Main findings
The USA is the sixth largest producer of seafood in the world where the majority is derived from capture. The supply has been relatively stable since 1990.
Alaska pollock is the single largest caught species representing 25-30% of total catch, but the shellfish species are the most valuable.
Fresh and frozen products constitute 79% of the total processing value.
Dependency on seafood supply from abroad is high, with 86% of USA seafood consumption imported led by shrimp and salmon in value terms.
Salmon, Alaska pollock and lobster are the most valuable USA seafood exports with Japan and Canada as the leading export destinations.
Over the last two to three years, seafood consumption has been relatively stable although increasing over a five year period.
In consumption, shrimp, canned tuna and salmon are the most popular species.
Tilapia is now the sixth largest species in USA seafood consumption and by far the fastest growing.
Alaska pollock – the largest volume fishery
Total USA domestic landings were 4.4 million tonnes in 2005, unchanged from the year before.
Alaska pollock is the largest volume fishery representing 35% of total landings, followed by menhaden (13%).
Salmon is the third largest (9%), followed closely by hakes (6%) and cod (6%).
Salmon fisheries increased by 21% year-on-year while Alaska pollock fisheries increased by 2%, but other species have seen little growth in landing volume.
Shellfish species most valuable
Total value of landings in 2005 was $3.9 billion, up by 5% ($177 million) from the year before.
Scallops increased in value by 35%, followed by salmon (21%), lobster (20%), Alaska pollock (14%) and flatfish (4%).
Alaska – the seafood state
As before, Alaska is the state that represents the highest value of seafood landings ($1,289 million).
Driven by the East Coast scallop fishery, New Bedford, Massachusetts is the landing port with the highest catch value.
Increased value of processed fishery products
Total value of fishery products processed in the USA in 2005 was $7.6 billion, up 9% from 2004.
95% of processed fishery products are utilised for human consumption.
Fresh and frozen:
• Fresh and frozen products constitute 79% of the total $7.6 billion processing value
• Processing of fillets and steaks accounted for $1.1 billion (of which 63% is Alaska pollock) of the total $6 billon fresh and frozen processing
• The total value of sticks and portions was $397 million and processing of breaded shrimp was valued at $276 million
Canned products:
• Canned fishery products accounted for 14% ($1.1 billion) of the total $7.6 billion processing value
• Canned tuna was valued at $626 million (albacore 55%, lightmeat 45%)
• Salmon was valued at $301 million (pink 53%, sockeye 45%, other 2%)
• Clams were valued at $126 million
Other:
• Cured and other industrial utilisation accounts for 7% of total processing value
Imports
In 2005, imports accounted for 86% of the USA edible seafood supply after exports are subtracted from the overall supply.
The USA exports account for 80% of its domestic catch (in roundweight).
Domestic aquaculture plays an insignificant role, but catfish leads the way with 286 thousand mt per year (2004) at value of $439 million.
The overall edible USA seafood supply has seen an increase of 273,000 tonnes or 5.4% from the previous year.
Shrimp (+13%) and salmon (+30%) imports are growing fast while groundfish loses share.
Canada continues as the largest source of imported seafood products but Asian countries increase their share.
2006 imports total $13.2 billion (edible), up $1.3 billion from 2005.
Exports
Salmon is the number one export species although it is showing a 9% decline since 2005.
Alaska pollock is showing healthy export growth (7%) compared to 2005 and lobster is also showing good growth (8%).
Japan is still the most important trade partner although exports decreased by 13% from 2005.
2006 exports total $4.0 billion (edible), up $0.2 billion from 2005.
Stable seafood consumption
Seafood consumption was 7.31kg. (16.2lbs) per capita in 2005.
Consumption recession of 2.4% year-on-year, but over five year period consumption has increased by 9.4%.
Fresh and frozen seafood (particularly fresh and frozen shrimp, fillets and steaks) account for 72% of total seafood consumption.
Shrimp the most popular seafood
Shrimp is the single most popular species in the USA. In 2005 shrimp consumption was 1.86 kg/per capita.
Shrimp consumption is driven by product convenience, wide range of flavours, variety of preparation methods and relatively low cost.
Together, shrimp and canned tuna represent 45% of total seafood consumption in the USA.
Cod consumption continues to fall, in 2005 it was 43% lower than in 1997.
Salmon consumption increased by 13% year-on-year in 2005, since 1997 the consumption has increased by 87%
Consumption trends
Fish fillets and fish steaks are the fastest growing fishery items and consumption of canned seafood has been trending downwards since 1990.
Consumption of sticks and portions has also been downward trending since 1990. Even so, consumption increased by 28% year-on-year in 2005 from 0.32 to 0.41 kg per capita.
Tilapia – consumption still growing fast
Over a period of five years, tilapia consumption has increased by 143%.
Tilapia consumption in 2005 increased by 22% year-on-year and Tilapia is now the sixth largest species in US seafood consumption.
Asian groceries and restaurants are primary market outlets for tilapia.
Fresh and frozen fillets go into retail, foodservice and value-added markets, while live and low-priced frozen tilapia serve primarily the Asian market in the USA.
The increased Asian and Hispanic population is expected to facilitate/support further consumption growth.
Tilapia is expected to take share from USA and imported catfish as it is getting much wider distribution both in foodservice and retail markets:
Trade:
• Imports 2006:
• Value: $483 million (up 23% from 2005)
• Volume: 158,000t (up 17 % from 2005)
• Top five import countries represent more than 95% of total tilapia imports
• Import share of main countries: China (66%), Taiwan (14%), Ecuador (7%), Indonesia (5%) and Honduras (5%)
