73 Seafood Facts and Statistics: How Americans Eat, Trade, and Benefit from the World’s Fastest‑Growing Protein

Assortment of Seafood including Salmon, Shrimp, Bacon-Wrapped Scallops, and Atlantic Cod on White Plates on a Striped Table Cloth

Seafood is reshaping the modern protein landscape, from what Americans cook at home to how the world feeds a growing population.

U.S. consumers are eating more seafood than a generation ago, with shrimp, salmon, and tuna still dominating plates.

Drawing on 73 data‑driven seafood facts and statistics, Fulton Fish Market reveals how the seafood market has evolved into a global, high‑tech, health‑driven economy.

What are the key U.S. seafood consumption trends?

Americans are eating more seafood overall than a few decades ago, but consumption has recently plateaued and even slipped slightly year over year.

Shrimp, salmon, and tuna still dominate the American plate, but the real story is how quickly shoppers are trading up to fresher, higher‑quality cuts.

Sushi retail sales have surged 64% over four years, and 40% of seafood consumers say they're buying new or different types of seafood, including heat-and-eat and grab-and-go formats, reflecting a clear trade-up pattern.
Americans consumed 19.7 pounds of seafood per capita in 2022, down 0.8 pounds from the record-high 20.5 pounds in 2021. The share of frequent seafood shoppers (2+ times/week) has grown from 25% to 32% since 2019.
U.S. per capita seafood consumption increased 31% from 2002 to 2021, rising from 15.6 pounds to 20.5 pounds.
The Top 10 most-consumed species account for 79% of total U.S. seafood consumption, indicating that Americans are diversifying modestly while still relying on a core group of favorites.
Shrimp remains the #1 consumed seafood species in the U.S. at 5.5 pounds per capita in 2022.
Salmon ranks second at 3.22 pounds per capita consumption in 2022.
Canned tuna holds third place at 2.20 pounds per capita, reflecting the continuation of the “tinned fish” trend.
Shrimp represents 28.2% of all reported seafood meals consumed by Americans.
Tuna accounts for 15.9%, and salmon for 15.1% of all reported seafood meals.
Shrimp, salmon, and canned tuna together represent 52% of total U.S. seafood consumption by weight.

How are fresh, frozen, and canned seafood categories changing?

The move from shelf‑stable seafood toward fresh and frozen formats changes both logistics and expectations. Buyers now look for consistency, portioning, and handling standards that historically were reserved for restaurant channels.

Fresh and frozen seafood grew from 63% to nearly 80% of total per capita consumption between 1990 and 2021.
Canned seafood’s share declined from 35% to 18% of total consumption during the same period.
Frozen shrimp sales reached approximately 90 million units in the 12 weeks ending August 2024 in the U.S.
The global canned seafood market was valued at about $30.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach roughly $45.1 billion by 2032.
Tuna dominates the canned seafood segment, valued at around $12 billion in 2024 and accounting for about 38.5% of the global canned seafood market.
Sales of tinned fish priced above $5 per can are growing at triple the rate of the broader market, as gourmet and artisanal products gain traction, especially among younger buyers.
Sushi retail sales volume grew about 43% since 2019, reaching roughly $2.4 billion in 2023 sales in the U.S.
The U.S. sushi restaurant market is estimated at about $5.4 billion in 2024, with roughly 17,000+ sushi restaurants nationwide.

How dependent is the U.S. on imported seafood?

Most of the seafood Americans eat is imported, but some of the highest‑quality fish in the world are landed right here in the U.S. The U.S. leads the world in third-party sustainability certification.

