Americans’ seafood consumption up for third straight year

Americans ate 15.5 pounds of seafood per capita, up nearly a full pound (0.9 lb) from 2014, data from the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) show.

          The increase is reflected in multiple species across the NFI’s annual Top 10 list, with shrimp maintaining its top rank as most popular among Americans.

         This is the third consecutive year that seafood consumption increased in the US, and

nutrition experts are celebrating the trend, said NFI.

         “Three years’ worth of increase in seafood consumption is good news from a public health perspective,” said Rima Kleiner, MS, RD, registered dietitian at NFI and Dish on Fish blogger. “The fact that we see a variation in expansion and contraction across the top ten species, coupled with overall growth, is actually very positive. The nutrition community recommends that Americans eat a variety of seafood and this type of distribution reflects that message.”

         Three of the top ten species saw an increase in consumption — salmon, pangasius and crab; two maintained their volume — catfish and perennial list leader shrimp.