Fish consumption in Hadramawt: Insights from household survey data
A new representative consumption survey of 1,600 households in Hadramawt Governorate, Yemen, reveals the following key findings:
Fish is the primary animal-source food in Hadramawt, as 96% of households report consuming it in the past seven days, compared with 58% that report consuming poultry and 6% that report consuming meat in this period.
Inland households consume 13 kg of fish per capita per year, while coastal households consume 29 kg per capita per year, which is 40% more than the global average of 20.7 kg per capita.
Fish consumption is four times higher than meat consumption overall, and more than 10 times higher than meat consumption in coastal areas.
Inland households predominantly consume large and small tuna species, whereas coastal households rely on small tuna and lower-value species such as small pelagic fish.
Fresh fish is the most affordable animal-source food in coastal and inland areas. However, prices for kawakawa, the most consumed fresh fish, are two times higher inland than on the coast.
61% and 43% of inland households report consuming processed (i.e., salted, dried, smoked) and canned fish, respectively, while households in coastal areas predominantly consume fresh fish only. Only 2% of fish is purchased frozen.
With its vast coastline, Yemen has the potential to provide significant quantities of fish, a nutrient-dense food, for its people. However, recent data on how much fish is consumed in Yemen, and Hadramawt as the main fishing governorate, is sparse.
Namely, relying on consumption data from Yemen’s 2005–2006 Household Budget Survey, Ecker et al. (2010) estimated that average fish consumption per capita in Hadramawt was 17.8 kg/year. More recently, a study by Dey et al. (2026) showed that 43% of respondents in Hadramawt, and more than 60% in some inland districts, had consumed fish within the past 24 hours, which was more frequent than consumption of other animal-source foods. Both studies underscored the importance of fish as one of the main protein sources across Hadramawt. However, a scoping review by Belton et al. (2026) identified significant research gaps in terms of quantity, frequency, geographical distribution, and the species and product forms eaten. Thus, a survey of a statistically representative sample of the population was needed to better understand fish consumption patterns in this governorate.
We surveyed 1,600 households in Hadramawt, across 40 locations in four distinct geographic areas (10 locations per area): inland rural, inland urban, coastal rural, and coastal urban. This approach ensured inclusion of households with different socioeconomic status and livelihoods, as well as different access to markets and fisheries. We used a quasi-random sampling approach1 to identify 40 eligible households in each of the 40 selected locations. Interviews were conducted in October 2025 during the fishing season. The survey collected information on household demographic characteristics and consumption of fish and other animal-source foods, including the type, species, quantity, frequency, price, and source of food products during the seven days preceding the data collection.
In this project note, we examine the main consumption patterns for fish, meat, and poultry across Hadramawt. We also estimate the associations between per capita fish consumption and expenditure and household characteristics, including households’ geographic location.
Authors
Jovanovic, Nina; Darwish, Maram; Belton, Ben; Ecker, Olivier
Citation
Jovanovic, Nina; Darwish, Maram; Belton, Ben; and Ecker, Olivier. 2026. Fish consumption in Hadramawt: Insights from household survey data. MENA Project Note 33. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183518
Keywords
Asia; Western Asia; Food Prices; Animal Source Foods; Household Consumption; Household Surveys; Fish Consumption
