October 31, 2014 Washington, DC A slight uptick on overall seafood consumption can be seen in the Commerce Departments latest data, used to calculate the National Fisheries Institutes (NFI) annual Top Ten list.
While there is not much movement, in terms of rankings, sixty percent of the species saw an increase in consumption.
The U.S. is a huge market for seafood, but per capita consumption is much lower here than in other developed countries, said NFI President John Connelly. This report is a good reminder that public health professionals and the government must seize momentum and re-energize efforts to promote important nutritional benefits associated with seafood.
The latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans list seafood as a food to encourage, specifically suggesting consumers swap out higher fat proteins for fish.
| 2013 | lbs. |
| Shrimp | 3.600 |
| Salmon | 2.702 |
| Tuna | 2.300 |
| Tilapia | 1.430 |
| Alaska Pollock | 1.154 |
| Pangasius | 0.771 |
| Cod | 0.605 |
| Catfish | 0.566 |
| Crab | 0.548 |
| Clams | 0.352 |
| Top 10 Total | 14.028 |
| Other Seafood | 0.472 |
| Per Capita Consumption Total | 14.5 |
The Top 10 make up almost 97% of all the seafood Americans eat. Experts say the bump in salmon may be a reflection of record runs of Alaska salmon in 2013 that contributed to canned and frozen supplies.
