China is the world’s leading seafood consumer. The country consumes around 22 million metric tons of seafood each year, which is more than double the amount of seafood consumed by the United States.
This high demand has put a lot of pressure on the world’s fisheries, which are already struggling to keep up with the increasing global population. In order to meet the growing demand for seafood, the aquaculture industry needs to find ways to make fisheries more sustainable and need to find new sources of seafood that can be sustainably harvested.
90% of China’s seafood consumption comes from aquaculture, and the country is the world’s largest producer of farmed fish. While China has a large fishing industry, much of the country’s seafood is imported from other countries. Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic plants, is a major industry in China. Most of the seafood raised in Chinese aquaculture is carp. Carp are an important part of the Chinese diet and are raised in ponds throughout the country. Other popular seafood items raised in Chinese aquaculture include catfish, shrimp and tilapia. Some people in China are concerned about the environmental impact of aquaculture as there’s evidence that raising seafood in ponds can have negative impacts on local ecosystems.
Other countries that eat a lot of seafood include Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea. All of these countries have a large coastline and plenty of fresh water to support their fishing industries. Seafood is an important part of their culture and diet, and it’s unlikely that will change anytime soon.