Aq 2 (7-02) Catfish Production National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released July 29, 2002, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Production" call John Lange at (202) 720-0585, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Foodfish Inventory Numbers Show Increase From Year Ago Levels Commercial catfish operations in the four major producing States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) had 386 million foodsize fish on hand on July 1, 2002, up 4 percent from the July 1, 2001 total of 372 million. The breakouts of foodsize fish inventory numbers on July 1, 2002, with their respective percent change from the previous year are: large foodsize, 10.2 million, up 66 percent; medium foodsize, 94.4 million, up 24 percent; and small foodsize, 281 million, down 3 percent. The four major States also had 1.05 million broodfish on hand on July 1, 2002, down 18 percent from last year's 1.28 million. The number of large stockers on hand on July 1, 2002, totaled 379 million fish, up 12 percent from the 338 million fish on hand a year ago. There were 388 million small stockers, down 6 percent from last year. Producers had 1.64 billion fingerlings and fry on hand on July 1, 2002, down 11 percent from the 1.83 billion on hand July 1, 2001. Live weight, at 25.1 million pounds, was up 14 percent from the 22.1 million pounds a year ago. Water Acres Down 3 Percent The water surface area to be used for catfish production during July 1 through December 31, 2002, totaled 184,900 acres, down 3 percent from a year ago. Of the total acres, 4,590 acres are to be renovated during the period from July 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002. Acres used for foodsize fish totaled 151,400 acres, down 3 percent from July 2001. Acres for broodfish were down 3 percent to 4,740 acres, and acres used for fingerling production decreased 4 percent to 25,000 acres. An additional 1,450 acres are under construction and expected to be in use by January 1, 2003. During the January 1, 2002 through June 30, 2002 period, 5,370 acres were taken out of production. The total number of operations on July 1, 2002 in the four major states was 880, down 6 percent from the year ago total of 933. Catfish: Number of Operations and Water Surface Acres, Used for Production, 2001-2002, by State and United States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of : Water Surface Acres : Operations : Used for Production State : on Jul 1 : During Jul 1 - Dec 31 :--------------------------------------------------------------- : 2001 : 2002 : 2001 : 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Number ----- -------- Acres -------- : AL : 270 245 26,000 26,100 AR : 185 180 37,000 37,500 LA : 78 65 13,200 11,300 MS : 400 390 113,500 110,000 : Four State : Total : 933 880 189,700 184,900 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish Production: Water Surface Acre Usage, by State and United States, 2001-2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :Acres Intended for Utilization During Jul 1-Dec 31 for- : :--------------------------------------------------------:Acres Taken : : : : Currently Under : Out of State : : : : or Scheduled for - : Production : Foodsize :Fingerlings:Broodfish:-----------------------: During : : : : : New :Jan 1-Jun 30 : : : :Renovation:Construction: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2001 : : AL : 23,200 2,100 600 550 700 280 AR : 31,000 5,000 750 700 500 650 LA : 11,000 1,700 260 570 210 590 MS : 90,500 17,300 3,300 2,600 1,500 2,900 : Four State: Total : 155,700 26,100 4,910 4,420 2,910 4,420 : 2002 : : AL : 23,100 1,800 470 320 440 680 AR : 31,000 5,000 750 700 150 1,350 LA : 9,300 1,600 220 270 60 1,040 MS : 88,000 16,600 3,300 3,300 800 2,300 : Four State: Total : 151,400 25,000 4,740 4,590 1,450 5,370 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish: Inventory by Size Category, by State and United States, July 1, 2001-2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight Size Category : of :-------------------------------------- and : Fish : Total : Average per Fish State :--------------------------------------------------------- : 2001 : 2002 : 2001 : 2002 : 2001 : 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----1,000---- 1,000 Pounds ----Pounds---- : Large Foodsize : : AL : 1,170 3,900 3,900 12,700 3.3 3.3 AR : 1,700 3,100 5,600 10,400 3.3 3.4 LA : 860 520 2,750 1,890 3.2 3.6 MS : 2,440 2,700 8,200 9,200 3.4 3.4 : Four State : Total : 6,170 10,220 20,450 34,190 3.3 3.3 : : Medium Foodsize : : AL : 14,800 23,300 27,400 44,900 1.9 1.9 AR : 19,800 24,800 36,500 47,700 1.8 1.9 LA : 8,300 4,900 15,700 8,500 1.9 1.7 MS : 33,200 41,400 60,400 75,700 1.8 1.8 : Four State : Total : 76,100 94,400 140,000 176,800 1.8 1.9 : : Small Foodsize : : AL : 40,200 45,700 39,700 46,700 1.0 1.0 AR : 42,200 41,800 42,200 42,300 1.0 1.0 LA : 13,400 8,400 12,900 8,400 1.0 1.0 MS : 193,500 185,100 192,600 187,900 1.0 1.0 : Four State : Total : 289,300 281,000 287,400 285,300 1.0 1.0 : : Broodfish : : AL : 160 135 890 960 5.6 7.1 AR : 160 140 830 710 5.2 5.1 LA : 50 27 292 165 5.8 6.1 MS : 910 750 3,900 3,600 4.3 4.8 : Four State : Total : 1,280 1,052 5,912 5,435 4.6 5.2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish: Inventory by Size Category, by State and United States, July 1, 2001-2002 (continued) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight : of :-------------------------------------- Size Category : Fish : Total : Average and : : : per 1,000 Fish State :--------------------------------------------------------- : 2001 : 2002 : 2001 : 2002 : 2001 : 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----1,000---- 