Tokyo, Jun 1 (IANS): Japan's seafood production has hit a record low for the second consecutive year, owing to falling demand amid the Covid-19 pandemic as well as changes in water conditions, the government said.

In a report issued on Monday by the Fisheries Ministry, seafood production in 2020 slipped 0.5 per cent from the previous year to 4.175 million tonnes, reports Xinhua news agency.

The figure in the reporting period includes marine products that had been farmed, the Ministry said.

According to the data, the figure for 2020 marked the lowest number on record since comparable data became available in 1956.

The output of mackerel dropped 16.4 per cent from a year earlier to 376,600 tonnes, the Ministry's data showed, while that of salmon edged down 0.9 per cent to 55,900 tonnes.

In the same period, saury output dropped 35.2 per cent to 29,700 tonnes, said the Ministry.

It cited changes in tidal currents and water temperatures as reasons behind low yields of saury and other fish during the reporting period.

A decline in the number of people dining out since the onset of the Covid pandemic in Japan, meanwhile, has seen demand for farmed oysters drop, the Ministry added.