increasingly successful at leisure than at home

Spain can boast of a rich gastronomic tradition based on fish. Neither that, nor their kilometers of coastHowever, not even the millions of euros that the country’s ports move each year have prevented the fish from going through a particular journey through the desert in Spanish homes, one marked by the collapse in consumption per capita and the closure of thousands and thousands of fishmongers.

Behind this phenomenon there are several keys, such as cultural and educational changes that affect the purchase or the perception that consumers have of its cost, but there is also another interesting factor: we increasingly associate fish more with leisure and less with our refrigerators. Maybe we don’t plan to cook a sea bass for lunch, but we like to go to sushi, sashimi, pokés or ceviche for dinner.

A percentage: 32%. These are not good times for the fish industry. Not at least in Spain. Markets and fishmongers have been losing strength in the shopping basket at a speed that is evident in consumption data per capita at home calculated by the ministry: if in 2014 each Spaniard consumed on average 26.4 kilos of fish per year, at the end of 2025 that indicator it already marked 17.8. In short: a collapse of 32.5% in just a decade. If we extend the comparison the decline is even greater. In 2009 They were close to 30 kg.

A negative trend. The latest data They don’t exactly invite optimism either. According to the latest tables from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (Mapa) on domestic consumption, in November 2025 each Spaniard ate an average of 1.48 kg, on which they spent 17.65 euros. The consumption data is more or less similar to that of 2024, but is far from the more than two kilos of 2015.

In your sector report Most recently, with data from November 2025, Luis Planas’ department warned that the fish market in Spain “is losing purchasing intensity”, with a drop of almost 2% that is partially offset by the increase in prices. The most affected (by far) is the fresh merchandise business, which has fallen by 5.6%, dragging the rest of the sector along in its fall. Frozen sales actually rose by 1.5% in 2025.

One figure: 5,000 businesses. The drop in fish purchases not only shows us what we eat at home, it also leaves a clear business reading. This ‘pinch’ in consumption has been accompanied by the closure of 5,000 fishmongers in Spain, such as I remembered a year ago The Newspaper. “A third of the 15,000 fishmongers that existed in 2007 have been lost, which means the closure of more than 350 traditional fishmongers per year,” corroborates Fedepesca. “In the same period the number of people employed in the sector has also gone from 26,237 to 18,396.”

Although the closure of establishments coincides with changes in consumption and a lower presence of fish in the country’s refrigerators, Fedepesca recognizes that this is not the only challenge. “There is no generational change,” regrets before pointing to factors such as business hours or the lack of a firm commitment to training. In an attempt to diversify their income, some have even begun to explore new business avenues, such as pet food.

Do all the fish fall? The truth is that no. And that is one of the keys that help us better understand the changes in fish consumption that Spain is experiencing. In your report ‘Fishing month by month’MAPA points out that there are species that have seen their demand increase over the last year, such as trout (27.7%), tuna (3.4%), sardines and anchovies (7.5%) and salmon (9.7%).

The demand for smoked salmon and trout has also grown, by 9.1 and 38.9% respectively. The evolution of salmon stands out above all, not so much for its growth percentage as for its volume, with one of the highest per capita consumption among the species identified by MAPA.

More fish (away from home). There is another indicator that is equally interesting. Fish consumption may decrease in homesbut his behavior is better outside the home. He report of Mercasa on “extradomestic consumption” of 2024 suggests that the product is improving its reception in restaurants, bars, hotels and other businesses where people can eat without cooking.

Over the last few years, the organization has registered “a progressive increase in the extra-domestic consumption of fish and shellfish” that can be clearly seen in your graphicsIf in 2022 it was 145.9 million kilos, the following year it rose to 149.8 million and in 2024 it was already 155.7, the highest figure since at least 2020. Going down into more detail, the demand for seafood, squid, octopus, prawns and shrimp, salmon and fresh tuna stands out.

During the start of 2025, out-of-home consumption of fish continued to increase, with a growth of 8.1% with respect to 2024.

What does that tell us? We may have reduced the consumption of fish in our homes and in general we pay less attention to it when planning our meals, but its demand does not evolve the same at home as it does outside of it. In fact, the loss of fishmongers coincides with the rise of other types of businesses: establishments specializing in sushi, sashimi, poké and ceviche, dishes from foreign cuisines in which fish also plays an important role.

Increasingly associated with leisure. Seen another way: fish consumption is losing strength in homes, but seems to be strengthening in others oriented towards ‘leisure’. Companies in the sector detect a problem of “perception” among consumers related to the price of fish, but the reality is that there are businesses that have been able to take advantage of it. In recent years there has been no shortage voices that they claim that the increase in the intake of salmon, one of the products that responds best, is directly related to the rise of Asian cuisine.

Beyond the opening of businesses, interest in new ways of preparing fish was evident during the pandemic: according to Asefapre, the association of prepared dish manufacturers, in 2020 sushi consumption at home grew to reach 2,715 t. The group even talks about a 50% growth in demand in three years. It’s not surprising at all. There are those, as Juan Roigis convinced that cooking at home has its days numbered and in the future, consumers will bring ready-made food to our homes.

Images | Alvaro (Flickr), Eroski S.Coop Group (Flickr)

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A version of this topic was published in 2025. We have updated the content.