SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton — Oct 31, 2014 — The record salmon landings in Alaska in 2013, combined with the huge production of pink salmon, have pushed salmon past tuna as the second most consumed seafood in the United States, after shrimp.
Imports of farmed salmon in all forms increased from 590 million to 620 million lbs, which is only 5%, meaning that it was Alaska salmon that drove the increased consumption. Incidentally, this year, salmon imports year to date are up 8% meaning that this strong consumer usage of salmon is continuing.
NFI has released their overall calculation of per capita consumption based on NOAA’S Fisheries of the US report for 2013, released this week.
Overall in 2013, seafood consumption was remarkably stable, edging upward to 14.5 lbs of edible weight per person, from 14.4 lbs. in 2012. This change is statistically insignificant.
Percentages of fresh, frozen and canned fish remained constant as well.
But within these numbers, major shifts in species sales were taking place.
The chart below shows the change from the previous year in per capita consumption.
Salmon is up 34%, due to the huge runs in Alaska, and the increased pack of pink salmon, including canned pinks.
Cod is also up, as the million metric ton Barents Sea quotas lead to more availability of cod globally. This is despite the poor catches of cod in New England, and a relatively stable harvest of Pacific cod.
Pangasius and catfish also increased; combined they now represent 1.4 lbs per capita, which is the same as tilapia.
NMFS is in the process of revising its per capita and per capita usage figures, as the volume of imports may be stated incorrectly.
The 2013 Fisheries of the US suggested that imports represented 94% of all seafood consumption, but NMFS says that this is overstated because first, it does not reflect US products exported for processing to China and then re-imported, and it relies on calculations of yield from live and processed weight to edible weight which may not reflect current practices.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.