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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Yes. U.S. per-capita seafood consumption was 26% higher in 2023 than in 1990, reaching 19.1 pounds per person, according to USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) and NOAA Fisheries data. That long-run increase does not mean consumption rose every year. The series measures seafood—including finfish and shellfish—not fish alone, and estimates supply rather than directly surveying what people ate.
How much seafood does the average American consume?
NOAA Fisheries reports that U.S. per-capita seafood consumption was 19.1 pounds in 2023. This category includes finfish and shellfish in fresh, frozen, canned and cured forms; canned tuna is one familiar example. The figure is an annual national average, not a measure of what every person ate.
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NOAA also estimates that 80% of the seafood consumed in the United States in 2023 came from foreign imports. That describes where the supply came from; it does not explain the change in consumption.
What does the long-term trend show?
USDA ERS reports that per-capita seafood consumption increased 26% between 1990 and 2023. This compares the two endpoints in a fluctuating series: it does not show a steady year-by-year rise. The endpoint value is 19.1 pounds per person in 2023.
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What is included in the consumption estimate?
The national series is based on estimated seafood disappearance, not a direct survey asking individuals how much they ate. Supply is converted to edible weight, exports and industrial uses are subtracted, and the remainder is divided by the U.S. population. In effect, the calculation estimates how much seafood was available for people to consume per capita.
NOAA’s 2022 report says the estimate does not account for inventories at the start and end of the year, effectively assuming that production is consumed in the year it is produced. Incomplete reporting, assumptions in the model and conversion factors can also affect the result. The figure is therefore an estimate of apparent consumption, not a precise tally of meals or individual diets.
How did seafood consumption break down by product form?
For 2022, NOAA reported the following per-person estimates. These figures cover a different year from the 19.1-pound 2023 total and should not be presented as its breakdown.
| Product form | Per person in 2022 |
|---|---|
| Fresh and frozen seafood | 15.4 pounds |
| Canned fishery products | 4.2 pounds |
| Cured fish | 0.3 pounds |
Why don’t food-intake surveys give the same comparison?
USDA ERS also publishes diet-intake survey tables, but its cited national data product covers 1977–2018. Those survey-based measures are not interchangeable with NOAA’s 1990–2023 supply-based series. To compare years fairly, use the same series, units, population basis and definition of seafood.
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What should readers make of the number?
The best-supported answer is that estimated per-capita seafood consumption rose over the long run: it was 26% higher in 2023 than in 1990. The 2023 estimate of 19.1 pounds includes shellfish and multiple product forms, and it reflects estimated supply available for consumption rather than a direct count of what people ate.
For practical food choices, FDA and EPA use “fish” collectively to include fish and shellfish in their consumer advice. Their guidance helps people who might become or are pregnant or breastfeeding, and caregivers of children ages 1–11, choose types and amounts partly in view of mercury levels. That advice is separate from the national consumption trend.
Sources: NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries of the United States; USDA ERS, U.S. Per capita consumption of seafood products; NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries of the United States, 2022; FDA, Advice about Eating Fish; USDA ERS, Food Consumption, Nutrient Intakes, and Diet Quality.
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