NORWEGIAN SEAFOOD CONSUMPTION IS FALLING

Norwegian seafood consumption is falling. An article by Dorthe Iselin Austevoll on the Norges Sildesalgslag website, says Norwegians’ consumption of fish and shellfish continues to fall. At the same time, seafood prices have skyrocketed in recent years. For sweets, on the other hand, prices are almost unchanged.
The article states: “Since 2015, seafood consumption in Norway has been decreasing, with the small exception of the pandemic year 2021. During the last two decades, consumption has never been lower than it is now, new figures show, the Norwegian Seafood Council writes on its pages .
“In 2003, we ate an average of 21.22 kilogrammes of seafood per person in this country. Last year, the figure was 18.96 kilos. There is a decrease of close to 11 per cent (10.65), according to calculations based on figures from Flesland Market Information.
“The reasons for Norwegians’ declining seafood consumption are complex. Lack of knowledge about preparation, time constraints and availability may explain something. But the price increase must also take a good share of the blame.
“We see that it is seafood products that are increasing in price the most and people buy less of them,” says the Seafood Council’s managing director Christian Chramer.
The article continues:
“However, sales of cheaper seafood have increased recently. This suggests that people would like to have fish, says Chramer. And in a survey by the Seafood Council, as many as 7 out of 10 Norwegians also say that they want to eat more fish.
“To estimate how much seafood we eat, turnover figures from wholesalers and suppliers, supplied by Flesland Markedsinformationer, are used. It provides an overview of the total amount of seafood sold to shops, restaurants and large households, measured in product weight. But the measurements say nothing about wastage, or about fish that are not eaten for various reasons. Thus, the consumption figures may be lower than estimated.
“To get a picture of seafood consumption, you can also look at frequency, i.e. how often people eat seafood.
“A new, international survey conducted by Ipsos for the Seafood Council supports the aforementioned consumption figures: Norwegians are not particularly good at eating fish as often as they should. Only 4 out of 10 say they eat fish or other seafood as often as the health authorities recommend. It is somewhat below the international average.
“In most countries, the recommendations for fish are at least two to three times a week.
“At the top of the fish-eating list are the Portuguese. Here, more than 7 out of 10 say that they eat seafood twice a week or more often. Second at the bottom of the list, just before Germany in jumbo place, are the Swedes with only 3 out of 10.
“The Seafood Council’s survey has been carried out three times during 2022. It covers a total of over 37,000 people in 16 countries worldwide, including Norway.
“For the Nordic and Baltic countries, new dietary advice is underway. The new advice takes into account both climate and health benefits, because food that is good for health is also largely good for the planet.”
“And the new recommendations that focus on both health and climate give Norwegians even more good reasons to increase their seafood consumption,” says Christian Chramer.
“In the new dietary advice, the recommendations for higher fish consumption are maintained: For fish and seafood, you should eat 300-450 grams per week. 200 grammes of this should preferably be fatty fish such as salmon, trout herring or mackerel.
“A dinner portion of clean fish weighs around 150 grammes, depending on the type of fish and the size of the fillet.
“Using fish as a topping is also an excellent way to get fish in,” says Chramer.
A standard portion of fish spread is around 25-40 grams.
Read the whole matter on the Norwegian Maritime Council’s pages.