M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Canadian fish and seafood industry - statistics & facts
Fish and seafood is often lauded as a healthier, lighter option than a steak or a pork cutlet. Growing populations, changing attitudes towards meat consumption, and the rise in the number of people following a pescatarian diet may have pushed global fish production to rise in recent years. As a country with a huge coastline and an abundance of pristine lakes and rivers, it comes as no surprise that Canada has a thriving fish and seafood industry, exporting about 83 million U.S. dollars of freshwater fish in 2022.
Canadian fish production
The volume of freshwater fish produced in Canada has fluctuated and was at just above 15 thousand metric tons in 2022. The shellfish industry is also a major part of Canadian seafood production; almost 77,590 metric tons of shellfish were produced in 2022. The total seafood preparation and packaging industry in Canada was estimated to have generated around 6.2 billion U.S. dollars by 2024. Although Canada is a major freshwater fish producer, many popular fish species are not widely produced there. Some of the different varieties of freshwater fish imported to Canada include trout, tilapia, and catfish. In 2022, over 83 million Canadian dollars of trout were imported to Canada. Canada’s main freshwater fish exports in that year were whitefish, pickerel, and perch.Fish and seafood consumption
The most widely available kinds of fish in Canada are fresh and frozen sea fish, with freshwater fish making up only a small proportion of what is available on the market. When deciding what kind of seafood to purchase, the factors that consumers are most concerned about are that the product is fresh and of good quality, only about four percent of Canadian consumers look for locally produced options. Concerning the five age groups, the group of 55-64 years has the largest share of fish conusmption with 25.47 percent. Contrastingly, the group of 18-24 years is ranked last, with 9.77 percent.
