Global Crustaceans Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Competition, Opportunity, and Forecast, By Region, By Company 2021-2031F 2021-2031F

Key Insights	Details
Forecast Period	2026 - 2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 78.11 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	5.83%
Fastest Growing Segment	South America
Largest Market	Asia-Pacific
Market Size (2031)	USD 109.74 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Crustaceans Market is expected to grow from USD 78.11 Billion in 2025 to USD 109.74 Billion by 2031 at a 5.83% CAGR. The global crustaceans market encompasses a diverse array of aquatic arthropods including shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, prized for their culinary versatility and nutritional value. Market expansion is fundamentally supported by growing global seafood consumption, increasing disposable incomes in emerging economies, and the sustained growth of aquaculture practices. According to FAO GLOBEFISH Highlights, in 2025, major farmed shrimp production volumes included 2.56 million tonnes from China, 1.7 million tonnes from Ecuador, and 1.05 million tonnes from India, underscoring aquaculture's contribution to the market.

A significant challenge impeding further market growth is the vulnerability of supply to environmental shifts and disease outbreaks, alongside fluctuating capture quotas. Global crab markets, for instance, experienced tightness in 2025 due to limited capture-based supply failing to meet consistent demand.

Key Market Drivers

Rising Demand for Nutrient-Rich Crustaceans
Rising consumer demand for nutrient-rich protein sources is a primary driver fueling the global crustaceans market. Consumers increasingly seek healthier dietary options, recognizing crustaceans like shrimp and crabs as lean protein sources packed with essential nutrients. This trend is broadly supported by the growing importance of aquatic foods in global diets. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' SOFIA 2026 report, published in June 2026, aquatic animal foods are increasingly central to diets, with 89 percent of production going to human consumption and supplying at least one-fifth of the animal protein intake of 3.1 billion people. This highlights the significant role that seafood, including crustaceans, plays in meeting global nutritional needs and driving market growth.

Growing Preference for Sustainable and Traceable Seafood
Concurrently, a growing consumer preference for sustainable and traceable seafood significantly influences market dynamics. Buyers are becoming more conscious of environmental impact and ethical sourcing, actively seeking products certified for responsible practices. This shift pushes producers to adopt sustainable aquaculture and fishing methods. According to the Marine Stewardship Council's Annual Report 2026 summary, released in January 2026, the volume of MSC labelled seafood sold globally increased by more than 10%. This indicates robust consumer and industry commitment to certified sustainable options, directly impacting sourcing decisions for crustaceans. Overall, trade in aquatic animal products climbed to $184 billion in 2024, demonstrating the market's considerable economic scale.

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Key Market Challenges

Supply instability from environmental shifts, disease outbreaks, and quotas
The global crustaceans market encounters a significant impediment to growth stemming from the vulnerability of supply to environmental shifts, disease outbreaks, and fluctuating capture quotas. Environmental pressures, including changing ocean conditions, directly impact wild crustacean populations and farming environments, while disease outbreaks can decimate farmed stock. These factors collectively create substantial supply instability, making it challenging for the market to consistently meet global demand.

Disease- and quota-driven declines in farmed and wild supply
For example, according to the Thailand Aquaculture Business Association (TABA), in 2025, Thailand's vannamei shrimp production was projected to decrease by 25-30%, reaching only 230,000-245,000 tonnes, largely due to diseases such as Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) and Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND). This considerable reduction in farmed output directly curtails market expansion potential. Similarly, fluctuating capture quotas, often implemented due to sustainability concerns or declining wild stocks, restrict the availability of wild-caught crustaceans. In Southeast Alaska, the Dungeness crab season for 2025-2026 yielded 939 tonnes, a figure notably below the five-year average of 1,633 tonnes. Such limitations across both farmed and capture-based supply channels lead to periods of market tightness and price volatility, directly impeding sustained market growth.

Key Market Trends

Rising Demand for Value-Added and Convenience Crustacean Products
A significant trend shaping the global crustaceans market is the increased demand for value-added and convenience products. Consumers are increasingly seeking prepared, easy-to-cook, and pre-portioned crustacean offerings that align with busy lifestyles and a desire for simplified meal preparation at home. This shift reflects a broader consumer preference for ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook seafood options over raw, unprocessed forms. Major industry players are adapting their product portfolios to meet this evolving consumer need, with robust performance in key segments. For instance, Thai Union Group, a leading global seafood company with significant crustacean operations, reported an 8% year-on-year sales growth in the first quarter of 2026, driven by sustained volume growth across its key categories. This indicates strong market uptake for products that offer convenience and reduced preparation time.

