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* The annual world fish catch is about 90 million tons. About 75% are salt water fish and 25% fresh water fish. America's Food by Harvey Blatt (2009).
*The United States imports about 3 billion pounds of fish each year to meet consumer demand. (2011) USDA
*25 years ago large Atlantic Bluefin tuna (250 to over 1,000 pounds) might sell for a penny a pound for cat food, if it sold at all. Today, that same Bluefin tuna can sell for well over $100 per pound, mainly due to the popularity of sushi and sashimi around the world. Early this year a bluefin tuna caught off northeastern Japan fetched a record 56.49 million yen, or about $736,000. This prize fish was purchased by a Japanese sushi restaurant chain.
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*About 10% of the world fish catch is cod.
*E. itajara a species of Grouper, grows so large that some believe it was the great fish that swallowed Jonah, the Jewish prophet of the Old Testament, hence the name "jewfish."
*Some Groupers are so huge that when they open their mouths to feed, they create a suction that is powerful enough to inhale small prey.
* Florida currently produces about 80% of all the grouper caught in the U.S.
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