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Top Story much for population growth. If our population grows even slightly, per-capita consump- tion will go down slightly." Sabbagh doesn't agree with that analysis, however, citing consumption data to the con- trary. In 1992, when the U.S. population was 253 million, per-capita consumption aver- aged 14.8 pounds. By 2004, when the census had swelled to 292 million, each American ate 16.66 pounds of seafood. By 2009, when the population was 305 million, that number sank to 16 pounds per person, a figure that slipped another 0.2 pounds the next year. "So in 2011 we're down to 15 pounds, which is a change of a whole pound with only 5 million more people than in 2009," Sabbagh says. "Per- capita consumption is down and that needs to change." 'In restaurants we trust' Given many Americans' ti- midity about cooking seafood at home, restaurants remain the go-to source for those who want to eat it. Yet even then, seafood restaurants as a whole are small players in the overall restaurant field. Red Lobster is the highest-grossing seafood chain in America, with annual revenues of $2.4 billion. Te No. 2 company, Landry's, made up of mul- tiple seafood concepts (such as Landry's, Joe's Crab Shack, Bubba Gump and Chart House, to name a few) reports less than half that amount, $1.16 billion. (Interestingly, Red Lobster just completed a two-year- long menu overhaul that saw it increase non-seafood offer- ings, such as pork and salads, from 8 percent of the menu to nearly 25 percent.) By comparison, Applebee's, the tenth largest broad-menu casual-dining chain, sells nearly double that amount at $4.43 billion in annual sales. And just for perspective, Star- bucks, the No. 3 chain in the restaurant industry at $8.5 billion, logs more sales annu- ally than all seafood restau- rants combined. For many years, Long John Silver's ($800 million) and Captain D's Seafood ($506 million), America's two larg- est fast-food seafood chains, have endured flat unit growth. Both also have battled seesaw- ing revenue as the restaurant marketplace has become in- creasingly competitive at ev- ery level. Mike Kern, president and CEO of Louisville, Ky.-based Long John Silver's, says NO- AA's declining per-capita con- sumption numbers are reflect- ed in his chain's long-term sales trends, especially during the recent recession. "I believe a lot of that is driven by price: Te average seafood entrée costs more "The cost of seafood is the hardest cost for my chefs to manage. When the wholesale price of halibut is $17 a pound, I'm still charging $23 to $24 an entrée to make a decent margin." — Jeff Tunks, owner, Passionfish than the average beef or poultry entrée," Kern says. "Due to price sensitivity … seafood has gotten the short end of the stick." Aware that the drought of 2012 will drive up beef and poultry prices, Kern is optimistic seafood sales will benefit because protein price points will even out some. "Tere are no underly- ing megatrends providing headwinds for us right now," Kern says. "And we're selling more whitefish and shellfish this year than last year by far. I feel that as the economy continues to recover, we'll continue to do better." Restaurateurs at the oppo- site end of the dining spec- trum aren't quite as upbeat. 22 SeaFood Business December 2012 the sight of a $30 fillet. But at some of his other restaurants, spending that much and pos- sibly more is only a special- occasion purchase. "Te Passionfish customer already shops at Wegman's, where swordfish is $23 a pound. Tey know fish is expensive," Tunks says. "We can let that [$30] piece of fish stand alone at the center of the plate with a particular sauce and garnish, but in some of our other concepts, we have to make adjustments." One such plate adjustment is using smaller cuts of sea- food accompanied by vegeta- bles and/or a starch. Tat sea- food also might be encrusted in nuts or breaded to add size. "No doubt the straight Tey know consumers who read menus carefully see that, save for prime beef, seafood options are the priciest. In many concepts, that leaves a broad range of customers clutching their wallets and scurrying to other parts of the menu, says Jeff Tunks, owner of six restaurants in and around Washington, D.C. At Passionfish, Tunks' high-end seafood spot, the clientele is well heeled and doesn't gasp at food cost of seafood is the hardest cost for my chefs to manage," Tunks says. "When the wholesale price of halibut is $17 a pound, I'm still charg- ing $23 to $24 an entrée to make a decent margin." Mixed messages for the masses Sabbagh strongly believes negative news coverage has harmed the seafood industry, and he cites recent events like 2010's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as potential reasons for consumption declines. "You look at all the talk about canned tuna and mer- cury levels, and you add in the work of activists who have their claims about sustainabil- ity," Sabbagh began. "In the end, you've got canned tuna consumption down a half pound per person over the past six years." Sabbagh also says the sea- food industry's very makeup gives rise to intra-industry dis- putes that fracture its ability to act as a whole, something enjoyed by nearly all beef and poultry producers. "You have people attack- ing farmed fish versus wild fish, domestic fish versus im- ported fish, and that brings everyone down," he says. "I think that can leave a bad taste in the mouths of people who hear all that." Te solution, he says, is a unified message that's trum- peted with regularity and consistency — exactly Bruce Schactler's goal. A commer- cial salmon and herring fish- erman in Alaska, Schactler founded the National Seafood Marketing Coalition three years ago to heighten aware- ness of domestic seafood, its production, its sustainabil- ity and health benefits. U.S. pork producers were tremen- dously successful with their "other white meat" campaign, he says, so there's no reason American seafood producers Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com