Catfish Production ISSN: 1948-271X Released July 23, 2010, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Special Note NASS is in the process of modifying report layouts in order to improve readability. This is the first issue produced using the new layout. This report issue is published using both layouts but future issues will only be produced using this layout. The previous layout is available on the NASS website: http://www.nass.usda.gov. Foodfish Inventory Numbers Down 13 Percent from a Year Ago Catfish operations in the three major producing States (Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi) had 212 million foodsize fish on hand on July 1, 2010, down 13 percent from the July 1, 2009 total of 243 million foodsize fish. The breakouts of foodsize fish inventory numbers on July 1, 2010, with their respective percent change from the previous year were: large foodsize, 6.40 million fish, down 3 percent; medium foodsize, 61.3 million fish, down 6 percent; and small foodsize, 144 million fish, down 16 percent. The three major States also had 466 thousand broodfish on hand on July 1, 2010, down 12 percent from last year's 530 thousand broodfish. The number of large stockers on hand on July 1, 2010, totaled 166 million fish, down 28 percent from the 231 million fish on hand a year ago. There were 169 million small stockers, down 22 percent from last year. Producers had 805 million fingerlings and fry on hand on July 1, 2010. The water surface area to be used for catfish production during July 1 through December 31, 2010, totaled 95 thousand acres, down 15 percent from a year ago. Acres used for foodsize fish totaled 79.2 thousand acres, down 15 percent from the same time period in 2009. Acres for broodfish decreased 16 percent to 1.85 thousand acres, and acres used for fingerling production decreased 15 percent to 12.5 thousand acres. Acres taken out of production during the January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010 period totaled 6.58 thousand acres, while 1.55 thousand acres of the total in production were scheduled to be renovated from July 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. The number of operations on July 1, 2010 in the three major States totaled 459, down 25 percent from last year's total of 613 operations. Number of Catfish Operations and Water Surface Acres Used for Production - Major States: 2009 and 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number of operations :Water surface acres used for production State : on July 1 1/ : July 1 - December 31 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2009 : 2010 : 2009 : 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ------ number ------ ---------- acres --------- : Alabama ......................: (NA) (NA) 21,700 20,600 Arkansas .....................: (NA) (NA) 20,700 14,600 Mississippi ..................: (NA) (NA) 70,000 60,000 : Three State total ............: 613 459 112,400 95,200 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (NA) Not available. 1/ State level number of operations will only be published every five years in conjunction with the Census of Agriculture. Catfish Water Surface Acres by Use - Major States: 2009 and 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :Acres intended for utilization during July 1 - December 31 for: :--------------------------------------------------------------:Acres taken out : : : : Currently under : of production State and year : : : : or scheduled for : during : Foodsize :Fingerlings: Broodfish :--------------------------: January 1 - : : : : : New : June 30 : : : : Renovation :construction : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : acres : : 2009 : Alabama ......................: 20,400 900 340 290 70 300 Arkansas .....................: 17,400 2,700 250 1,300 - 2,800 Mississippi ..................: 55,000 11,000 1,600 1,500 - 8,300 : Three State total ............: 92,800 14,600 2,190 3,090 70 11,400 : 2010 : Alabama ......................: 19,500 880 120 (D) (D) 280 Arkansas .....................: 11,700 2,300 330 (D) (D) 3,300 Mississippi ..................: 48,000 9,300 1,400 900 - 3,000 : Three State total ............: 79,200 12,480 1,850 1,550 45 6,580 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. Catfish Inventory by Size Category - Major States: July 1, 2009 and 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : Live weight Size category : Number of fish :------------------------------------- and State : : Total : Average :------------------------------------------------------- : 2009 : 2010 : 2009 : 2010 : 2009 : 2010 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ---- 1,000 ---- 1,000 pounds pounds per fish : Large foodsize : Alabama ..............: 2,100 2,200 8,350 8,000 4.0 3.6 Arkansas .............: 1,260 400 4,250 1,300 3.4 3.3 Mississippi ..........: 3,220 3,800 11,700 13,000 3.6 3.4 : Three State total ....: 6,580 6,400 24,300 22,300 3.7 3.5 : Medium foodsize : Alabama ..............: 21,300 27,300 42,600 52,300 2.0 1.9 Arkansas .............: 11,000 8,470 20,800 15,900 1.9 1.9 Mississippi ..........: 32,900 25,500 60,900 47,200 1.9 1.9 : Three State total ....: 65,200 61,270 124,300 115,400 1.9 1.9 : Small foodsize : Alabama ..............: 39,200 38,000 43,000 37,200 1.1 1.0 Arkansas .............: 28,700 18,800 29,000 17,700 1.0 0.9 Mississippi ..........:103,000 87,500 