The numbers are in: Americans ate nearly a pound more seafood in 2015 than the year before.
It marked the third consecutive year that consumers put more seafood on their plates, but their rising appetite still isn't back to where it was nearly a decade ago when people ate a record average of 16.6 pounds in 2004.
The numbers come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's annual Fisheries of the United States report, published this week.
The recent trend is a promising sign to seafood harvesters who make a living hauling fish and hard shell from the water.
The Garden State Seafood Association, a New Jersey commercial fishing trade group, said it's "encouraged that Americans are eating more seafood" and urges consumers "to buy, eat and learn more about U.S. domestic fisheries."
The United States imported 90 percent of its seafood in 2015, the report found.
