The Massachusetts commercial fishing industry thrives on sustainable practices and high-quality produce. In this sector, various local companies specialize in procuring a broad range of seafood. The operations at these establishments encapsulate every phase of the journey, from the ocean to the plate. They strictly adhere to responsible fishing methods that back the long-term viability of marine life. Furthermore, the future of this industry leans towards an eco-friendlier path with an increased emphasis on traceability. Operating from areas like the historic Boston Fish Pier, these enterprises provide seafood that is reputable enough to meet stringent quality control certifications.


Top 23 commercial fishing companies in Massachusetts

1. Blue Harvest Fisheries

Blue Harvest Fisheries is a seafood company committed to providing high-quality and transparent products. They offer traceable seafood sourced from MSC-certified groundfish. With a certified SQF Level 3 plant and a USDC Grade A rating, they ensure the future of seafood.


2. Eastern Fisheries Inc.

Eastern Fisheries, Inc. is a global seafood company that aims to provide the highest quality seafood to markets worldwide. They harvest and import seafood from sustainable sources globally, ensuring best management practices. With a focus on sustainability and health benefits, Eastern Fisheries offers a range of lean, low-fat seafood options. Their vertically integrated business approach provides traceability, quality control, cost control, and consistent availability, making them a reliable supplier for top retailers, chefs, food service buyers, and wholesalers.


3. Red's Best

  • Website: redsbest.com
  • Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • Founded: 2008
  • Headcount: 51-200
  • Latest funding type: Series Unknown
  • LinkedIn

Red's Best is a seafood company headquartered on the historic Boston Fish Pier. They were founded in 2008 and serve fishermen from local coastal communities. Red's Best aggregates catches and uses proprietary technology to connect small boats, creating a large market presence. They sustain the livelihoods of American fishermen while ensuring sustainable fisheries. Red's Best connects customers to fishermen and provides the story behind every catch.


4. International Marine Industry

  • Website: imifish.com
  • Headquarters: Rowley, Massachusetts, United States
  • Founded: 1977
  • Headcount: 51-200
  • LinkedIn

International Marine Industries, Inc. is a leading provider of bait and fish products, offering a wide range of products and programs to commercial fishing boats and operations around the world.


5. Atlantic Red Crab CO LLC

The Atlantic Red Crab Co. is a vertically-integrated seafood company that specializes in wild-harvested Atlantic deep-sea red crab. They are dedicated to providing a superior product and setting the standard for sustainable fishing.


6. Athearn Marine Agency Inc

Athearn Marine is a commercial fishing vessel agency that specializes in selling fishing vessels, permits, and scallop quota. They offer professional fishing permit appraisal services, providing independent third-party valuations. Their comprehensive appraisal reports include a clear and concise review of the quota allocation and management system that governs United States fisheries, as well as the resource status and market outlook for the relevant species.


7. New Bedford Port Authority

The Port of New Bedford is a deep-water commercial port with state of the art infrastructure and hundreds of shoreside services that fully support marine industrial businesses. It is a global seafood hub and a historic and cultural tourist destination.


8. A.I.S. Inc.

  • Website: aisobservers.com
  • Headquarters: North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States
  • Founded: 1988
  • Headcount: 201-500
  • LinkedIn

AIS Observers is a company providing services in mitigation and monitoring, geophysical and geotechnical surveys, pile driving, cable laying, and dredging inspection. They offer research projects and training programs for protected species observers and fisheries monitoring. With multiple office locations, they serve clients in various industries.


9. Newport Fishery Inc.

Newport Fishermen's Wives (NFW) is a non-profit association of fishermen's wives, mothers, daughters, sisters and friends, supporting a strong sense of community; helping to aid and assist fishing families, relatives and dependants of commercial fishermen in times of tragedy. NFW does this through donations, and fundraising efforts like sales of their merchandise, seafood promotion and education, and supporting safety efforts. NFW assists based on the family's immediate needs. Most often it's getting a small check into their hands quickly from the NFW Fishing Family Relief Fund. This fund was set up in the 1990s to help with basic needs like diapers, formula, gas, groceries, rent, etc. The fisherman's death often occurs at the beginning of a season or fishing trip, before any fish has been landed or delivered, consequently, no paycheck is coming. Sometimes, if the family is willing, it means managing a bank account for tax-deductible donations and rallying the community to donate in memory of the lost fisherman. Families often have to navigate the system to obtain a death certificate which has been known to be difficult if they are lost at sea. Others, who had the foresight and prudence to obtain life insurance for their family, may have to wait a few weeks, or longer for that to become available based on a death certificate. In the early 2000s, the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission (ODCC) approached NFW about managing an account to help Oregon Dungeness crab fishing families when a loss at sea occurs. NFW agreed, and ODCC held a large fundraiser to start the Oregon Crabber's Relief Fund. Regrettably, there has been a need to use the account nearly every year since. The Commission continues to work with NFW.


10. Fishing Partnership Support Services

Fishing Partnership is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health, safety, and economic security of commercial fishermen and their families. They provide critical support services and programs to over 20,000 fishing families in New England. With offices in Gloucester, New Bedford, Plymouth, and Chatham, Fishing Partnership offers health and wellness, safety at sea, and economic security support services.


11. Coonamessett Farm Foundation Inc

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation is a non-profit corporation that conducts scientific research to support sustainable fishing, farming, aquaculture, and renewable energy. They specialize in conducting underwater surveys, data analysis, and promoting environmental conservation.


