Harbor Fish Market

What Harbor Fish Market does

Harbor Fish Market is a privately held, family-owned seafood retailer founded in 1966 and headquartered at 9 Custom House Wharf in Portland, Maine, a waterfront location that has been a local landmark since the 1800s. The company operates two retail markets, the Portland flagship and a second location opened in 2022 at 246 US Route 1 in Scarborough, Maine, and serves both walk-in consumers and the Portland restaurant trade. Product offerings span live Maine hard-shell and soft-shell lobsters, fresh and frozen fish fillets and steaks (haddock, halibut, cod, salmon, tuna, swordfish, and specialty whitefish), shellfish (clams, oysters, mussels, scallops), shrimp and crab, smoked and tinned specialty seafood from brands such as Ducktrap, Donostia, Patagonia, Fruits DeMer, and Blue Hill Bay, prepared chowders and bisques from Hurricane's, condiments, and a growing branded merchandise line including apparel, a cookbook, gift cards, and the Portland Monopoly game. The underlying technology is a conventional WooCommerce-based e-commerce storefront with cold-chain fulfillment operations enabling nationwide FedEx overnight shipping of live and fresh products; the company emphasizes manual, hand-packed handling rather than automation.

The business operates three revenue streams: retail seafood sales at the two Maine locations, direct-to-consumer e-commerce with home delivery and FedEx shipping nationwide, and a wholesale division supplying fresh seafood, specialty cuts, custom orders, and rare species to Portland's top restaurants at market prices. Gift cards and branded merchandise add an incremental revenue layer. Pricing is unit-based across the catalog, ranging from $0.85 for individual lemons to $139.99 for the Maine Coast Lobster Dinner meal kit and $175 for the Sea Bags tote. Go-to-market combines in-store retail, local pickup and delivery, nationwide DTC shipping, and a direct sales motion into restaurant accounts, supported by an email newsletter, recipe content, and active Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram channels. Ownership rests with co-owner Nick Alfiero, his wife Kathleen, and son Rian, who co-authored the company's cookbook; no external funding, parent company, or institutional investor involvement is indicated in the source data.

Name

Harbor Fish Market

Legal name

Harbor Fish Market

Website

https://harborfish.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Harbor Fish Market is a privately held, family-owned seafood retailer founded in 1966 in Portland, Maine, operating two retail locations, a nationwide e-commerce and FedEx shipping business for live lobsters and fresh seafood, and a wholesale division supplying Portland's top restaurants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Seafood Retail

NAICS

Fish and Seafood Retailers (445250), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446)

SIC

Retail-Food Stores (5400), Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Seafood Markets & Fishmongers (CRAHAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Seafood Wholesale (Fresh & Frozen) (AFAIADAD)

Keywords

• Fresh seafood retail
• Live Maine lobster
• Wholesale seafood supply
• Seafood e-commerce shipping
• Fish market

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland, Maine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Seafood Sales: Direct sales of fresh seafood, live lobster, shellfish, and prepared seafood products through two retail locations in Maine (Portland and Scarborough). Products range from live Maine lobster to premium fish fillets, shellfish, and specialty preserved items.
2. E-commerce and Shipping: Online ordering with home delivery and FedEx shipping capabilities, including live lobsters shipped nationwide. Offers local pickup and delivery options for nearby customers.
3. Wholesale/B2B: Supplies fresh seafood to Portland's top restaurants, offering specialty cuts, custom orders, rare species, and market prices to the foodservice industry.
4. Gift Merchandise and Dry Goods: Sale of branded merchandise including clothing (hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts), cookbooks, utensils, and gift items such as the Portland Monopoly game.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Harbor Fish Market is a traditional seafood retailer operating two retail locations in Maine (Portland since 1966 and Scarborough since 2022) plus an e-commerce platform that ships live lobsters and fresh seafood nationwide. The company sells live Maine lobsters, fresh and frozen fish fillets and steaks, shellfish, shrimp, crab, smoked and specialty seafood, prepared chowders and bisques, preserved/tinned items, condiments, and branded merchandise. It also runs a wholesale division supplying Portland's top restaurants with specialty cuts, custom orders, and rare species.

Product overview

Harbor Fish Market is a traditional seafood retailer operating as a brick-and-mortar market with an e-commerce platform. The company was established in 1966 and operates two retail locations in Portland and Scarborough, Maine. Their product portfolio centers on fresh, frozen, and specialty seafood products organized into distinct categories: live Maine lobsters (hard shell and soft shell varieties), fresh fish fillets and steaks (haddock, halibut, cod, salmon, tuna, swordfish, and various white fish), shellfish including clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops, shrimp in various preparations, crab products (soft shell crab, crabmeat), prepared chowders and bisques from Hurricane's brand, smoked salmon and specialty seafood from brands like Ducktrap, Donostia, and Fruits DeMer, preserved and tinned seafood items (herring, anchovies, sardines, octopus, mussels), condiments and seasonings (cocktail sauces, hot sauces from Captain Mowatt's, Maine Chef's sauces), and branded merchandise including apparel, cookbooks, and gifts. The company differentiates through sustainability practices, direct relationships with Portland restaurants as a wholesale supplier, and overnight shipping capabilities for live and fresh seafood products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Live Maine Hard Shell Lobster Live Maine hard shell lobsters available in three sizes (1 lb small, 1¼ lb medium, 1½ lb large), shipped overnight to consumers nationwide.
• Fresh Maine Lobster Meat Fresh Maine lobster meat available in TCK (tail, claw, knuckle), CK (claw and knuckle only), or tails-only varieties.
• Live Maine Soft Shell Lobster Live soft shell Maine lobsters available in various sizes for local customers only.
• Cooked & Chilled Maine Soft Shell Lobster Pre-cooked soft shell lobsters available in chicks (1 lb), quarters (1¼ lb), and halves (1½ lb) sizes, shipped chilled.
• Maine Lobsters 6-Pack (Cooked) Six freshly cooked, chilled 1-1/8 lb soft shell lobsters available for online ordering and shipping.
• Maine Coast Lobster Dinner (Meal Kit) Complete lobster dinner shipped to door including 6 soft shell lobsters, 2 lbs wild Maine mussels, 2 lbs steamer clams, and 8 oz Kate's Butter.
• Fresh Medium Haddock Fillet Fresh North Atlantic haddock fillets, a classic white fish for baking and frying.
• Fresh Halibut Fillet Fresh North Atlantic halibut fillet, premium white fish ideal for grilling or broiling.
• Fresh Yellowfin Tuna Fresh yellowfin tuna available in grilling, high-grade grilling, or sushi-grade quality.
• Fresh Bluefin Tuna (Sushi-Grade) Locally landed sushi-grade bluefin tuna, described as 'the good stuff'.
• Fresh Swordfish Steaks Fresh swordfish steaks.
• Fresh Cod Fresh Captain's Cut or Mate's Cut cod loins, thick-cut succulent fish perfect for baking.
• Fresh North Atlantic Salmon Fillet Fresh Atlantic salmon fillets available from Norwegian, Wester Ross, North Atlantic, or Cutler Cove, Maine sources in various cuts.
• Fresh Wild Pacific Salmon Fillet Wild Pacific salmon varieties including King, Sockeye, and Coho, leaner with stronger flavor than Atlantic salmon.
• Fresh Scallops Fresh medium scallops from the North Atlantic, sold by the pound.
• Premium Live Oysters Premium live oysters for raw bars or cooking.
• Premium Live Hard Shell Clams Live hard shell clams available as quahog, countneck, topneck, littleneck, cherrystone, or razor varieties.
• Live Maine Steamers Live Maine steamer clams, a New England seafood staple.
• Fresh Cooked Crabmeat Fresh cooked, hand-picked North Atlantic crabmeat in 8 oz containers, high quality for crabcakes and sushi.
• Fresh Maryland Soft Shell Crab Fresh Maryland soft shell crabs available in hotel, prime, jumbo, or whale sizes, whole or cleaned.
• Smoked Salmon and Specialty Smoked Seafood Smoked salmon and smoked seafood from Ducktrap, Samaki, Blue Hill Bay, Stonington, and Acme/Grindstone, including spruce point smoked salmon, smoked trout, pastrami-style smoked salmon, cold smoked yellowfin tuna, smoked whitefish salad, smoked salmon spread, finnan haddie, smoked black cod, and salmon candy.
• Preserved and Tinned Seafood Preserved and tinned seafood including salt cod (baccalà), Acme and Ducktrap herring in wine/dill/cream, Donostia anchovies, tuna in olive oil, razor clams, mussels in escabeche, cockles in brine, and Fruits DeMer marinated octopus, mussels, white anchovies, sardines, and Patagonia anchovies and smoked mussels.
• Frozen Chowders, Bisques, and Specialty Prepared Foods Frozen prepared foods from Hurricane's and others, including lobster bisque, clam chowder, seafood chowder, shrimp and corn chowder, Maine coast monkfish stew, frozen crab cakes, lobster cakes, stuffed clams, Harmon's clam cakes, chowder fish, and fish medley.
• Condiments and Seasonings Seafood condiments and seasonings including Kelchner's cocktail sauce and horseradish, Maine Chef's sauces (wasabi cocktail, key lime garlic tartar, ginger teriyaki, citrus rosemary and ginger, sweet chili and garlic, sticky honey barbecue, apple maple chipotle), the Captain Mowatt's hot sauce line (Jolly Roger, Spitfire, Canceaux, Boston Red, Halifax Jerk, Casco Bay Cajun, Scurvy Dog, Luscious), SoFISHticated all-purpose seasoning, and Kate's sea salted butter.
• Seafood Utensils and Dining Tools Seafood preparation and dining tools including lobster/crab crackers, oyster knives, clam knives, shucking/cutting gloves, and lobster dining kits (for 2 or 4 diners).
• Harbor Fish Gift Card Harbor Fish Market gift cards available in $25-$300 denominations, mailed free with greeting card.
• Harbor Fish Market Branded Merchandise and Cookbook Branded merchandise including a Harbor Fish Market cookbook (Seafood Recipes from Maine), embroidered cloth hats, screen-printed t-shirts, fleece pullover sweatshirts, the Portland, ME Monopoly board game, and a Sea Bags branded tote bag.
• Wholesale Seafood Supply (B2B) Dedicated wholesale operation supplying Portland's top restaurants with fresh seafood, including specialty cuts, custom orders, rare species, and sustainable options at market prices.
• Pack to Travel (Insulated Packaging Add-on) Insulated packaging with reusable frozen gel packs for local seafood pickup requiring over 6 hours travel or air travel, $17.00.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Wegmans: Major regional grocery chain with a strong fresh seafood program and growing online ordering — broad incumbent competing for the same premium fresh-seafood shopper across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
• Whole Foods Market: Large national grocery retailer with a premium seafood counter offering fresh fish, shellfish, and lobster — competes broadly for premium fresh-seafood basket spend across the same affluent consumer demographic.

Direct peers

• Fulton Fish Market: Iconic NYC seafood market that has expanded into nationwide e-commerce and home delivery of fresh and frozen seafood, directly competing with Harbor Fish's online seafood shipping channel.
• Maine Lobster Now: Online-first direct-to-consumer live Maine lobster and seafood shipper; overlaps heavily with Harbor Fish's live lobster FedEx shipping business and competes on the same national DTC customer.
• Browne Trading Market: Portland, Maine-based fresh seafood market with online nationwide shipping and chef/restaurant wholesale, operating a closely analogous multi-channel seafood retail/wholesale model.
• Lobster Anywhere: Direct-to-consumer live Maine lobster and seafood shipper offering overnight FedEx delivery, competing with Harbor Fish on the same nationwide live-lobster shipping proposition.
• Sea to Table: Online marketplace focused on sustainably-sourced American wild-caught seafood delivered nationwide — direct competitor in the curated-seafood, sustainability-positioned online segment.

Regional players

• Citarella: Long-standing NYC specialty seafood market with retail locations and online ordering; competes in the premium fresh-seafood retail segment but is geographically concentrated in the New York metro.

Emerging players

• Vital Choice: Online retailer of wild-caught and sustainably-sourced seafood shipped nationwide; intersects Harbor Fish's online seafood customer but focuses more on wild/sustainable specialty rather than live lobster.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZcJauOnTnU5eOJHLNihd3A
• Facebookfacebook.com/harborfishmarket
• Instagraminstagram.com/harborfishmarket
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harbor-fish-market

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Harbor Fish Market