Increase of 150 million pounds by 2015. Many of these underutilized species are less attractive to the American palate, such as mackerel or anchovies, while others present technical or processing challenges, such as arrowtooth flounder. Alaska pollock was once considered a trash fish and little known to U.S. consumers. Will contribute 250 million pounds by 2015. 5. Catfish dominates U.S. aquaculture production and has been increasing steadily for well over a decade.
Catfish production is relatively low tech and further increases are likely.
On the negative side, government regulations affecting water usage and quality, as well as limited site availability, will limit aquaculture expansion. These include the use of genetic engineering to product larger fish, advances enclosed-system recirculating systems and changes in Alaskan laws to allow fish farming in that state. Will add an additional 300 million pounds by 2015. As domestic seafood supply has plateaued, industry has come to rely more heavily on global resources to maintain demand. Increased availability of world seafood supplies for the U.S. market will be helped by projected decreases in population in Japan and Western Europe.