Why Americans Eat Less Fish: It's Lack of `Perceived Value'.

Why are people in the United States eating less fish? Higher prices, demographics, failure to develop more convenient products, fewer full-service retail seafood departments -- and the general lack of "perceived value" among consumers.

That's the verdict of H.M. Johnson & Associates

in The 1998 Annual Report on the United States Seafood Industry. "Perceived value," it says, is the price consumers find acceptable for desired benefits such as taste, quality and convenience. With many seafoods in short supply, US consumers will accept higher prices only for a perceived value -- and they just don't see any.

Per capita consumption of fish and seafood declined again in 1997 to 14.6 pounds, the marketing, market research and product development firm reported; and if supplies remain at the 1995 level of 13.5 billion pounds the per capita rate will decline to 13.1 pounds by 2010. Yet per capita consumption of shrimp, in good supply because of reduced demand in Asia, increased to 2.7 pounds.

Domestic landings have been declining since 1993, with increased imports making up the difference. Aquaculture is the most obvious long-term solution, but perceived value is still an obstacle. With chicken breasts retailing at $3.99-$5.99 a pound, versus $4.99-$7.99 for fish fillets, it's hard to convince people to buy the latter. "Seafood has made very limited inroads into value-added and home meal replacement, areas where innovative product development may provide significant opportunity," the Johnson report noted.

As usual, the report pulls together a wealth of facts and figures about the US seafood industry from government and proprietary sources. Copies are $59 in North America and $65 elsewhere from H.M. Johnson Associates, P.O. Box 53146 Bellevue, Washington 98015, USA; telephone: 1-425-747-2757; fax: 1-425-747-2672; e-mail: howard@hmj.com.