Advances in Aquaculture and Strategic Investment Expand Crustacean Production
Concurrently, the expansion and technological advancement in aquaculture represent another pivotal trend influencing the market. With wild-capture fisheries facing limitations and environmental pressures, aquaculture is increasingly vital for ensuring a stable and growing supply of crustaceans. Innovations in farming techniques, disease management, and sustainable practices are enhancing efficiency and mitigating risks within the aquaculture sector. These technological strides are crucial for expanding production capacities and ensuring consistent availability to meet global demand. Supporting this trend, the Global Seafood Alliance, in June 2026, reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration committed $13.5 million to a new national aquaculture initiative, specifically aimed at expanding domestic seafood production through research, technology development, and industry partnerships. Such investments are driving further growth and resilience in crustacean aquaculture.

Segmental Insights

South America's Aquaculture Advancements and International-Quality Standards Drive Crustaceans Market Growth.
The global crustaceans market shows a significant segmental insight with South America demonstrating particularly rapid growth. This accelerated expansion is primarily driven by substantial advancements in aquaculture across the region, highlighted by Ecuador's established white-shrimp monoculture and Brazil's burgeoning vannamei farms. Producers have notably enhanced production systems and implemented improved biosecurity measures, which collectively boost output and export capabilities. Furthermore, the segment's growth is fueled by its strategic focus on meeting demanding quality and processing standards for international markets, including North America, Europe, and Japan, alongside a rising regional preference for convenient and value-added seafood products. The active role of the private sector in developing these aquaculture operations further underpins this robust market progression.

Regional Insights

APAC Leads the Global Crustaceans Market Driven by Aquaculture and Domestic Demand
Asia-Pacific stands as the unequivocal leader in the global crustaceans market, primarily driven by its extensive aquaculture operations and substantial domestic consumption. Countries such as China, India, and Indonesia contribute significantly to global crustacean production, notably in shrimp aquaculture, benefiting from favorable climatic conditions and efficient labor. This robust production capacity is complemented by escalating regional demand, fueled by rising urbanization, increasing disposable incomes, and a strong cultural preference for seafood among a growing health-conscious population. Furthermore, governmental initiatives promoting aquaculture development and technological advancements in processing reinforce the region's market dominance and export capabilities.

Recent Developments

• In September 2025, Danish biotech company Reduced and Royal Greenland, a prominent global seafood supplier, announced a partnership to develop valuable taste solutions from prawn side streams. This collaboration aimed to transform discarded prawn shells and heads, which constitute nearly half of the cold-water prawn biomass, into a natural prawn concentrate with significant flavor and application potential. Reduced utilized its proprietary fermentation-based platform, while Royal Greenland provided scale, supply chain credibility, and market access. This initiative exemplifies circular processing, converting low-value by-products into high-value ingredients, thereby contributing to more resource-efficient seafood production within the global crustaceans market.
• In January 2025, a significant breakthrough was announced in the development of the world's first onshore lobster farming industry. An Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub, in collaboration with Ornatas, achieved critical advancements for sustainable tropical rock lobster aquaculture. Key innovations included the formulation of a novel aquafeed, specifically designed to address the unique feeding behavior of lobsters, which often do not immediately consume pellets. Additionally, the research progressed in combating cannibalism among lobsters during their vulnerable molting stages through innovative tank systems. These developments aim to underpin the commercial production of premium lobsters on land using sustainable practices, establishing a new sector within the global crustaceans market.
• In December 2024, Ace Aquatec, in partnership with the Shrimp Welfare Project, introduced a new portable in-water stunning system for shrimp. This innovative A-HSU® for Shrimp is a self-contained, transportable unit designed to humanely stun crustaceans prior to processing. Developed through close consultation with the shrimp farming industry, the system can be utilized both in factories and pond-side. This product launch addresses the industry's need for a versatile, easy-to-deploy solution that enhances sustainability and efficiency in harvesting, while also improving the quality and logistics for shrimp producers within the global crustaceans market.
• In October 2024, Watershed AC (formerly Colors Farm Ltd.), a specialist in sustainable aquaculture and biotech, and computational biology company Evogene Ltd., along with Ben-Gurion University, received a second-year grant approval from the Israel Innovation Authority. This continued collaboration focused on advancing CRISPR technology for crustaceans. The research specifically targeted giant freshwater prawn, white leg shrimp, and red swamp crayfish, aiming to enhance crucial traits such as growth rate, disease resistance, and environmental adaptation. This ongoing initiative provides sustainable solutions to existing limitations in gene editing for non-model organisms, contributing vital progress to the global crustaceans market.

Key Market Players

• Charoen Pokphand Foods
• Maruha Nichiro
• Nippon Suisan Kaisha
• Food Animal Initiative (FAI)
• Lisaqua
• eFishery
• Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)
• Spring Genetics
• Ecuadorian exporters
• India's seafood exporters

By Region

North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Crustaceans Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Crustaceans Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE