Statistics shared by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) show the country’s seafood consumption dropped in 2025, continuing a decade-long downward trend.
According to statistics shared by the NSC, Norwegians ate 17.94 kilograms of seafood per person throughout 2025. That total is down 2 percent from the 18.26 kilograms per person the country saw in 2024, or a drop of 0.32 kilograms.
Over the last decade, seafood consumption has dropped steadily and is down 2.8 kilograms, or 13.5 percent, over the period. NSC said that amount is equivalent to 15 seafood meals per year per person. Based on the roughly 5.6 million residents of Norway, that’s equivalent to a drop in total consumption of 15.6 million kilograms of seafood.
The drop hasn’t been steady over the last decade, as during 2020 and 2021 – the years affected by the Covid-19 pandemic – consumption remained flat and actually increased slightly in 2021. However, in 2022, the downward trend resumed once more and has continued ever since.
By seafood type, frozen shelled shrimp was the most consumed, followed by fish cakes, fresh salmon fillets, fish gratin, and frozen salmon fillets.
“If we look at the two salmon fillets together, it means in practice that salmon fillet is Norwegians' favorite at the seafood counter,” Agnete Bell, the manager for Norway at the NSC, said in a release. “The fact that shrimp took first place in 2025 is not only because Norwegians love shrimp. It is also due to store campaigns and lower shrimp prices.”
NSC said the calculations are based on purchasing figures from distributors to grocery chains and large households in Norway.
“There are several reasons for the decline in consumption, and the causal relationship is complex,” Bell said.
Bell pointed to a number of national and international trends contributing to the decline, including a reduction in cod quotas – which has been the second most popular dinner fish in the country for “several years.”
The supply of cod has dropped drastically in the decade that seafood consumption has dropped in Norway. The quota for the Barents Sea in 2025 was recommended to be no more than 311,587 metric tons (MT), down sharply from the 885,600 MT quota it had in 2021.
“Saithe has also become more difficult to obtain. Less available fish means lower sales and higher prices,” NSC said.
The NSC also pointed to rising prices for groceries in general over the period, with each shopping cart coming in at 42 percent more expensive in 2025 than it was in 2026.
“While some food groups had a more moderate price increase during this period, other foods rose far more than average,” the NSC said. “Fish and shellfish belong to the latter category, according to figures from Statistics Norway. Fish and seafood also had a much higher price increase than competing proteins.”
According to data from Statistics Norway, seafood prices increased by 59 percent in the period from 2016 to 2025, compared to just 36 percent for meat in general.
While those seafood prices are not consistent across all species – salmon prices, for example, have remained lower – prices have overall made things more difficult for seafood sales.
"The result is that the upturn in salmon has failed to compensate for the decline in cod. In the overall picture, this still means lower seafood consumption and a higher average price for seafood," Bell said.
NSC said it is working to increase seafood consumption and that the current attitude of most Norwegians is that eating more fish is important, with 75 percent of Norwegian residents surveyed by Schibsted Nyhetsmedier saying they want to eat more fish and seafood.
The organization pointed to its collaboration with soccer star Erling Haaland as one way it has worked to boost interest in eating more seafood.
NSC said it is also working on a new cooperation agreement, dubbed the Dietary Partnership, with Norwegian health authorities to spur on the consumption of more seafood to encourage a healthier diet.
“It requires a joint effort from all stakeholders. We see that it works when everyone pulls in the same direction to promote seafood,” Bell said.
