Where are the sardines? The humble little fish, once a plentiful, budget-friendly staple in your grandpa’s pantry, can sometimes be hard to find.Sardines have become so celebrated by wellness influencers on TikTok, demand has skyrocketed, causing the oily nutritional powerhouses to go missing from grocery shelves.Becca Millstein, the CEO and co-founder of Fishwife, a hip Los Angeles-based tinned seafood company that launched in 2020, said the sardine supply chain is “tight” for multiple reasons.Warmer ocean temperatures in the mid-Atlantic are causing sardines to “migrate to deeper, cooler waters that are outside the typical range of commercial fishing nets,” Millstein said via email.Ocean temperatures also contribute to fluctuations in the growth of sardines’ favorite food source: phytoplankton.
The fish aren’t growing as big as they should and reproduction rates are down, a 2025 study by marine researchers at the University of Barcelona found.A decline in catches in Morocco, the world’s leading exporter of canned sardines, eventually led the country to ban exports early this year to prioritize its domestic supply, according to Reuters.The ban cut off the supply to canneries in Spain and Portugal, which, along with Morocco, manufacture many canned sardines sold in the United States.“Because the global market relies heavily on those specific exports, the industry felt the impact very quickly,” said Millstein.The rise of #sardinemaxxingTikTok wellness influencers began touting sardines as a cheap, nutrient-dense, shelf-stable food during the early days of the Covid pandemic.
Then Gen Zers and millennials embraced the unglamorous pantry staple of our grandparents with viral #sardinegirldinner videos, leading up to this year’s #sardinemaxxing trend.No wonder tinned sardine lovers are griping on Reddit about their favorite brands vanishing from grocers’ shelves.Some report shelling out more money than usual upon discovering the brands back in ...