.
• Pacific Seafood Group: Family-owned, vertically integrated West Coast seafood processor and distributor headquartered in Portland, OR. Direct peer given overlapping species portfolio (Dungeness Crab, shrimp, salmon, groundfish), multi-state processing footprint, and B2B wholesale plus direct-to-consumer retail operations.

Regional players

• NorQuest Seafoods: British Columbia-based wild salmon processor primarily serving the Canadian market with limited US presence. Comparable to Bornstein on species (Pacific salmon) and processing capability but does not directly compete in the US West Coast foodservice channel.

Broad incumbents

• Maruha Nichiro: Japan-headquartered global seafood major with significant North American wild and farmed seafood operations including Alaska pollock and salmon. Comparable to Bornstein on species overlap and global distribution reach, but operates at materially larger scale across both wild capture and aquaculture.
• High Liner Foods: North American value-added frozen seafood leader (Fisher Boy, Sea Cuisine brands) supplying retail and foodservice. Comparable to Bornstein as a value-added seafood competitor, particularly as Bornstein expands IQF and portioned product lines, though High Liner's scale and retail-branded exposure are substantially larger.
• Trident Seafoods: One of the largest vertically integrated seafood companies in North America, operating Alaska processing vessels, plants, and a broad portfolio of branded frozen seafood. Compares to Bornstein on species and channel overlap, but is materially larger and more diversified across both wild and farmed, retail and foodservice.

Emerging players

• Merino Seafoods: Westport, WA-based direct-to-consumer and small-volume wholesale seafood operator partnered with Bornstein. Comparable as a Pacific NW wild-seafood retailer serving sub-500lb buyers, but materially smaller scale and narrower species mix than Bornstein.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/bornsteinseafoods
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bornstein-seafoods

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bornstein Seafoods