Shrimp and canned tuna imports to the United States dropped from 2012 to 2013, while salmon imports saw a slight uptick, according to a report released last week from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The annual report, Fisheries of the United States 2013, includes annual fishery statistics, produced by NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The latest report shows imports of shrimp totaling 532,089 metric tons (MT), but just 505.8 million MT in 2013. Published media reports have shown suppliers in Southeast Asia have begun to recover from EMS, but supplies have not rebounded yet.
Canned tuna figures are also down, from 160.5 million MT in 2012 to 157.6 million MT in 2013. While data from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) shows that canned tuna is still popular among American consumers, other NMFS data indicates a steady decline in recent years.
The news isn’t all bad. Salmon fresh and frozen imports, including fillets, went up from 257.4 million MT in 2012 to 275.7 million MT in 2013. NMFS data reported by the National Fisheries Institute indicated that in 2013 salmon took the second-place slot as most popular seafood among American consumers.
