The estimated U.S. consumption of fish and shellfish was 14.9 pounds (6.8kg) in 2016, representing a decrease of 0.6 pounds (272g) compared to the previous year, according to NOAA Fisheries’ new Fisheries of the United States 2016 report.
The decline is attributed to small decreases in the consumption of fresh and frozen seafood and canned seafood. However, the report highlights that the overall reduction follows three years of increases in total consumption.
Fresh and frozen consumption of 11.3 pounds (5.1kg) was a 0.2 pound (90g) decrease from the 2015 figure but is still higher than most recent years, while the decrease in consumption of canned seafood products was driven by a decrease in canned salmon production in 2016.
Of the per capita consumption of fresh and frozen products, fresh and frozen finfish accounted for 6 pounds (2.7kg), while fresh and frozen shellfish consumption was 5.3 pounds (2.4kg) per capita. The consumption of canned fishery products was 3.3 pounds (1.5kg) per capita in 2016, down 0.4 pounds (181g) from 2015. Cured fish accounted for 0.3 pounds (136g) per capita, the same as in previous years.
The report estimates that U.S. consumers spent an estimated USD 93.2 billion (EUR 80 billion) on fishery products in 2016. This total comprised USD 63.4 billion (EUR 54.4 billion) spent in foodservice and USD 29.8 billion (EUR 25.6 billion) spent in retail for at-home consumption.
