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Why are the Japanese moving away from fish? Which species are the favorites?

JAPAN
Monday, October 07, 2024, 00:20 (GMT + 9)

People are moving away from fish, but the truth is, "I want to eat it, but I can't"! "We asked almost 1000 people" announces the results of a survey.

I eat fish but not often. The hurdle to eating more is the high price.

Regardless of whether they eat fish at home, take-out, or out, the most common answer was "1-2 days a week" at 42.4%. Those who eat fish "more than once a week" accounted for a high percentage of 82.5%, but for "more than three days a week," the percentage drops to less than half at 40.1%. 

The frequency of cooking fish at home also dropped to 32.3% at "more than three days a week." On the other hand, many people (75.3%) said they would like to eat more fish or feed it to their families.

Over 90% of people said they "want to actively eat fish" because "fish is nutritious/good for the body/health," so fish is highly regarded. However, only 20% of people said they eat fish more frequently compared to three years ago, while nearly 60% said it "remains the same." 

When asked what would make them want to eat more fish, 65.2% said "cheaper prices" topped the list, suggesting that the high price is one of the reasons people don't eat it more often. There were also earnest voices such as, "The price of fish has become increasingly higher, so I can't eat it often anymore" (Gekosuke, 30s).

The most popular fish are those that can be purchased at reasonable prices all year round and have a wide variety of ways to eat them.

When asked which fish they often cook at home, "salmon" topped the list by far with 82.4%. In second place was "mackerel" with 66.2%, and in third place was "yellowtail/hiramasa" with 49.6%.

Reasons for choosing each fish:

1. "Salmon is cheap and easy to get all year round, and it's easy to cook".
2. "The whole family likes the taste, too" (Sun, in her 50s),
3. "Salmon is easy to prepare in a variety of ways, such as grilled, foil-roasted, or meunière" (Maho-mi, in her 40s),
4. "Fish is expensive, but mackerel is one of the cheaper options, and easy to buy. It's also rich in nutrients, and can be eaten deliciously grilled or simmered" (Miiko, in her 50s)
5. "Yellowtail bone packs contain a lot of them, are cheap, and make a great broth, so they're delicious" (Mom, in her 30s).

There were many responses citing the affordability and variety of ways to eat them. Incidentally, when it comes to the important points when buying fish, "freshness" came in first place at 61.1%, followed by "low price" at 56.2%, and "ease of cooking" at 47.8%. It appears that low cost and ease of cooking are important points when choosing fish. 

We often hear people say that their children won't eat fish, but in this survey, 64.0% of people with children said that their children "like" fish. And how they eat dinner seems to be related to children's dislike of fish. Compared to those who "eat together as a family," those who "eat separately" were about 7 points more likely to say that their children "dislike" fish. Eating meals together as a family as much as possible may be one way to overcome children's dislike of fish. In addition, the top two "ways to get children to eat fish" were "select fish that children like" (51.3%) and "cook it in a way that children enjoy (such as frying)" (39.0%). Specific ways of doing things included "selecting fish with a mild taste and seasoning it in a way that children like" (Lindt, 40s) and "buying a variety of sashimi so that children can choose by themselves and make seafood bowls" (Yunaty, 40s).

It is said that "modern people have stopped eating fish," but in fact it is not that they dislike fish; in this survey, 82.5% of people answered that they "like fish." Fish is viewed positively in terms of nutrition and health, and the rising price revealed the reality that people cannot eat fish even if they want to. With the increase in global demand for fish and the decline in catches due to climate change, it is likely that it will continue to be difficult to eat fish in the future. It would be good if the price of fish overall could stabilize as the utilization of "unutilized fish" that have not been distributed until now spread.

Survey participants: Orange Page members, women aged 20 or older living in Japan (valid responses: 1,226)

● Survey period: July 19th to July 26th, 2024

The Orange Page Members reader monitors are made up of many readers who are highly sensitive to everyday life and have been nurtured through various lifestyle information and experiences. The "We Asked Almost 1,000 People" project was created by collecting the voices of these members to gather "real life" numbers and real voices. We will develop online questionnaire surveys, roundtable discussions, and other projects in response to your requests.

editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media

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