Showcasing UK seafood on the world stage

What was the industry challenge? 

After a prolonged period of limited face-to-face engagement and wider trade and travel disruption, UK seafood businesses needed to rebuild international relationships, restore market confidence and strengthen export resilience. 

Seafood Expo Global is the world’s largest seafood trade event, bringing together seafood companies, buyers and suppliers from across the world. For UK businesses, it provides an important opportunity to meet existing customers, build new contacts and showcase products to an international audience.  

While Wales and Scotland already had established national pavilions at Seafood Expo Global, there was also a need to create a stronger pan-UK presence. This would help ensure seafood businesses from England and Northern Ireland were represented alongside those from Scotland and Wales, with a shared platform to promote the quality, variety and value of UK seafood. 

How did Seafish and its partners respond? 

We worked with Defra, the Department for Business and Trade and the GREAT team to deliver a collaborative UK seafood pavilion at Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona. 

First launched in 2022, the pavilion provided UK seafood companies with a place to showcase products, conduct business, make global connections and present a pan-UK narrative under the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland brand.  

The approach was designed to make participation as straightforward as possible for businesses, with Seafish and partners managing much of the planning and preparation centrally. The package included dedicated exhibition space, access to shared meeting and hospitality facilities, a prominent exhibition location, on-site support and a live demonstration kitchen where UK fish and shellfish could be prepared and served to buyers and visitors.  

What was the impact? 

UK businesses exhibiting on the UK pavilion reported more than £14 million in trade wins resulting from their presence at the 2025 Global Seafood Expo. The success of the UK Pavilion model has led to its annual replication at Seafood Expo Global, with Seafish delivering the pavilion for the fifth consecutive year in 2026.  

Over this period, the pavilion has provided a high-profile international platform for UK seafood businesses, helping exhibitors meet customers, build new relationships and raise the profile of UK fish and shellfish in global markets. 

At the 2025 event, more than 1,850 samples of UK seafood were served to visitors, with products including langoustine, mackerel, monkfish, Atlantic salmon, whelks, brown crab and lobster showcased through the live kitchen.