1,000 Pounds ----Pounds---- : Large Stockers : : AL : 40,900 94,900 17,900 45,000 438 474 AR : 48,500 49,600 17,000 18,300 351 369 LA : 23,600 16,500 7,760 7,200 329 436 MS : 224,600 217,800 91,000 89,300 405 410 : Four State : Total : 337,600 378,800 133,660 159,800 396 422 : : Small Stockers : : AL : 30,700 59,000 3,600 7,700 117 131 AR : 71,200 78,800 7,100 7,600 99.7 96.4 LA : 11,100 28,500 990 2,400 89.2 84.2 MS : 300,200 221,800 28,800 21,700 95.9 97.8 : Four State : Total : 413,200 388,100 40,490 39,400 98.0 102 : : Fingerlings : and Fry : : AL : 118,500 121,700 1,860 1,540 15.7 12.7 AR : 349,000 297,000 3,700 4,400 10.6 14.8 LA : 114,800 94,300 1,420 1,700 12.4 18.0 MS :1,248,0001,123,000 15,100 17,500 12.1 15.6 : Four State : Total :1,830,3001,636,000 22,080 25,140 12.1 15.4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish: Round Weight Processed, United States, by Month, 1993-2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Feb : Mar : Apr : May : Jun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds : 1993 : 40,327 40,277 43,521 39,920 37,030 35,496 1994 : 36,714 35,035 40,446 34,494 34,163 34,595 1995 : 38,807 38,515 42,200 36,588 37,030 36,047 1996 : 38,475 38,004 46,376 38,557 39,517 36,752 1997 : 42,409 45,067 48,431 45,721 43,409 42,282 1998 : 46,723 47,606 53,761 49,393 45,218 46,244 1999 : 48,723 48,891 56,310 46,830 47,703 48,445 2000 : 50,552 50,942 56,856 48,781 48,424 48,011 2001 : 46,999 50,257 57,766 52,478 51,736 47,883 2002 : 52,551 52,856 58,340 50,694 52,902 49,450 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Jul : Aug : Sep : Oct : Nov : Dec : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds : 1993 : 37,086 37,706 37,072 39,472 36,557 34,549 459,013 1994 : 35,901 39,813 38,716 39,072 36,054 34,266 439,269 1995 : 35,800 38,827 37,634 39,456 34,119 31,863 446,886 1996 : 39,025 40,463 38,807 42,070 37,203 36,874 472,123 1997 : 43,376 44,154 43,472 46,275 40,137 40,216 524,949 1998 : 46,383 47,739 46,579 47,904 43,224 43,581 564,355 1999 : 50,074 50,372 50,414 52,407 48,118 48,341 596,628 2000 : 49,023 53,204 49,422 51,412 45,535 41,441 593,603 2001 : 47,829 51,690 49,699 52,264 44,670 43,837 597,108 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish: Prices Paid to Producers by Processors, United States, by Month, 1993-2002 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Feb : Mar : Apr : May : Jun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound : 1993 : 0.63 0.67 0.70 0.71 0.72 0.72 1994 : 0.74 0.77 0.79 0.80 0.80 0.80 1995 : 0.78 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.79 1996 : 0.77 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.79 0.79 1997 : 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.72 1998 : 0.69 0.73 0.78 0.79 0.79 0.78 1999 : 0.703 0.714 0.732 0.756 0.777 0.775 2000 : 0.744 0.788 0.789 0.789 0.785 0.786 2001 : 0.693 0.696 0.697 0.694 0.687 0.669 2002 : 0.549 0.555 0.565 0.561 0.574 0.588 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : Annual : Jul : Aug : Sep : Oct : Nov : Dec : Average :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound : 1993 : 0.72 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.71 1994 : 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.78 1995 : 0.79 0.79 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.79 1996 : 0.79 0.78 0.77 0.76 0.75 0.73 0.77 1997 : 0.71 0.70 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.71 1998 : 0.76 0.74 0.73 0.71 0.70 0.70 0.74 1999 : 0.768 0.743 0.728 0.716 0.713 0.716 0.737 2000 : 0.760 0.741 0.727 0.710 0.696 0.682 0.751 2001 : 0.656 0.624 0.610 0.596 0.566 0.554 0.647 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Price of fish delivered to processing plant door. Price includes charges for services provided by the processing plant, but does not include any adjustments based on year-end settlements. Methodology and Definitions Survey Procedures: All known catfish operators in the four survey states were contacted during the first half of July by mail, telephone, and personal interview. Estimation Procedures: Sound statistical methodology was employed to derive the estimates from reported data. All data were analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation were compared to their own past operating profile and to trends of similar operations. Data for missing operations were estimated based on similar operations or historical data. Reliability: Catfish estimates are based on a census of all known active producers and, therefore, have no sampling variability. However, estimates may be subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing of the data. These errors are minimized through strict quality controls in the edit and summarization process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Revision policy: Estimates for the previous year are subject to revision when current estimates are made. Revisions are the result of late or corrected data. Definitions Used for Catfish Production: Broodfish - Fish kept for egg production, including males. Broodfish produce the fertilized eggs which go to hatcheries. The most desirable size is 3 to 10 pounds or 4 to 6 years of age. Large Foodsize - Fish weighing over 3 pounds. Medium Foodsize - Fish weighing over one and one-half pounds to 3 pounds. Small Foodsize - Fish weighing over three-fourths pound to one and one-half pounds. Large Stockers - Fish weighing over 180 pounds to 750 pounds per 1,000 fish. Small Stockers - Fish weighing over 60 pounds to 180 pounds per 1,000 fish. Fingerlings/Fry - Fish weighing 60 pounds per 1,000 fish and less. 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