“During Lent, we see 25 percent to 40 percent increases in our weekly unit volumes,” Charles St. Clair, chief marketing officer at Long John Silver’s (LJS), told SeafoodSource. Plus, the consumer awareness that LJS generates from its Lent promotions help boost the chain’s sales throughout the year, St. Clair said.
Many years during Lent, LJS simply highlights seafood products that it already carries. However, this year, the restaurant operator is looking to grow sales further with a limited-time offer of Norway Lobster Bites. Lobster Bites have not been featured on LJS’s menu since 2009, when the company featured Langostino Lobster Bites.
“We didn’t have enough supply to keep it on the menu. However, there is an adequate supply of Norway lobster, a wild product caught off the coast of Ireland. It is heavily used in restaurants in Europe, but not a lot in the U.S.,” St. Clair said.
Meanwhile, a non-seafood restaurant chain, Tropical Smoothie Café, began offering Fish Mojo Tacos with grilled tilapia on 24 February, accompanied by its first national TV ad. As a result, restaurant chain executives expect the limited-time offer to produce more sales than last year, when it launched Fish Tropical Tacos, also using grilled tilapia.
“We experienced a 16 percent increase in [overall] food sales versus the prior year,” Mike Rotondo, CEO of Tropical Smoothie Café, told SeafoodSource. “We saw tacos as an opportunity to satisfy consumer demand for great-tasting, better-for-you food choices during a time of year when people were thinking about eating better due to New Year’s resolutions.”
Taco John’s also brought back its Fish Tacos for a limited time, while Del Taco is featuring a Crispy Shrimp Taco and Crispy Shrimp Burrito for Lent. The sandwich chains are getting on board Lent promotions too: Subway is offering a Spicy Tuna sub in select markets and Quiznos is carrying a Lobster & Seafood Salad Sub and a Lobster & Seafood Salad.
Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s brought back their Charbroiled Atlantic Cod Fish Sandwich for a limited time, and Arby’s is featuring its Reel Big Fillet Sandwich during Lent. Smartly, Arby’s partnered with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) to promote its wild-caught Alaska Pollock sandwich. Arby’s is featuring the ASMI logo in TV advertising, print collateral/direct mail and in-store merchandising materials for Reel Big Fillet.
Meanwhile, King & Prince Seafood is offering a rebate for restaurant operators who buy the supplier’s foodservice products during Lent. “We see a unique chance for operators to turn occasional seafood diners into long-term seafood lovers,” said Mike Tigani, director of marketing at King & Prince Seafood.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Tilapia is easy to farm and provides high economic and nutritional value, making it a sought-after export commodity in many countries.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports in the first 10 months of 2025 recorded significant progress, reaching more than USD 9.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year. This result reflects the sector’s persistent efforts amid a highly volatile market, especially policy shocks from the US Although signs of slowdown emerged in the third quarter due to countervailing taxes, key product groups still maintained strong momentum and created a foundation for full-year exports to reach USD 11 billion.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s agreement with the United States on a framework for reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade—reached during the 2025 ASEAN Summit in Malaysia—has generated strong optimism for Vietnamese exports, including tuna. Numerous positive points in the joint statement have raised high expectations for Vietnamese export goods, but turning these expectations into tangible benefits remains a long and challenging journey.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) At the conference on “Linking the Production and Consumption Chain of Ca Mau Crab 2025,” Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee Lê Văn Sử posed a central question: how to shift the province’s crab exports toward official trade channels, instead of relying heavily on small-scale border trade with China as currently practiced.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The whitefish market in Japan is showing a clear divergence among supplying countries, in which Vietnam continues to affirm its role as a stable and high-potential exporter. Vietnam currently ranks third after the US and Russia in whitefish export value to Japan. Thanks to tariff incentives and the ability to meet Japan’s strict standards, Vietnamese pangasius continues to record a stable and positive growth trend.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The People's Committee of Ca Mau Province has just issued a plan to expand the super-intensive, low-water-exchange, biosecure white-leg shrimp farming model (RAS-IMTA) for whiteleg shrimp farming to a scale of 1,500 hectares, aiming to develop high-tech, sustainable and environmentally friendly shrimp farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Sa Giang Import-Export Joint Stock Company (HNX: SGC) plans to issue over 7.1 million shares to raise nearly 465 Billion VND for Hoan Ngoc M&A Deal.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) According to Rabobank, global tilapia production is forecast to exceed 7 million tons in 2025, driven by a strong recovery in major producing countries including China, Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Among them, Vietnam is emerging as a potential tilapia supplier in the global supply chain, capitalizing on market fluctuations to expand production and exports.
By the end of Q3/2025, Vietnam’s seafood industry recorded a clear recovery as a series of leading companies reported strong profits — some even achieving the highest results in their history. After several quarters struggling with high costs and weakened demand, the latest business results indicate a robust comeback across the industry.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On November 12 in Ho Chi Minh City, the Embassy of the Netherlands, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, organized the Vietnam–Netherlands Business Forum under the theme “Shaping the future of sustainable aquaculture in the Mekong Delta.”
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