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FishWatch - U.S. Seafood Facts

 
U.S. Seafood Imports and Exports, in Value
How much seafood does the U.S. import and export? (By value)
 
U.S. Seafood Imports and Exports, by Volume
How much seafood does the U.S. import and export? (By volume)
 
U.S. Imports from Major Areas, 2006, by Volume
What areas does the U.S. import seafood from?
 
U.S. Imports from Major Exporters, 2006, by Volume
What countries does the U.S. import seafood from?
 
Shrimp Imports by Major Exporter, 2006, by Volume
Over 30% of the shrimp we import comes from Thailand.
 
Imports of Canned Tuna by Major Exporter, 2006, by Volume
Almost half of the canned tuna we import comes from Thailand.
 
U.S. Aquaculture Production in 2005
What and how much does the U.S. produce through aquaculture?

Trade

In the U.S. in 2008, we consumed 16 pounds of seafood per person, down 0.3 pounds from 2007. U.S. consumers spent an estimated $69.8 billion for fishery products in 2008, including $46.8 billion at restaurants, carry-outs, and caterers; $22.7 billion in retail sales for consumption at home, and $389.4 million for industrial fish products.

In 2008, imports made up 83% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. The U.S. imported about 5.2 billion pounds of seafood in 2008, 120.4 million pounds less than the quantity imported in 2007. 2008 imports were valued at a record $14.2 billion, $474.6 million more than 2007. The top species imported (by volume) include shrimp, tuna, salmon, groundfish, freshwater fish, crab, and squid.

In 2008, the U.S. exported 2.7 billion pounds of seafood, valued at $4.3 billion, a decrease of 219.3 million pounds and a decrease of $11.8 million from 2007. The major fresh and frozen exports were salmon, surimi, and lobsters; salmon was the major canned item exported.

Top 10 Imports in 2008
By Value
1 - Shrimp (Fresh and frozen) $4.1 billion
2 - Salmon (Fresh and frozen – fillets and steaks) $1.03 billion
3 - Freshwater (Fresh and frozen – fillets and steaks) $909 million
4 - Crabs (Fresh and frozen) $721 million
5 - Tuna (Canned) $661.4 million
6 - Tuna (Fresh and frozen – whole) $601.5 million
7 - American lobster (Fresh and frozen) $591.9 million
8 - Crabmeat (Canned) $546.9 million
9 - Salmon (Fresh and frozen - whole) $515.6 million
10 - Groundfish (Fresh and frozen – fillets and steaks) $442.4 million

By Volume
1 - Shrimp (Fresh and frozen) 1.2 billion pounds
2 – Freshwater (Fresh and frozen – fillets and steaks) 422.6 million pounds
3 - Tuna (Canned) 377.8 million pounds
4 - Tuna (Fresh and frozen – whole) 372.1 million pounds
5 - Salmon (Fresh and frozen – fillets and steaks) 303.2 million pounds
6 - Salmon (Fresh and frozen – whole) 201.3 million pounds
7 - Groundfish (Fresh and frozen – fillets and steaks) 198.4 million pounds
8 - Crabs (Fresh and frozen) 154.1 million pounds
9 - Freshwater (Fresh and frozen – whole) 140.7 million pounds
10 - Squid (Fresh and frozen) 129.8 million pounds

NOAA Fisheries Service Office of Science and Technology has maintained a foreign trade database for several years. The office has developed a series of programs that summarize U.S. foreign trade in fisheries products dating back to 1989.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Offices of Seafood and Regulatory Affairs offer a useful resource called the Regulatory Fish Encyclopedia. It's a searchable database of over 1500 species of finfish and shellfish important in the U.S. and their acceptable market, common, vernacular, and scientific names.

Aquaculture


Aquaculture, a.k.a. fish farming, refers to the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of plants and animals in all types of water environments, including ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. More specifically, marine aquaculture refers to the culturing of marine species, while freshwater aquaculture focuses on the culturing of freshwater species. For example, marine aquaculture production includes oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp, and salmon, while freshwater aquaculture operations produce trout, catfish, and tilapia.

In the U.S., the marine aquaculture industry is relatively small compared with overall U.S. and world aquaculture production. Total U.S. aquaculture production is about $1 billion annually, compared to world aquaculture production of about $70 billion. Only about 20% of U.S. aquaculture production is marine species, mainly mollusks (oysters, clams, and mussels).

Many other countries are investing more heavily in aquaculture than the U.S., and about half of the seafood the U.S. imports is farmed. There is significant potential to increase commercial aquaculture production in the U.S. using today's technology. Additional domestic seafood production will reduce the nation’s dependence on imports.

NOAA's aquaculture efforts are focused on additional domestic marine aquaculture production to meet the growing demand for safe, healthy seafood, create jobs for U.S. coastal communities, increase regional food supply and security, and help restore depleted commercial and recreational marine species. For more information, go to the NOAA Aquaculture Program website.


Page last updated: July 27, 2009

 

 

 

 
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