Broiled tilapia dish. (Photo: Whole Foods Market)

Tilapia becomes one of the most widely consumed species

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) announced this week that US consumers of seafood ate 20 per cent more tilapia last year than in 2009. This development has moved tilapia from the number five spot to the number four position with the single largest gain in consumption on the NFI’s latest Top Ten Seafood List. 

Moreover, pangasius consumption in the country escalated by 14 per cent to the eighth slot, up one from 2009.

Canned tuna consumption rose by 8 per cent between 2009 and 2010, staying locked at the second spot on the list. Cod also kept its position at the eighth spot while rising by 10.5 per cent.

Shrimp remained in the first position, though with a slight decrease of 2 per cent.

“If you look at the numbers from 2008, 2009 and now 2010, keeping in mind population growth, we’re hopeful that we’re beginning to see seafood consumption steadying, a trend that makes it poised for gains,” said NFI President John Connelly.

Farmed catfish fillets. (Photo: Whole Foods Market)

The Institute informed that this year’s list includes some anomalies, such as a National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) recalculation of 2009’s total lb per capita, which was changed from 15.8 lb to 16 lb, and a slight cutback in clam consumption on the 2009 list.

Regarding the 2010 Alaska pollock numbers, a dip of 18 per cent appears when compared to the 2009 list, but about half of that decrease is actually attributable to a new export category that identified previously uncounted exports. The balance was due to a drop in imports and a sharp rise in surimi exports. 

In addition, pollock fillet exports rose, reflecting the ongoing popularity and sturdy demand for pollock fillets in Europe; they remain the most popular seafood item in Germany.

A few days ago, in its Fisheries of the United States 2010 report, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noted that the average seafood eater in the US ate 15.8 lb of fish and shellfish in 2010, slight less than 2009’s 16 lb. The country is still third-ranked for consuming seafood, behind China and Japan, consuming 4.878 billion lb of seafood, just below the 2009 figure of 4.907 billion lb.

The amount of imported seafood eaten in the US continued to rise, this time by 4 per cent to about 86 per cent. The US exports 63 per cent of its own produced seafood, up 4 per cent over 2009.

Almost half of the country’s seafood imports come from aquaculture.

Related article:

- Commercial fishing brought in USD 600 mln more last year than in 2009

By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

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