12. EnBW North America (acquired by TotalEnergies)

  • Website: enbw.us
  • Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • Founded: 2018
  • Headcount: 11-50
  • LinkedIn

EnBW North America is more than a clean energy company. We are a partner, committed to working together to solve unique energy challenges. We are focused on delivering lasting clean energy solutions that will help individuals, businesses, and governments achieve shared climate goals to improve public health and economic opportunity. We do this through collaboration and innovation, designing and building a better energy future for us all. We’re on a mission to ensure our clean energy solutions and business operations work toward greater public health and economic opportunity for all. Our parent company has a history of imagining and building a better energy future to meet local and national clean energy challenges – we bring that same drive and creativity to meet the unique needs of the US. From floating offshore wind technology to battery storage, we are innovating our way to a smarter, more inclusive renewable energy industry. Currently we’re advancing offshore wind projects on both coasts of the US to power communities with clean, reliable energy.


13. Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance

Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance is a membership-based organization that supports the fishing community. They provide resources, outreach, and advocacy to promote sustainable fishing practices and economic development in the region.


14. FleetLink

  • Website: fleetlink.net
  • Headquarters: Watertown, Massachusetts, United States
  • Headcount: 1-10

Since 2007, FleetLink has been supported by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) data and information management office. In particular, WHOI staff members have assisted in the software development necessary for conversion to Iridium data transmission, and are serving FleetLink data. The WHOI's R/V Tioga is a participating vessel. Clearwater Instruments, Inc. (Watertown, MA) provides software and hardware development and production of the systems as well as production of deployable software (i.e., CD-based executables) and conversion of the data telemetry carrier to the Iridium network. Other FleetLink partners are the University of New Hampshire, which operates the R/V Gulf Challenger, and the University of Connecticut, which operates the R/V Connecticut.


15. Georges Bank Cod Hook and Fixed Gear Sectors

  • Website: ccchfa.org
  • Headquarters: North Chatham, Massachusetts, United States
  • Headcount: 1-10
  • LinkedIn

Sustainable Fishing Harvesting Cooperatives


16. Hercules Slr Us INC

Hercules SLR (US) Inc. specializes in safety training, marine rigging, lifting and rigging solutions, survival gear, and equipment inspection to ensure safety and efficiency for its customers.


17. Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership

  • Website: mass-fish.org
  • Headquarters: New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
  • Headcount: 1-10

Since 1996, the Massachusetts Fishermen's Partnership (MFP) has been promoting and protecting community interests throughout the state and region. Representing 17 commercial fishing associations from all gear and geographic sectors of the Massachusetts fishing industry, the MFP was created to promote the common interests and economic viability of commercial fishermen and fishing families. To do so, the MFP offers access to sliding-scale health care for fishermen and their families, promotes collaborative research between fishermen and scientists to address some of the most pressing issues facing the fishing industry today, and maintains a vigorous presence in fishing policy advocacy.


18. New Bedford Ocean Cluster

New Bedford Ocean Cluster is a non-profit organization that focuses on four industries which reflect the blue economy in New Bedford, namely aquaculture, commercial fishing, processing, and offshore renewables initiative.


19. Schooner Adventure

Schooner Adventure is a historic vessel that seeks to preserve and educate on the rich maritime history of Gloucester, MA. The company offers public sails, charters, and educational programs for visitors and schools.


20. Center for Sustainable Fisheries INC

Promote greater scientific and socio-economic understanding of our nation's fisheries and our fishing industry The Center for Sustainable Fisheries (CSF) is a science based non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of our living resources and the economic development of our fishing communities.


21. Northeast Seafood Coalition

The Northeast Seafood Coalition (NSC or Coalition) is a non-profit 501(c)(6) membership organization that represents commercial fishing businesses. NSC members are small, independent, entrepreneurial businesses that fish for – and support fishing for – cod, haddock, flounders, and other groundfish species along the northeast coast. NSC’s fishing business members fish from small and large ports all along the northeast coast. They fish small, medium, and large vessels, and they utilize, among them, all groundfish gear types (trawl, longline, gillnet, and others). The number of fishing business members in NSC is approximately 255. NSC’s mission is to work for the long term health of fishery resources, fishing communities, and the fishing industry throughout the northeast. Since 2002, NSC has worked in the policy process in efforts to help develop rules to rebuild the northeast groundfish fishery. NSC works for rules that embody real solutions to complex fishery problems.


22. Fish Bounty Hunter

Bounty Hunter Charters is a charter fishing company that operates in Massachusetts and Rhode Island waters. They offer private and limited load open boat charters for up to 47 passengers with modern, comfortable vessels, expert crews, and top-of-the-line tackle and bait. Trips are inclusive of rod rentals, tackle, fish bags, etc. They specialize in light tackle fishing for Sea Bass, Tautog (Black Fish), and SCUP (Porgys).


23. M&a;B Sea Products

  • Website: freshseascallops.com
  • Headquarters: New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
  • Headcount: 11-50

FreshSeaScallops.com is a website that offers fresh and sustainable scallops from M&B Sea Products Inc. located in New Bedford, MA.


Want to find more commercial fishing companies?


If you want to find more companies that provide high-quality, traceable, and sustainably sourced seafood you can do so with Inven. This list was built with Inven and there are hundreds of companies like these globally.


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...and a lot more!