Sea Foods...

Any form of sea life regarded as food by humans is considered as seafood. Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae are taken as seafood around the world, especially in Asia. We can say seafood includes all type of edible aquatic life. Seafood is an important source of nutrients such as protein in many diets around the world, mostly in coastal areas. Fish can be a part of a nutritious diet and is a good source of vitamins and minerals, oily fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acid, which may benefit heart health.

Oil-rich fish such as mackerel and herring are rich in omega-3 oil. This oil is also present in human body which is required for proper brain functionality. Shellfish are particularly rich in zinc, which is essential for healthy skin and muscles as well as fertility. The different type of sea foods is - fish, molluscs, crustaceans, other aquatic animals, aquatic plants and microphytes. Iceland, Japan and Portugal are the greatest consumers of seafood per capita in the world.

The consumption of seafood is ancient practice with archaeological evidence dating back well into Palaeolithic period. The ancient river Nile was full of fish, fresh and dried fish were a staple food for much of population. The Egyptians had implements and methods for fishing and these are illustrated in tomb scenes, drawing and papyrus documents.

Seafood is consumed all over the world, over one billion people rely on seafood as their primary source of animal protein. Fish is among the most common seafood. Most of the seafood is consumed by humans, but a significant amount of it is used as a food for fish to farm other fishes, and as a fertilizer. In these ways, the seafood is used to produce further food for human consumption.

Consumers are willing to pay higher prices for fish:

demand for high-quality fish is surging, as fish is a good source of protein and low in harmful fats. This encourages consumers to pay extra to procure fish and sea food. 

Fish and seafood is the highest consumed non-vegetarian food:

During a survey conducted by The National Sample Survey Office(NSSO) on “Household consumption of various goods and services in India” for 2011-2012, it was mentioned that seafood is the most popular non-vegetarian food consumed in India, with more than 70% of the non-vegetarian population consuming fish and seafood. Due to India’s long coastline, inland bodies of water and growth in aquaculture, there has been a surplus in the production of fish and seafood, which keeps a constant supply of fish to many consumers.

-Ravindra Singh Sisodiya (1801138)