Catfish Production ISSN: 1948-271X Released February 5, 2016, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Catfish Value of Sales Up 3 percent from 2014 Catfish growers in the United States had sales of 361 million dollars during 2015, up 3 percent from 352 million dollars the previous year. The top four States (Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas) accounted for 96 percent of the United States total sales. The United States total foodsize sales of 345 million dollars up 4 percent from the previous year. Sales of stockers totaled 8.20 million dollars in 2015, compared to 8.92 million dollars in 2014. Fingerling and fry sales totaled 7.69 million dollars, down 25 percent from 2014. By point of first sale, direct sales to processors accounted for 95.9 percent of total foodsize fish sales, up 2 percent from the previous year. Direct sales to other producers accounted for 86.9 percent of stocker sales compared with 89.7 percent in 2014. Water Surface Acres Down 11 Percent from January 1, 2015 The water surface acres being used for catfish production as of January 1, 2016, totaled 62.5 thousand acres, down 11 percent from the 69.9 thousand acres used a year earlier. Of the total acres, 3.27 thousand are to be renovated during the period of January 1 to June 30, 2016. An additional 200 acres are under construction or expected to be constructed and in use by July 1, 2016. During the period of July 1 through December 31, 2015, the area taken out of production totaled 2.10 thousand acres. As of January 1, 2016, foodsize fish were produced on 49.4 thousand acres, fingerling producing acres totaled 8.68 thousand, and 1.91 thousand acres were being used for broodfish production. Inventory Numbers Catfish producers had 520 thousand broodfish on hand January 1, 2016, down 10 percent from January 1, 2015. Large foodsize fish on hand totaled 3.52 million on January 1, 2016, down 31 percent from a year ago. The number of medium foodsize fish were down 5 percent to 45.8 million, while small foodsize fish numbers are up 4 percent to 101 million. Large stockers on hand January 1, 2016, at 67.5 million fish, were down 29 percent from the previous year. Small stocker numbers were down 11 percent to 137 million. There were 329 million fingerlings on hand January 1, 2016, down 27 percent from January 1, 2015. Catfish Water Surface Acres Used for Production and Total Sales - States and United States: 2014-2016 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Water surface acres : : : used for production : Total sales State : during January 1 - July 30 : : :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2014 : 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------- acres -------- ----- 1,000 dollars ----- : Alabama ............: 15,300 15,000 104,468 108,866 Arkansas ...........: 5,800 5,000 21,295 18,456 California .........: 1,400 1,400 8,108 5,774 Mississippi ........: 41,000 36,100 189,540 201,450 North Carolina .....: 1,500 1,300 3,985 3,878 Texas ..............: 2,000 2,000 16,656 18,123 : Other States 1/ ....: 2,910 1,740 7,888 4,911 : United States ......: 69,910 62,540 351,940 361,458 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Other States include State estimates not shown and States suppressed due to disclosure. Catfish Water Surface Acre Usage - States and United States: 2014-2016 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Acres intended for utilization during January 1 - June 30 : Acres taken out :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: of production : : : : : : : Currently under : during : : : : : : : or scheduled for: : July 1 - State : Foodsize : Fingerlings : Broodfish :-----------------------------------: December 31 : : : : : : : Renovation :New construction : : :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2014 : 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : acres : Alabama ........: 14,900 14,500 250 260 85 30 480 260 65 (D) 240 310 Arkansas .......: 4,200 3,300 1,200 1,400 195 230 95 270 (D) 20 (D) 175 California .....: 1,100 1,100 185 190 100 60 40 135 (D) - (D) (D) Mississippi ....: 28,800 26,700 7,000 6,200 1,500 1,300 3,400 2,300 (D) 65 960 710 North Carolina .: 1,200 1,100 135 70 35 (D) 70 65 (D) (D) (D) (D) Texas ..........: 1,800 1,800 100 80 70 100 105 140 30 (D) 500 690 : Other States 1/ : 1,510 935 550 475 170 190 80 100 80 115 575 215 : United States ..: 53,510 49,435 9,420 8,675 2,155 1,910 4,270 3,270 175 200 2,275 2,100 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ Other States include State estimates not