90% of U.S. fisheries by volume are MSC-certified, covering 62 species and more than 1,300 eco-labeled products, and 66% of American consumers say they prefer seafood with a U.S. origin.
About 70–80% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported.
The U.S. seafood trade deficit reached about $20.3 billion in 2023.
Total U.S. seafood imports were valued at about $25.5 billion in 2023.
Canada is the top seafood supplier to the U.S., accounting for roughly 14.1% of import value and more than $3.6 billion in 2023.
Chile (about 13%), India (about 10%), Indonesia (about 7.9%), and Vietnam (about 6.4%) round out the top five seafood exporters to the U.S.
U.S. fish and seafood exports totaled about $4.95 billion in 2024.
Canada (about $1.08 billion) and China (about $1.02 billion) are the two largest markets for U.S. seafood exports.
U.S. shrimp imports dropped 14% year over year in June 2024, totaling about 117.2 million pounds.
The value of imported seafood grew about 133% (inflation-adjusted) from 1995 to 2021.

What does the U.S. commercial fishing industry look like?

Commercial fishing remains a major coastal employer and economic engine, with a handful of ports and species responsible for a large share of landings by volume and value.

U.S. commercial fishermen landed 8.4 billion pounds of seafood valued at $5.9 billion in 2022.
Dutch Harbor, Alaska, has been the #1 U.S. fishing port by volume for 25 consecutive years, with 613.5 million pounds landed in 2022.
New Bedford, Massachusetts, ranks #1 by value at approximately $443.2 million, driven primarily by scallops.
Alaska pollock is the nation’s largest fishery by volume at about 2.7 billion pounds landed annually.
In 2023, Alaska processors converted virtually the entire catch into $1.7 billion worth of marketable products, fillets, surimi, roe, fishmeal, and oil, generating $2.5 billion in U.S. economic output. It's the protein behind McDonald's Filet-O-Fish and most quick-service fish sandwiches, and at 3.77 kg CO₂-eq per kg of protein, its carbon footprint is among the lowest of any animal protein
Salmon is the most valuable U.S. commercial species by value at $827 million annually, followed by lobsters at roughly $581 million and crabs at around $570 million.
When processed into value-added products, Alaska pollock takes the lead at roughly $2.1 billion, followed by sockeye salmon at about $1.3 billion.
The average price paid to U.S. fishermen was about $0.70 per pound in 2022, down 6 cents from 2021.
U.S. domestic seafood supports more than 1.6 million jobs and generates about $183 billion in sales across the wider economy.
Commercial and recreational fishing together supported about 2.3 million jobs and generated $321 billion in sales in 2022.

How is global seafood production evolving?

Worldwide production is at a record high, with farmed seafood now surpassing wild-capture fisheries and a small group of countries dominating output.

Global seafood production reached a record 223.2 million metric tons in 2022.
Aquaculture production (about 130.9 million metric tons) surpassed wild-catch fisheries (about 94.4 million metric tons) for the first time in 2022.
Aquaculture now accounts for roughly 57% of global aquatic animal production by volume.
The first-sale value of global seafood production was estimated at around $472 billion in 2022.
China leads global seafood production at about 36% of total volume, followed by India (8%), Indonesia (7%), Vietnam (5%), and Peru (3%).
Ten countries account for about 89.8% of global aquaculture production.
About 61.8 million people were employed in primary seafood production globally in 2022.
Global seafood production is projected to increase roughly 10% by 2032, to around 205 million metric tons.

How sustainable are fish stocks, and what role does climate play?

Many U.S. stocks are now classed as not overfished, but climate change and warming oceans are reshaping productivity, fish size, and species distributions.

Purchasing choices at the market level—what species, sizes, and fisheries are favored—are one of the practical levers through which sustainability goals translate into day‑to‑day trading patterns.

70% of U.S. seafood consumers say the ocean can only be saved by consuming from sustainable sources, and 74% factor sustainability into their choice of seafood retailer.
Among consumers aware of the MSC label, 55% say it increases their likelihood of purchase, up from 47% in 2022.
About 90% of U.S. fish stocks with assessments are not subject to overfishing, and 88% are not overfished.
The Fish Stock Sustainability Index (FSSI) tracks 175 key stocks, with about 140 classified as “not subject to overfishing.”
Climate change is projected to cause up to a 40% decline in tropical fisheries productivity by 2050 under high-emission scenarios.
Maximum fish sizes have already declined by roughly 5–29% over recent decades in many fisheries due to ocean warming and related stressors.

