October marks National Seafood Month in the U.S., and seafood suppliers, restaurants, and the National Seafood Association (NSA) are celebrating in novel ways.
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.A. Just Shrimp is set to launch Shrimpmas, marking a new food holiday celebrated on 25 October “in honor of Santa’s favorite seafood,” the company said in a release.
Introduced during Just Shrimp’s first National Seafood Month in operation, Shrimpmas gives the tasty crustacean a celebration of its own exactly two months before Christmas, according to the firm.
“The holiday puts a playful spin on shrimp’s longtime place at appetizer tables and family gatherings, inviting seafood lovers to start a fun, low-stress tradition around America’s favorite seafood,” the company said.
Shrimpmas will kick off with a holiday designation from National Today – a platform that helps establish and promote unique U.S. national holidays – followed by the launch of JustShrimpmas.com.
Throughout the month, Just Shrimp is also sharing festive social media content, collaborating with TikTok and Instagram creators, and giving shrimp enthusiasts opportunities to win gift cards to retail chain Harris Teeter, which debuted Just Shrimp’s first product, Shrimp Nuggets, in hundreds of its stores earlier this year.
“When you look at the frozen seafood set, most of the innovation has been around flavors and coatings,” Just Shrimp Founder Lee Edmondson said before the launch. “We wanted to give retailers a format that’s easy for shoppers to recognize and purchase while taking a more straightforward approach to ingredients and sourcing.”
At Harris Teeter, Just Shrimp Nuggets will be featured in a buy-one-get-one-free promotion from 14 to 27 October.
Elsewhere, restaurants touting unique seafood offerings during National Seafood Month include Saco, Maine, U.S.A.-based Luke’s Lobster, which is highlighting its responsible sourcing during the month, such as the fact it buys directly from fishermen and fishing co-ops and provides transparent sourcing details at all of its shacks.
In addition to promoting its sourcing practices, the company is promoting its classic menu, which includes lobster, shrimp, and crab rolls, as well as the Seafood Flight combo, which lets diners sample all three in one meal via three half rolls of lobster, crab, and shrimp served on toasted, buttered half buns with mayonnaise, lemon butter, and Luke's Secret Seasoning, with a side of kettle chips.
Meanwhile, the NSA is celebrating its seventh annual National Pescatarian Month in October, which the organization established to complement National Seafood Month, by providing recipes, nutritional information, and social content via its Dish on Fish blog and e-cookbook.
“Dish on Fish helps consumers overcome some of the most common perceived barriers to eating seafood, including cost and a lack of confidence preparing fish and shellfish at home,” NSA said in a release.
NSA Vice President of External Affairs and Councils Brandon Phillips added that the month offers the organization a solid platform to emphasize again that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans now recommend three servings of seafood per week, up from previous guidance of at least two weekly servings, creating an opportunity for seafood companies, retailers, foodservice operators, and suppliers to nudge consumers toward seafood as an everyday protein choice that can be affordable, convenient, versatile, and easy to prepare.
“National Pescatarian Month has grown into an industry-wide platform for showing consumers just how naturally seafood can fit into the way they want to eat today,” Phillips said. “The new guidelines give our industry an important opportunity to build on that momentum and help make eating seafood three times a week feel achievable.”
The new guidelines aren’t the only official advice emphasizing seafood’s nutritional bona fides.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2026 National Nutrition Report found more than half of the U.S. population has an undesirably low omega-3 index, with 98 percent of Americans having levels below the optimal range.
“Americans are paying close attention to protein, but the conversation shouldn’t be only about how much protein we eat. It should also be about what comes along with it,” said Rima Kleiner, a registered dietitian-nutritionist who spearheaded Dish on Fish. “Seafood provides high-quality protein along with nutrients that can be harder to get elsewhere in the diet, particularly EPA and DHA omega-3s.”
