When it comes to fish, modern-day diners love salmon. According to National Geographic, Americans eat 450,000 tons of it each year. These days, a nice plate of grilled fish or fresh salmon sashimi at a high end restaurant can cost more than steak. However, it hasn’t always been that way. In the colonial U.S., there are tales of salmon being so abundant that people could step on the fish to cross the rivers. The fish was often fed to poor servants and laborers because it was so easy to acquire (via NPS).
Even sushi rolls featuring salmon haven’t always been common. In fact, NPR reports that salmon sushi didn’t become popular in Japan until a push from Norway in the 1980s, when the Scandinavian country had more salmon than they knew what to do with. Eventually, salmon started to become popular at cheap sushi restaurants in Japan. Larger global interest in salmon sushi resulted in fancier versions of the dish.
These days, the salmon industry is definitely not dealing with too many fish. Farm-raised salmon has become the norm, and sometimes fish in the U.S. is imported from places like Chile and Scotland. Mislabeling is also a major issue, making it difficult (and more expensive) for people to purchase ethical, wild-caught salmon (via National Geographic).
