Familiarity and Stability seen in Annual Rankings

November 1, 2013 Washington, DC Shrimp, canned tuna and salmon remain in the top positions on the annual list of Americas most popular seafood items. In 2012 consumers ate 4.565 billion pounds of seafood or 14.4 lbs per capita.

The top ten most popular fish make up a little more than ninety percent of all the fish Americans eat, said NFI President John Connelly. Its a fairly stable list but we see a slight increase in salmon consumption and an increase of about 15-percent, combined, in pangasius and tilapia so there is growth in certain areas.

Per capita consumption fell just under four percent from 2011 to 2012.

Population growth certainly factors into this but we want to see the numbers heading in the other direction, said Jennifer McGuire MS RD, NFIs nutrition communications manager. There is an important message in seafood consumption trends for public health professionals; when the amount of fish people eat goes up, aliments, medical costs and preventable deaths will go down.

NFI is the leading trade association for the seafood industry whose members represent a variety of businesses from the water to the table. For more information visit our Web site at www.AboutSeafood.com.