States imported nonedible fishery products valued 
at $543 million and exported nonedible fishery 
products worth $47 million.?* 
In 1977, the major U.S. imports of fishery prod- 
ucts were cod, haddock, American lobsters, sar- 
dines, scallops, shrimp, spiny lobster, and tuna. Im- 
ports of fishery products from these cight groups 
accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total U.S. 
imports of fishery products. 
Factors of Demand 
While population has been increasing in the 
United States at about 1 percent per year, the aggre- 
gate fish consumption has been increasing about 3 
percent per year. The per capita consumption of 
fish has involved an increase in the consumption of 
fresh and frozen seafood. Between 1960 and 1976, 
the per capita consumption of fish increased from 
10.3 to a record 13.0 pounds. With the estimated 
recreational catch added to consumption, per capita 
consumption ranges from 13.3 to nearly 16 pounds 
for the same period. 
The U.S. per capita consumption of fish is rela- 
tively small when compared to the consumption of 
meat and poultry (table 3-4). The consumer price 
index for fish increased from 85 to 216 between 
1960 and 1976. While the consumer price indices 
for meat and poultry also increased during this 
period, the gains were not as substantial (table 3-5). 
Factors affecting the relative strength of the fish 
market in this country include increased public inter- 
est in diets and nutrition, which finds fish an excel- 
lent source of low-fat protein, and expansion of 
fast-food outlets selling fish fillets. 
Fish in the Food Budget 
The relative importance of fish compared to other 
items in the food budget has changed gradually in 
the last 20 years. Between 1960 and 1974, food 
expenditures as a share of disposable income de- 
clined from 19.6 percent to 15.8 percent. Most of 
the commodities in the food budget followed a simi- 
lar trend, but fish did not. Fish prices went up more 
than the amounts purchased, and, as a result, ex- 
penditures on fish items as a percentage of disposa- 
ble income increased from 0.48 percent to 0.78 per- 
cent. In dollar terms, expenditures at the retail level 
increased from $1.7 to $7.4 billion. 
Composition of expenditures on major commodi- 
ties has shifted also. Expenditures on meat have 
fluctuated between 27 and 31 percent; outlays for 
poultry ranged from 3 to 5 percent. In 1974, poul- 
try outlays were slightly more than 3 percent of the 
food budget. 
Expenditures on fish as a percentage of the food 
budget, however, increased from 2.5 percent in 1960 
to 4.9 percent in 1974. During the years 1960-74, 
outlays for fish quadrupled, while total food expen- 
%U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, NMES, Fisheries 
of the United States, 1977. April 1978. 
ditures doubled. The increase in the outlays for fish 
has partly been the result of increased sales of frozen 
seafood products. Frozen seafood sales were 14 
percent of the total value of all frozen foods sold 
in 1964; by 1974, the value of frozen seafood sales 
had increased to about 20 percent of the total value. 
The primary reasons for the increase in sales of 
frozen seafoods appear to be due to the ease of 
preparation and the popularity of fish portions in 
fast-food outlets. 
Table 3-4.—Food consumption of meat, poultry, 
and fish in terms of actual per capita consumption * 
Meat Poultry Fish 2 Total 
pounds pounds pounds pounds 
195976) Sue 146.6 35.6 13.7 195.9 
LO GOWAN S ere 146.9 34.4 13.2 194.5 
CXS oevoscra tre 145.4 Syl 13.7 196.8 
OGD Ne nT 147.1 BES 13.6 198.0 
NOES) Bold hevo.ct 152.0 38.0 13.7 203.7 
19 GA eee 155.7 39.0 13.5 208.2 
NO GS ures 148.3 41.3 13.8 203.4 
LO GOR Ge are ae 151.4 43.8 13.9 209.1 
LO GT 158.3 45.5 13.6 217.4 
19 GS8hos 162.4 45.0 14.0 221.4 
OSE) rena 161.4 47.1 14.2 222.7 
1970 eae 164.6 48.9 14.8 228.3 
HAI te eet oa 170.0 49.2 14.5 233.7 
IPA oui es seat 166.5 51.4 15.5 233.4 
IG eRe une nesigseneceest 154.7 49.6 15.9 220.2 
POTAW rane tea: 165.2 50.3 15.1 230.6 
LOTS we ty seers 158.1 49.3 151 222.5 
1Source: Agricultural Statistics, 1976. 
? Includes gamefish. 
Table 3-5.—Consumer Price Index for meat, poul- 
try, and fish, 1960-76 * 
Year Fish Meat Poultry 
1960 85 87.2 106.9 
1965 90.8 93.9 101.2 
1968 101.6 102.3 103.1 
1969 107.2 111.4 109 
1970 118.0 117.6 108.4 
1971 130.2 116.7 109 
1972 141.9 1292 110.4 
1973 162.8 161.1 154.8 
1974 185.2 173.1 152.0 
1975 195.7 177.9 162.4 
1976 216.1 178.2 155.7 
1Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Cen- 
sus. Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1976. p. 439. 
II-7 