shown and States suppressed due to disclosure. Catfish, Foodsize Inventory by Size Category - States and United States: January 1, 2015 and 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Live weight Size category : Number of fish :------------------------------------------- and State : : : Total : Average :----------------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ----- -- 1,000 pounds -- pounds per fish : Large foodsize : Alabama ............: 1,500 1,500 5,600 5,600 3.7 3.7 Arkansas ...........: 620 300 2,400 1,000 3.9 3.3 California .........: 260 210 872 670 3.4 3.2 Mississippi ........: 2,120 910 6,800 3,100 3.2 3.4 North Carolina .....: 210 155 671 548 3.2 3.5 Texas ..............: 320 310 1,300 1,120 4.1 3.6 : Other States 1/ ....: 60 135 216 536 3.6 4.0 : United States ......: 5,090 3,520 17,859 12,574 3.5 3.6 : Medium foodsize : Alabama ............: 15,900 13,100 31,500 25,300 2.0 1.9 Arkansas ...........: 2,630 2,660 5,100 4,850 1.9 1.8 California .........: 490 770 946 2,100 1.9 2.7 Mississippi ........: 23,700 23,100 44,400 41,700 1.9 1.8 North Carolina .....: 1,040 860 1,940 1,650 1.9 1.9 Texas ..............: 3,670 4,910 7,600 9,600 2.1 2.0 : Other States 1/ ....: 790 375 1,543 741 2.0 2.0 : United States ......: 48,220 45,775 93,029 85,941 1.9 1.9 : Small foodsize : Alabama ............: 23,300 24,900 25,200 25,300 1.1 1.0 Arkansas ...........: 5,770 4,380 6,100 4,300 1.1 1.0 California .........: 1,920 1,540 1,660 1,380 0.9 0.9 Mississippi ........: 59,800 65,400 62,000 64,800 1.0 1.0 North Carolina .....: 2,690 1,950 3,000 2,350 1.1 1.2 Texas ..............: 2,370 1,850 2,350 1,690 1.0 0.9 : Other States 1/ ....: 960 830 991 809 1.0 1.0 : United States ......: 96,810 100,850 101,301 100,629 1.0 1.0 : Total foodsize : Alabama ............: 40,700 39,500 62,300 56,200 (NA) (NA) Arkansas ...........: 9,020 7,340 13,600 10,150 (NA) (NA) California .........: 2,670 2,520 3,478 4,150 (NA) (NA) Mississippi ........: 85,620 89,410 113,200 109,600 (NA) (NA) North Carolina .....: 3,940 2,965 5,611 4,548 (NA) (NA) Texas ..............: 6,360 7,070 11,250 12,410 (NA) (NA) : Other States 1/ ....: 1,810 1,340 2,750 2,086 (NA) (NA) : United States ......: 150,120 150,145 212,189 199,144 (NA) (NA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (NA) Not available. 1/ Other States include State estimates not shown and States suppressed due to disclosure. Catfish, Stockers and Fingerlings Inventory by Size Category - States and United States: January 1, 2015 and 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Live weight Size category : Number of fish :------------------------------------------- and State : : : Total : Average :----------------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 ----- 1,000 pounds pounds per 1,000 fish : Large stockers : Alabama ............: 21,700 19,000 9,050 10,200 417 537 Arkansas ...........: 4,430 7,500 2,300 2,400 519 320 California .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ........: 61,400 37,100 23,800 11,700 388 315 North Carolina .....: 3,960 1,980 2,250 1,090 568 551 Texas ..............: 330 510 187 181 567 355 : Other States 1/ ....: 3,420 1,435 1,057 594 309 414 : United States ......: 95,240 67,525 38,644 26,165 406 387 : Small stockers : Alabama ............: 12,800 26,400 1,370 2,900 107.0 109.8 Arkansas ...........: 40,000 30,600 3,250 3,450 81.3 112.7 California .........: 1,800 850 162 86 90.0 101.2 Mississippi ........: 86,400 72,100 8,000 7,350 92.6 101.9 North Carolina .....: 10,200 4,200 1,440 554 141.2 131.9 Texas ..............: 50 (D) 5 (D) 100.0 (D) : Other States 1/ ....: 2,300 3,125 230 262 100.0 83.8 : United States ......: 153,550 137,275 14,457 14,602 94.2 106.4 : Total stockers : Alabama ............: 34,500 45,400 10,420 13,100 (NA) (NA) Arkansas ...........: 44,430 38,100 5,550 5,850 (NA) (NA) California .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (NA) (NA) Mississippi ........: 147,800 109,200 31,800 19,050 (NA) (NA) North Carolina .....: 14,160 6,180 3,690 1,644 (NA) (NA) Texas ..............: 380 (D) 192 (D) (NA) (NA) : Other States 1/ ....: 7,520 5,920 1,449 1,123 (NA) (NA) : United States ......: 248,790 204,800 53,101 40,767 (NA) (NA) : Fingerlings : Alabama ............: 59,000 63,200 1,680 1,980 28.5 31.3 Arkansas ...........: 27,500 24,600 957 741 34.8 30.1 California .........: 2,590 2,620 75 53 29.0 20.2 Mississippi ........: 342,000 220,000 11,600 7,050 33.9 32.0 North Carolina .....: 3,070 4,250 77 166 25.1 39.1 Texas ..............: 330 (D) 16 (D) 48.5 (D) : Other States 1/ ....: 15,020 13,900 296 439 19.7 31.6 : United States ......: 449,510 328,570 14,701 10,429 32.7 31.