Half Of Edible Seafood Is Wasted Due To Consumers

New research shows that nearly half of the perfectly good seafood caught in America goes to waste, due to inefficiencies in the industry and "consumer refuse," according to Time.

The study, which was published in Global Environmental Change, finds that most of the waste (51 to 63 percent) is caused by consumers, with the rest of the blame put on discarded bycatch by fishermen and lost intel by distributors. The research also suggests that consumers throw away 1.3 billion pounds, fishermen get rid of 570 million pounds and distributors lose 330 pounds of seafood every year.

The study goes on to state that all that lost seafood amounts to enough protein and omega-3 fatty acids to meet U.S. dietary guidelines for more than 10 million people annually.

"If we're told to eat significantly more seafood but the supply is severely threatened, it is critical and urgent to reduce waste of seafood," John Hopkins University researcher and study leader David Love said in a statement.

The study suggests that closer attention should be paid to the seafood supply chain. While we agree with this concept, we also suggest that we all tuck in and simply eat more seafood.