The height of the COVID pandemic brought with it a a surge of growth in seafood sales at retail giants such as Walmart and others. But now that growth is coming to a standstill as more consumers have less purchasing power.

"Right now with inflation and uncertainty in the marketplace, customers are trading down within seafood," John Steinmetz, a senior buyer in fresh seafood for Walmart, told attendees Wednesday at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute's (ASMI) All Hands on Deck annual meeting.