The seafood industry has faced financial distress over the last two years, with producers and restaurants filing for bankruptcy protection.
The most significant company to file for bankruptcy protection was popular seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster, which filed its Chapter 11 petition on May 19, 2024.
The company said that among the financial difficulties it had dealt with was an $11 million loss as a result of its “Ultimate Endless Shrimp” promotion.
Court filings showed that 228 of the chain’s restaurants were not profitable in their current lease situations when it filed for bankruptcy.
Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in 2024
Red Lobster closed about 187 locations and emerged from bankruptcy in September 2024 with some 478 restaurants in 44 states, and about 67 more locations outside the U.S.
The loss of all of those restaurants reduced some of the demand for seafood, which wasn’t good news for seafood producers.
An iconic Maine lobster processor Cozy Harbor Seafood said it suffered the strain “of broader market forces,” TheStreet’s Daniel Kline reported, and “had to manage many financial challenges in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“In this environment, even well-established processors have struggled to manage sustained external pressures and market instability,” the company said on its website.
Cozy Harbor Seafood filed for bankruptcy
Cozy Harbor Seafood and its companies, Art’s Lobster Co., Inc., and Casco Bay Lobster, on July 2, 2025, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine.
Image source: Daniel Grill/Tetra Images
American Unagi files for bankruptcy protection
And now, distressed seafood company American Unagi Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, seeking to restructure its debts and sell its assets as a going concern.
The Waldoboro, Maine-based operator of the largest eel farm in the United States filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maine in Bangor on Sept. 29, listing $1 million to $10 million in assets and $10 million to $50 million in liabilities.
Related: 34-year-old restaurant chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
“We’ve obtained financing and the Chapter 11 process will allow us to realign our financial structure with the strong operational foundation we’ve built, giving the company the opportunity to attract new partners that strengthen our business and allow us to continue to grow the domestic eel aquaculture industry,” American Unagi founder and CEO Sara Rademaker said in a company statement as RASTECHMagazine.com reported.
Seafood company bankruptcies:
- American Unagi, Sept. 29, 2025
- Cozy Harbor Seafood, July 2, 2025
- Red Lobster, May 19, 2024
The company expects to complete its sale and restructuring through its bankruptcy case by the end of the year.
American Unagi filed a motion on Oct. 1 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking approval of bidding procedures for an auction to sell its assets, according to PacerMonitor.
More Bankruptcy:
- Beer brand and brewery files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Italian chain closed most restaurants in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Popular healthcare retail chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The debtor’s website offers retail sales of its products, including 4-ounce packages of its European Smoked Eel for $20 each, 1-pound packages of its Butterflied Eel Fillet for $35 each, and 1-pound packages of its Butterfield Eel Premium Fillets for $36 each.
American Unagi’s retail products:
- European Smoked Eel 4-ounce packages, $20.
- Butterflied Eel Fillet, 1-pound packages, $35 each.
- Butterfield Eel Premium Fillets, 1-pound packages, $36.
American Unagi also offers wholesale transactions of Unagi Kabayaki, Butterflied Eel, Smoked Eel, and Live Eel.
The debtor, which was founded in 2014, built North America’s first large-scale commercial eel farm in 2022, becoming Maine’s first recirculating aquaculture system.
Related: 55-year-old women’s fashion company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
