Kingfish Company CEO Vincent Erenst, a longtime leader in the aquaculture sector, has announced that he will retire from his post at the end of 2025.
Erenst has held leadership positions in the aquaculture sector since 1986. Before taking his position at Kingfish, he held COO positions at both Barramundi Group and Avramar; managing director positions at Mowi Canada West, Empacadora Nacional, and Stolt Sea Farm; and a chairmanship of the BC Salmon Farmers Association.
Erenst has held the role at the Kats, Netherlands-based Kingfish Company since 2023.
“[Erenst has] driven a significant expansion, establishing The Kingfish Company as the clear leader in RAS technology and sustainable yellowtail kingfish production and capturing market leadership across all major regions it serves," the firm said in a release about his departure.
Kingfish Board Chair Jeroen Scheelbeek hailed the CEO for having “been instrumental in shaping our strategy and driving our expansion.”
Erenst said that it has "been a privilege to work alongside such a talented and dedicated team."
"I am confident that the company is well-positioned for continued success," he said.
Kingfish's board has announced it has begun the search for the company’s next leader.
At Seafood Expo North America 2025, Erenst told SeafoodSource that he was focused on the challenge of introducing a species that many were unfamiliar with to the fine-dining scene.
“We [started out] selling an unknown product," Erenst said. “It’s not like [selling] salmon where you have 1,000 tons, you make three calls, and it’s gone. We have to sell box by box, find distributors, convince them it's good, and let them try [it].”
This strategy won the brand interest from top chefs, he explained, which helped garner the excitement of major investors. Kingfish investors now include Creadev International S.A.S., Auchan, ASR Nederland, Rabo Participates B.V., and Stolt-Nielsen.
Erenst told SeafoodSource at the time that though his company was still small, "we have very large investors ... behind us who all see this as a very interesting way of growing fish in a sustainable way."
"It could have a large future. They don’t know, but they’d like to be part of it,” he said.
Kingfish currently produces 4,000 tons of yellowtail kingfish yearly at its Kats facility and is in the process of expanding into the U.S. state of Maine, where it has acquired land and the local, state, and federal permits to build a facility capable of producing 8,500 metric tons yearly.
The company recently posted a record an increase in sales volumes in Q2 2025 and said that while tariff uncertainty had affected its U.S. sales in Q2, it was well-positioned to take back the market.
“These [trade] factors naturally impact the competitiveness of our exports to the U.S. market. At the same time, they reinforce the strategic rationale behind our Kingfish Maine project. Being able to produce locally in the U.S. would mitigate exposure to currency fluctuations and trade barriers, making our business case for domestic production even more compelling,” a spokesperson for the company said.
