AR-News: Americans Eating Fish at Record Rates

[jim robertson]

Americans Eating Fish at Record Rates
Wed Sep 10, 4:51 PM ET  Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!


By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Whether blackened on the barbecue, crammed into cocktail sauce 
or blended into bisque, record amounts of shrimp were eaten by Americans 
last year.



Indeed, it was a record year for eating seafood in general, the National 
Marine Fisheries Service said Wednesday.


Overall seafood consumption was up 7.1 percent to 4.5 billion pounds in 
2002. That's an average of 15.6 pounds per person, up nearly a pound from 
2001, according to the agency, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.


Linda Candler, vice president for communications at the National Fisheries 
Institute, which represents the seafood industry, attributed the increase 
"to the fact the Americans are taking the health message to heart and trying 
to incorporate more fish in their diet."


According to the report, Americans ate an average of 3.7 pounds of shrimp 
last year, up from 3.4 pounds a year earlier.


And buyers went hook, line and sinker for fresh and frozen seafood in 
general, setting a record at 11 pounds per person, up from 10.3 pounds.


Americans also ate an average of 4.3 pounds of canned seafood last year, up 
from 4.2 pounds in 2001. The 2002 average for canned seafood included 3.1 
pounds of tuna, 0.5 pounds of salmon, 0.3 pounds of shellfish and 0.1 pounds 
of sardines.


The National Fisheries Institute went on to rank the most popular varieties, 
with shrimp holding first place for the second straight year at 3.7 pounds 
per person.


Canned tuna was No. 1 in 2000 but dropped to second spot in 2001 and held 
that place last year at 3.1 pounds, up from 2.9 pounds per person.


Next came salmon, pollock, catfish and cod, the Institute said, the same 
rankings as 2001.


Crabs ranked seventh, clambering over clams to gain one spot in the rankings 
and relegating the bivalves to eighth.


Tilapia, a mild fish that has been rapidly gaining in popularity, was ninth, 
up from 10th place last year and 11th in 2000. It passed flatfish, which 
sank to 10th.


Scallops maintained their grip on 11th spot on the Institute's list.


___


On the Net:


National Marine Fisheries Service: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov


National Fisheries Institute: http://www.nfi.org













In fact, if one person is unkind to an animal it is considered to be 
cruelty, but where a lot of people are unkind to animals, especially in the 
name of commerce, the cruelty is condoned and, once large sums of money are 
at stake, will be defended to the last by otherwise intelligent people.
-- Ruth Harrison, author of Animal Machines

_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive larger attachments with Hotmail Extra Storage.   
http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es