National Pescatarian Month – Oct. 1, 2026

Expected National Pescatarian Month Deals

Throughout National Pescatarian Month, expect a focus on education and awareness rather than traditional sales. Organizations like the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) will likely partner with retailers such as Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s to highlight sustainable seafood options and provide recipe inspiration. Look for special features on seafood counters, potentially with discounts on responsibly sourced fish and shellfish. Meal kit services like Blue Apron often introduce pescatarian-friendly menus. Environmental groups such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch will emphasize sustainable choices, while restaurants may offer special pescatarian dishes. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as October approaches.

History of National Pescatarian Month

Before we dig deeper into the pescatarian lifestyle and its benefits, it might be helpful to understand where this practice comes from. The word pescatarian is a neologism combining the Italian word for fish (pesce) with the English word vegetarian. While the term may be a modern invention, the concept of pescatarianism goes back thousands of years. Among the earliest known vegetarians in written history were the Pythagoreans, who took their name from the great Greek philosopher, Pythagoras. They were believed to have subscribed to a meatless diet, but it is strongly suspected that they also ate fish, which would make them some of our first unofficial pescatarians.

Throughout the centuries, many other groups adopted a pescatarian-style diet – some by choice, others by necessity. Famously, the Benedictine monks of the Middle Ages abstained from meat but not from fish until at least the 14th century. Other religious orders over time also abstained from meat, qualifying them as pescatarians as well.

The modern vegetarian movement in the U.S. has been around since the mid-19th century. It was adopted by certain social and religious organizations and even linked to prominent abolitionists and suffragists. It was not until the early 1990s, however, that the term pescatarian would enter the discussion, coined to describe a vegetarian who also eats fish.

The full-fledged pescatarian movement subsequently caught on alongside a noted rise in the popularity of vegetarian and vegan diets. In fact, the pescatarian diet – which features fish as its main source of protein – is sometimes viewed as a plausible transition diet on one’s way to the more-limiting end of the spectrum.

Pescatarianism has flourished over the last 25 years and is now a widely accepted dietary practice that’s fed by a profusion of cookbooks, online resources, and endorsements from its followers. Numerous celebrities, including actor David Duchovny, author Margaret Atwood, and musicians Billy Corgan, Amanda Palmer and Henry Rollins, have adopted the diet. So has renowned fitness trainer Jillian Michaels.

How Businesses Can Celebrate National Pescatarian Month