--- title: Seafood: American Fish Intake Increased Last Year, NOAA Says description: The average American consumed 15.5 pounds of seafood last year, nearly a pound more than in 2014, according to a new government report canonical: https://time.com/4546751/seafood-sustainability-fish/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-26T23:14:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T01:26:37.239Z article:section: Science og:title: Average American Fish Intake Increased by a Pound Last Year og:description: The jump represents the most significant year-over-year increase in more than a quarter century og:url: https://time.com/4546751/seafood-sustainability-fish/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ea8f48d89d3b71/69887215bc6cfc65f73da7a4/50-healthiest-foods-wild-caught-cod.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, cod, fish og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Average American Fish Intake Increased by a Pound Last Year twitter:description: The jump represents the most significant year-over-year increase in more than a quarter century twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ea8f48d89d3b71/69887215bc6cfc65f73da7a4/50-healthiest-foods-wild-caught-cod.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Average American Seafood Intake Increased by a Pound Last Year  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 26, 2016 11:14 PM CUT  Danny Kim for TIME  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 26, 2016 11:14 PM CUT The average American consumed 15.5 pounds of seafood last year, nearly a pound more than in 2014, according to a new government [report](http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/commercial-fisheries/fus/fus15/index "undefined"). Average fish consumption has fluctuated in recent decades, but the jump represents the most significant year-over-year increase in more than a quarter century. Researchers attributed the increase at least in part to a spike in consumption of canned fish products, particularly salmon. The research, conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reports that in total U.S. fishermen brought 9.7 billion pounds of seafood with a value of more than $5 billion to shore last year. **Read More:** [Half of Global Fish Catch May Have Gone Unreported](http://time.com/4188415/global-fish-catch/# "undefined") An increase in fish consumption should be encouraging to public health experts who have called on Americans to consume more seafood. The [most recent dietary guidelines](http://time.com/4142859/2015-us-dietary-guidelines/ "undefined") issued by the U.S. government recommend that adults consume 8 or more ounces of seafood each week (equivalent to 26 pounds annually). **Read More:** [Why Half of Edible Seafood Is Wasted](http://time.com/4046295/seafood-waste/ "undefined") At the same time, fisheries will face a number of challenges—from overfishing to climate change—in the coming decades that researchers have suggested could lead many marine fisheries to disappear within a few decades. Researchers say that oversight and carefully constructed management plans could help prevent that decline—and perhaps even lead to an increase in fish production. 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