Americans ate less seafood in 2007 than 2006, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which has produced statistics which show that fish and shellfish in the American diet shrunk 1.2 percent in 2007 compared to the previous year.   

Shrimp remained the top choice among consumers, with average per capita consumption of 4.1 pounds while canned seafood, mainly tuna, held steady at 3 pounds per person.

Consumption of fresh or frozen finfish, however, had the sharpest drop, down from 12.3 pounds in 2006 to 12.1 pounds in 2007.

The US imports around 84 per cent of its seafood, up from 63 per cent a decade ago. At least half the seafood imported annually comes from aquaculture.

US-based aquaculture meets only 5-7 percent of demand - and most of that is in catfish. Salmon, farmed oysters, clams and mussels account for only 1.5 percent.