Terminal Island’s longest-operating cannery, the Chicken of the Sea Cannery was instrumental in building Los Angeles’ highly successful tuna canning industry.

Known as Van Camp Seafood Company from 1914 through 1997, the company helped transform the industry. Owner Frank Van Camp and his son Gilbert introduced innovations, such as refrigerated fishing boats, that remained industry standards for decades.

The company is credited with introducing canned tuna on a mass scale to the American consumer, particularly the housewife, as an affordable substitute for chicken. It was widely recognized for its Chicken of the Sea brand and the iconic Mermaid logo introduced in 1952. The company was officially renamed Chicken of the Sea in 1997.

This facility was the last operational cannery at the Port of Los Angeles and the last full-scale tuna canning plant in the United States.

The complex of cannery buildings (some of which are historic) was occupied by several fish canning and processing companies between 1912 and 2001. The remaining intact buildings of Van Camp/Chicken of the Sea are excellent representatives of the company that fostered a major U.S. industry and made canned tuna a household staple.