October 31, 2013 — While Japan’s fish-rich cuisine continues to gain popularity and recognition abroad, back home the consumption of fish is actually in decline. It seems our fishy friends have something of an aromatic image problem: they smell.
Some Japanese fish farmers, however, are hoping a change of scent will help turn the tide of domestic popularity back in favor of fish. To achieve this fragrant revolution, they are adding fruit to fish feed to give the creatures a more pleasing bouquet.
A Japanese fisheries ministry report notes that despite a doubling in the global consumption of seafood over the last 50 years, per capita consumption in Japan has fallen compared with figures from 1989. Meanwhile, per person consumption of meat in Japan has exceeded that of fish since 2009, the report points out, citing an increased appetite for chicken and pork.
The report, using figures from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, shows that Japanese individual consumption of seafood and fish products is still nearly three times the global average, but it is decreasing and has now fallen behind average consumption in Portugal and South Korea.
Amid a continuing Westernization of the Japanese diet, some fish farmers claim the problem is consumers are simply turning their noses up at fish.
Read the full story at the Wall Street Journal