Our Story

Jeffrey's Seafood was originally founded by Jeffrey Aiken to take advantage of new opportunities in the seafood industry. Jeff and his then partners sought the best seafood prices by packing and selling their hard earned catch at the docks in Hatteras and delivering it straight to major markets. With a lot of hard work and the purchase of a refrigerated Mercedes truck in 1985, Jeffrey's Seafood wholesale business was born.

Jeff or one of his colleagues would drive to Hampton, Virginia where ice was blown into the back of the Mercedes. They would then travel back south across state lines to Hatteras Village, North Carolina, where they would pack their fresh catch using the ice picked up in Hampton. Finally, they would return to Virginia to source the highest dollar for their freshly packed bounty.

Thirty-five years later, Jeffrey's Seafood is still supporting local fishermen with two locations along the waterfront in Hatteras Village and partnerships in Ocracoke Village.

Commercial fishing has always been in Jeff Aiken's blood. Born into a large, hardworking family in Hampton Virginia, Jeff felt called to seize an opportunity in his teenage years to start fishing out of Sebastian Inlet Florida with a seasoned "old timer." He vividly recalls that day in the summer of 1969. After hook and lining 1800lbs of king mackerel, he remembers exclaiming "...You're gonna pay me to do THIS?"

Instantly, he couldn't get enough, noting "that hook is still buried in my groin today." A dear friend back in Virginia then taught him to twist wire for King Mackerel hooks and in three days time, they caught nearly 3,000lbs of King Mackerel three days in a row. With his new found love of fishing, he relocated to Hatteras Village in 1981.

Some years later, while exploring his family's roots, Jeff traced his heritage back to neighboring Ocracoke Island where his sixth Great Grandfather had been a local resident during Blackbeard's era. Hence the phrase "..it's in my blood." After years of working the waterfront and becoming a commercial fishing wholesaler, he now leads his son and their family in their dreams of expanding Jeffrey's Seafood and providing sustainably sourced, wild caught NC seafood direct to consumers.

Jeffrey's Seafood is now operated by multiple generations of the Aiken family who are grateful to support the hard working commercial fishing families of the Outer Banks. Jeff continues to lead his family business with the hope to preserve, enhance, and sustain the working waterfront in Hatteras, Ocracoke, and throughout coastal North Carolina.

Jeffrey's Seafood was featured on National Geographic's series Gathering Storm in the first episode, Hurricane Dorian.

The full episode can be streamed on YouTube:
Hurricane Dorian (Full Episode) | Gathering Storm

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