What are the health and nutrition benefits of seafood?

Health experts emphasize seafood’s omega-3 content and link regular fish consumption to cardiovascular benefits, while supplements build on the same fatty acid story.

The American Heart Association recommends eating fish, especially fatty fish, at least two times per week (about 6–7 ounces total).
An intake of about 250–500 mg of EPA+DHA omega‑3s daily (roughly two servings of oily fish per week) is associated with about a 36% reduction in cardiovascular death risk.
Fish high in omega‑3s (over roughly 1,000 mg per serving) include anchovies, herring, mackerel, oysters, sablefish, salmon, sardines, and bluefin tuna.
Omega‑3 supplementation reduced total myocardial infarction by about 28% in one major clinical trial, with a reported 77% reduction among African American participants.
The global omega‑3 supplements market was valued at about $7.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach around $12.9 billion by 2030.
Fish oil accounts for roughly 61.5% of the omega‑3 supplement market by revenue.

How safe is seafood from a mercury and contaminant perspective?

Guidelines emphasize that most commonly eaten species are low in mercury, especially when consumers follow species-specific advice tailored to pregnancy and child development.

FDA’s level of concern for mercury in commercial fish is 1.0 parts per million, which includes a built-in 1,000% safety factor.
Average commercial fish in the U.S. contains about 0.072 ppm mercury—nearly 14 times lower than the level of concern.
Roughly 90% of fish eaten in the U.S. falls into the FDA’s “Best Choices” category for low mercury.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women are advised to consume 8–12 ounces (2–3 servings) of lower‑mercury fish per week.
About 50% of pregnant women consume fewer than 2 ounces of fish per week, falling well short of recommended amounts.

Who is driving seafood demand, and how are shopping habits changing?

Younger consumers are becoming key drivers of seafood growth, spending more per grocery trip and showing openness to online and prepared seafood formats.

Younger consumers, in particular, tend to look for seafood that aligns with convenience, transparency, and nutrition concerns, and those preferences are beginning to influence which products gain traction in the market.

Nearly half (48%) of consumers now buy seafood for a weekday meal rather than a special occasion, and 59% of consumption is home-cooked, up 6 points year over year.
Gen Z is nearly 30% more likely than Millennials to reach for frozen or microwaveable meal formats, and the global ready-to-eat seafood market is projected to grow at roughly 11% annually through 2033.
Millennials consume seafood at home about 39 times per year on average, versus about 19 times for Baby Boomers and older generations.
Consumers aged 43 and under now represent more than half of the U.S. seafood market in pounds.
Frequent seafood shoppers (about 32% of consumers) spend around $225 weekly on groceries, compared to about $158 for non‑seafood consumers.
About 37% of consumers who are cutting back on seafood cite inflation and prices as the main reason.
Only about 44% of seafood consumers have purchased seafood online, highlighting a large e‑commerce growth runway.

How much seafood is lost or wasted along the value chain?

Recent research suggests seafood waste is still substantial but not as severe as once believed, creating both sustainability and efficiency opportunities across harvesting, processing, and retail.

About 22.7% of the total U.S. seafood supply is lost or wasted—less than half of earlier FAO-based estimates that were near 50%.
A recent reassessment found U.S. aquatic food loss and waste rates to be roughly 15–25%, depending on species and stage in the value chain.
New analyses show that waste at the consumer level is lower for seafood than for many other animal proteins, in part because of higher price sensitivity and spoilage concerns.

Sources

All 73 seafood facts in this report are drawn from primary government datasets, peer‑reviewed research, and leading industry analyses, including NOAA Fisheries’ Fisheries of the United States and Status of Stocks reports, USDA ERS consumption and trade data, FAO’s State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA), FDA/EPA guidance on fish consumption and mercury, and major market research publications on seafood, sushi, and omega‑3 supplements. Figures have been harmonized where possible to consistent years, units, and inflation adjustments, and when multiple credible estimates existed, the most recent and methodologically transparent series was used.

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Filed in: About Your Fish, About Your Seafood, General Interest, Learn About Your Seafood

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