by Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News Editor
Dr. Ben Posadas, an associate extension research professor at Mississippi State University. Photo: Mississippi State University
An average consumer in the U.S. spends a $1.50 to eat approximately a third of a pound of oysters a year according to a calculation in a recently released video by Dr. Ben Posadas, an associate extension research professor at Mississippi State University. With no available official estimates on oyster per capita consumption, Dr. Posada arrived at his estimate by dividing total oyster supply or expenditures by the current population.
In the video, Long-Term Shifts in Oyster Supply and Prices in U.S. Domestic Markets, Dr. Posadas draws the conclusions while the average per capita oyster expenditure has continued to rise; total oyster landings have been shrinking over time. Using the NOAA Fisheries website as a source for raw data, during the past decade the total supply of oyster landings have shrank 34%, that includes total landings, total imports, total aquaculture production and changes in inventory.
An overall trend in U.S. commercial oyster landings since 1930 has been in one direction – downward. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
An overall trend in U.S. commercial oyster landings since 1930 has been in one direction – downward. Between 1950 and 1990 oyster production in in the Gulf of Mexico trended upward with peak production between 2000 and 2010 when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred. Since the spill the percent of Gulf to total U.S. oyster landings have steadily declined due to habitat degradation, pollution, oyster diseases, predation, coastal hazards and rapid coastal development.
U.S. per capita seafood consumption has been stagnant since 2017, at 19 pounds per person according to updated estimates published by IntraFish using NOAA Fisheries data.
Although the Eastern oyster has dominated markets in the past, the Pacific oyster has been steadily gaining shares during the past two decades. Dock prices for both species have risen, boosting dockside values of oysters during the past decade.
“The nominal dockside prices and commercial landings of oyster harvested in the U.S. are compared by major species,” said Dr. Posadas in a YouTube posting. “The major oyster species harvested in the U.S. include Eastern oysters and Pacific oysters. In addition, the nominal farm-gate prices and production of oyster farms are also compiled. The total supply and apparent per capita consumption of oyster are also estimated. The overall trends in prices, harvest and consumption are measured over time.”
During the past decade oyster aquaculture contributed increasing share, producing 35 million pounds per year averaging 36% of the total supply. Photo: Ed Lallo/Gulf Seafood News
Since 2014 wild-caught oysters have become significantly more expensive than farmed, with dock prices averaging between $7-$9 a pound of meat. Farmed oyster sold at the gate at an average of between $4-$5 per pound, while imports hovered around $2 per pound and exported oysters were valued between $3-$4 per pound.
During the past decade oyster aquaculture contributed increasing share, producing 35 million pounds per year averaging 36% of the total supply. Oyster net imports have averaged around 30%.
“The decline in landings have led to higher dockside prices and bigger dockside values,” Dr. Posadas said in a Facebook post. “Less supply. Higher prices. Higher expenditures for consumers.”
Graph: Mississippi State University/Horticulture and Marine Economics Outreach
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