October is observed as National Seafood Month, a perfect excuse for the average person to add more seafood to their diet. Of course, most Americans don’t need extra encouragement to eat seafood. According to the U.S. government, per capita seafood consumption in the U.S. has been on the rise recently.

From 2018 to 2019, per capita seafood consumption rose by a total of 0.2 pounds. This means that the average American now consumes 19 pounds of seafood per year. However, that’s still slightly below the worldwide per capita seafood consumption, which was approximately 20.5 pounds per person per year. Maybe seafood consumption will continue to rise in the U.S., and if it does, it’s probably due to the popularity of this month.

The History of National Seafood Month

We’re not entirely sure when this month was created, but we do know that it’s been around for a few years now. We’re also not entirely sure who invented National Seafood Month, but we do suspect that it’s one of two different entities.

We believe that this month was either created by the seafood industry or by NOAA. Either would make sense considering the U.S. seafood industry contributes over $60 billion to the U.S. economy every single year.

Facts About Seafood

Let’s fish for some fun seafood facts, shall we? We’ve come across quite a few fun pieces of trivia about seafood that we think would make a great addition to this article. Let’s take a look at them below.

• It’s been estimated that people have been eating fish for almost 200,000 years.
• Salmon, sardines, and mackerel are full of Omega-3 fatty acids.
• King mackerel, sharks, and swordfish may be higher in mercury than other fish, so they should be eaten in moderation.
• Oysters are born with both male and female reproductive organs.

Observing National Seafood Month

Hmm, let’s see. How can people celebrate National Seafood Month? Well, we think that people can celebrate it by adding more seafood to their diet during this month, and that really shouldn’t be all that hard considering the plethora of choices the average U.S. consumer has when it comes to seafood.

Just a quick look through any supermarket will reveal tuna, salmon, trout, cod, catfish, haddock, flounder, and tilapia. With a little bit of extra work, the average consumer can also probably find swordfish, halibut, and maybe even shark in some specialty meat markets.

No matter what seafood a person chooses to celebrate this month with, however, they should be sure to let the world know about it using the hashtag #NationalSeafoodMonth on social media.