98,400 86,400 1.0 1.0 : Three State total ....:170,900 144,300 170,400 141,300 1.0 1.0 : All foodsize : Alabama ..............: 62,600 67,500 93,950 97,500 (X) (X) Arkansas .............: 40,960 27,670 54,050 34,900 (X) (X) Mississippi ..........:139,120 116,800 171,000 146,600 (X) (X) : Three State total ....:242,680 211,970 319,000 279,000 (X) (X) : Broodfish : Alabama ..............: 59 21 266 99 4.5 4.7 Arkansas .............: 41 65 194 264 4.7 4.1 Mississippi ..........: 430 380 2,000 1,800 4.7 4.7 : Three State total ....: 530 466 2,460 2,163 4.6 4.6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ See footnote(s) at end of table. --continued Catfish Inventory by Size Category - Major States: July 1, 2009 and 2010 (continued) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Live weight Size category : Number of fish :------------------------------------------- and State : : Total : Average :----------------------------------------------------------------- : 2009 : 2010 : 2009 : 2010 : 2009 : 2010 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ----- -- 1,000 pounds -- pounds per 1,000 fish : Large stockers : Alabama ..............: 53,000 38,400 18,900 14,300 357 372 Arkansas .............: 20,100 14,700 7,600 6,150 378 418 Mississippi ..........: 158,000 113,000 63,800 45,000 404 398 : Three State total ....: 231,100 166,100 90,300 65,450 391 394 : Small stockers : Alabama ..............: 34,100 41,200 3,550 3,900 104.0 94.7 Arkansas .............: 21,800 13,900 2,400 1,540 110.0 111.0 Mississippi ..........: 160,000 114,000 15,200 10,800 95.0 94.7 : Three State total ....: 215,900 169,100 21,150 16,240 98.0 96.0 : Total stockers : Alabama ..............: 87,100 79,600 22,450 18,200 (X) (X) Arkansas .............: 41,900 28,600 10,000 7,690 (X) (X) Mississippi ..........: 318,000 227,000 79,000 55,800 (X) (X) : Three State total ....: 447,000 335,200 111,450 81,690 (X) (X) : Fingerlings and fry : Alabama ..............: 54,000 40,200 960 1,200 17.8 29.9 Arkansas .............: 87,600 104,000 1,570 1,700 17.9 16.3 Mississippi ..........: 741,000 661,000 12,000 8,000 16.2 12.1 : Three State total ....: 882,600 805,200 14,530 10,900 16.5 13.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (X) Not applicable. Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for catfish production are collected from all known producers in the three published states. Individual NASS field offices maintain a list of all known catfish producers and use known sources of producers to update their lists. Operators are mailed a questionnaire as close as possible to July 1 and given adequate time to respond by mail. Those that do not respond by mail are telephoned or possibly enumerated in person during the middle of July. Estimating Procedures: Sound statistical methodology is employed to derive the estimates from reported data. All data are analyzed for unusual values. Data from each operation are compared to their own past operating profile and to trends from similar operations. Data for missing operations were estimated based on similar operations or historical data. NASS field offices prepare these estimates by using a combination of survey indications and historic trends. Individual State estimates are reviewed by the Agricultural Statistics Board for 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. Reliability: In the three published states, catfish production estimates are based on a census of all known active producers and therefore, have no sampling variability. However, estimates are subject to errors such as omissions, duplication, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured directly, they are minimized through strict quality controls in the data collection process and a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. Terms and Definitions Used for Catfish Production Estimates 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. Fingerlings: Fish weighing 2 to 60 pounds per 1,000 fish or 2 to 6 inches in length. Foodsize (large): Fish weighing over 3 pounds. Foodsize (medium): Fish weighing over one and one-half pounds to 3 pounds. Foodsize (small): Fish weighing over three-fourths of a pound to one and one- half pounds. Fry: Fish weighing less than 2 pounds per 1,000 fish or less than 2 inches in length. Stockers (large): Fish weighing over 180 pounds to 750 pounds per 1,000 fish. Stockers (small): Fish weighing over 60 pounds to 180 pounds per 1,000 fish or over 6 inches in length. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch .......................................... (202) 720-3570 Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ................... (202) 720-4447 Doug Bounds - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ............ (202) 690-3237 David Colwell - Cold Storage ................................................ (202) 720-8784 Chris Hawthorn - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink .. (202) 720-0585 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs .................................................. (202) 690-8632 Troy Marshall - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey ................... (202) 720-3244 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: http://www.nass.usda.gov Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e- mail subscription. 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