Tilapia is growing on US consumers

Tor-Eddie Fossbakk The article says “that it's ecologically sustainable and relatively cheap doesn't hurt, either”. Over the last 4-5 years, annual consumption of tilapia in the US has quadrupled, from 110 grams per person in 2003 to almost a half kilo in 2006. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), tilapia now ranks as the fifth-most-consumed seafood in the nation, still far behind shrimp (2 kilos per person a year) but growing fast. Farmers in more than 85 countries grow tilapia. In the United States the fish is sold in many chain restaurants and most supermarkets. Imports account for approximately 95 percent of all tilapia consumed in the US, 158,000 metric tons last year, up 17 percent from 2005. Most of this was frozen fillets from China. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration imposed a ban on imports of five types of farmed seafood from China, including shrimp and catfish, but tilapia imports were not affected. Most of the fresh fillets originate in Ecuador, Honduras and Costa Rica. Most of the US farmed tilapia, about 9,000 metric tons per year, is sold live at Asian markets and restaurants in this country. At retail, imported fresh fillets sell for about $11 to $13 per kilo, frozen fillets from China for about $4.40 per kilo. Tilapia from US farms, where operating costs are higher, is the most expensive, about $18 to $22 per kilo. In comparison, the Washington Post writes, at fishmonger in Arlington, Va., fresh flounder sells for about $26.40 per kilo, and fillets of fluke — another mild, white-fleshed fish — go for about $28.60 per kilo. Picture: Hydroponic tilapia facility at the University of Arizona.