US Wastes Seafood

Fishing stocks are plummeting around the globe leaving the seas empty, but the United States wastes around 40-47% of the seafood it harvests annually according to recent calculations. That is enough protein to feed about 10 million men. Researchers published in Global Environmental Change concluded about 2.3 billion pounds of seafood go to waste in the supply change from fishing boat to table between 2009 and 2013. Total annual supply was estimated at 4.7 billion pounds.  Consumers throw away the most--51 to 63%--while bycatch counted for 16-32%. The size of the loss concerns the study's authors because of the impact on ecological systems and treating aquatic systems as though they were limitless is detrimental to public health and the environment. They recommend stricter bycatch reduction programs, more consumption of parts not typically eaten, and marketing seafood in smaller packages.