A century of great taste, quality and variety.

Welcome
About the Mermaid
Play our jingle
With nearly a century of service, Chicken of the Sea is one of the oldest seafood companies in the United States. While our company has changed over the years, our products, marketed under the Chicken of the Sea® trademark and the Mermaid logo since 1952, have always been trusted for great taste and high quality.

2006 - Meeting consumers’ desires for convenient and portion-controlled meals and snacks, Chicken of the Sea introduced 2.8-ounce, no-draining required “peel and eat” cups in chunk light tuna, chunk white tuna and salmon. Chicken of the Sea also introduced restaurant-quality seafood steaks in pouches — ahi tuna steaks in grilled herb marinade and in teriyaki sauce, and salmon steaks in honey BBQ glaze, Mandarin orange and roasted garlic marinade varieties.

2005 - The seafood company announces Chicken of the Sea Smoked Pacific Salmon, a gourmet, real-wood-smoked filet in a convenient, ready-to-eat 3-ounce foil pouch available to consumers in March.  What's more, consumers found the Mermaid in the frozen food aisle in select markets, as Chicken of the Sea introduced a variety of frozen shrimp.

2004 - Chicken of the Sea put the chunk back into chunk light tuna with a nationwide introduction of its chunkier chunk light, found in grocery stores with a bright yellow "Now Chunkier" proclamation affixed to the label. Later in the year, the company introduced consumers to the first shellfish in foil pouches in oyster, crab, imitation crab, shrimp and clam varieties.

2003 - A busy year for Chicken of the Sea, the company introduced a chunkier chunk light tuna in a successful East Coast test market, a redesigned Mermaid and package labels, 3-ounce tuna and salmon pouches and Tuna Salad Kit Singles. Also this year, Chicken of the Sea's parent company, Thai Union International purchased Empress International, a company well-known for its frozen shrimp line. This new partnership meant consumers would soon see Chicken of the Sea products in a grocery freezer near you.

2002 - Becoming the first in the industry to do so, Chicken of the Sea introduced Boneless & Skinless Salmon in 7-ounce pouches.

Chicken of the Sea celebrated the 50th anniversary of its brand icon, the Mermaid, with a 50th Mermaid Anniversary Recipe Contest.

2001 - Chicken of the Sea introduced the Tuna Salad Kit, an innovative convenient product that featured ingredients to make fresh tuna salad for a family of four.

2000 - Tri-Marine International and Edmund Gann sold their 50 percent interest in Chicken of the Sea to Thai Union International, Inc., making Thai Union the sole owner of the company. Also in 2000, Chicken of the Sea purchased CI Seafoods, Inc., a company that imports, sells and distributes canned seafood under its own brands, including Jonah, Pacific Pearl and Perla Pacifica, as well as a variety of private labels.

1997 - Van Camp Seafood Co., Inc. was purchased by Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC. The new ownership was comprised of:
  • Thai Union International Inc., the second largest tuna canning company in the world
  • Tri-Marine International Inc., the leading raw tuna trading company
  • Mr. Edmund Gann, one of the world's most respected tuna boat owner/operators

1996 - Chicken of the Sea is the first seafood brand to voluntarily incorporate the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) program, designed to protect consumers from foodborne illness and ensure food safety - into its canned tuna processing facility.

1988 - Ralston sold its Van Camp division to P.T. Mantrust, an Indonesian corporation. Due to high interest rates in Indonesia and its overly leveraged structure, P.T. Mantrust experienced cash flow difficulties, and the primary creditor, The Prudential Life Insurance Company of America, became the majority owner.

1963 - Van Camp was purchased by Ralston Purina, a Missouri-based producer of processed foods, pet food and livestock and poultry feeds.

1960's - The Chicken of the Sea jingle, "Ask any Mermaid You Happen to See... What's the Best Tuna? Chicken of the Sea," was developed and continues to be used in today's advertising.

1956 - The company was operating canneries in San Diego and Terminal Island, California, American Samoa (in the South Pacific) and Ponce, Puerto Rico.

1952 - The Mermaid first began appearing on labels of Chicken of the Sea products.

1930's - Van Camp acquired its first two fishing vessels.

1917 - Van Camp Seafood Company became the first cannery to commercially pack yellowfin tuna.

1914 - Frank Van Camp and his son, Gilbert, bought the California Tuna Canning Company to can albacore.

2008 © Chicken of the Sea International.