Consumer demand for seafood in the United States has risen over the last three decades, according to new analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with per capita consumption of seafood products reaching an estimated 20.5 pounds per person in 2021.
NOAA advises that to meet rising consumer demand, the United States increasingly relies on global suppliers to supplement domestic production. About 80% of estimated US consumption of seafood comes from abroad – primarily from Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
From 1995 to 2023, the value of US seafood imports, adjusted for inflation, trended upward, with notable exceptions related to the global economic recession and the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
US seafood exports dropped about 23%, while imports expanded about 87% during the same period. The expanding deficit in trade value (imports minus exports) peaked in 2021 at $25.8 billion (in 2023 dollars) and was recorded at $20.3 billion in 2023.
As a supplier, the United States ranked 10th in 2022 in seafood exports worldwide.