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (NA) Not available. 1/ Other States include State estimates not shown and States suppressed due to disclosure. Catfish, Broodfish Inventory by Size Category - States and United States: January 1, 2015 and 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Live weight Size category : Number of fish :------------------------------------------- and State : : : Total : Average :----------------------------------------------------------------- : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 : 2015 : 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 --- 1,000 pounds pounds per fish : Broodfish : Alabama ............: 20 10 55 24 2.8 2.4 Arkansas ...........: 70 55 253 232 3.6 4.2 California .........: 10 (D) 50 (D) 5.0 (D) Mississippi ........: 430 380 2,200 1,960 5.1 5.2 North Carolina .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Texas ..............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Other States 1/ ....: 50 75 273 360 5.5 4.8 : United States ......: 580 520 2,831 2,576 4.9 5.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ Other States include State estimates not shown and States suppressed due to disclosure. Catfish Sales - States and United States: 2014 and 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Live weight : Sales : Number of fish :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Size category : : : Total : Average : Total : Average price and State : : : : : : : : : per pound :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----- 1,000 ----- 1,000 pounds pounds per fish 1,000 dollars ---- dollars --- : Foodsize : Alabama ..........: 63,400 63,000 105,300 107,500 1.7 1.7 104,247 108,575 0.99 1.01 Arkansas .........: 9,980 9,560 17,200 14,500 1.7 1.5 18,232 15,225 1.06 1.05 California .......: 1,340 1,050 2,550 2,200 1.9 2.1 7,982 5,632 3.13 2.56 Mississippi ......: 97,900 110,000 161,500 171,700 1.6 1.6 176,035 190,587 1.09 1.11 North Carolina ...: 1,990 2,120 3,400 3,250 1.7 1.5 3,978 3,803 1.17 1.17 Texas ............: 7,050 7,880 14,300 15,600 2.0 2.0 16,445 17,940 1.15 1.15 : Other States 1/ ..: 2,940 1,590 3,248 1,944 1.1 1.2 5,463 3,271 1.68 1.68 : United States ....: 184,600 195,200 307,498 316,694 1.7 1.6 332,382 345,033 1.08 1.09 : : ----- 1,000 ----- 1,000 pounds pounds per 1,000 fish 1,000 dollars ---- dollars --- : Stockers : Alabama ..........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arkansas .........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) California .......: - (D) - (D) - (D) - (D) - (D) Mississippi ......: 47,300 33,400 4,800 3,650 101 109 5,808 4,709 1.21 1.29 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Texas ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Other States 1/ ..: 23,380 25,575 2,354 2,614 101 102 3,114 3,489 1.32 1.33 : United States ....: 70,680 58,975 7,154 6,264 101 106 8,922 8,198 1.25 1.31 : Fingerlings and fry : Alabama ..........: 2,450 690 41 15 16.7 21.7 221 115 5.40 7.65 Arkansas .........: 8,100 9,870 278 262 34.3 26.5 798 383 2.87 1.46 California .......: 860 670 10 9 11.6 13.4 76 63 7.60 6.95 Mississippi ......: 141,000 101,000 4,800 3,600 34.0 35.6 7,440 5,724 1.55 1.59 North Carolina ...: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Texas ............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) : Other States 1/ ..: 22,620 16,940 677 603 29.9 35.6 1,740 1,407 2.57 2.33 : United States ....: 175,030 129,170 5,806 4,489 33.2 34.8 10,275 7,692 1.77 1.71 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ Other States include State estimates not shown and States suppressed due to disclosure. Catfish, Broodfish Sales - States and United States: 2014 and 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : : Live weight : Sales Size category : Number of fish :----------------------------------------------------------------------- and State : : : Total : Average : Total : Average price : : : : : : : : per pound :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : --- 1,000 -- 1,000 pounds pounds per fish 1,000 dollars --- dollars --- : Broodfish : Alabama ........: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arkansas .......: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) California .....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ....: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) North Carolina .: - - - - - - - - - - Texas ..........: - (D) - (D) - (D) - (D) - (D) : Other States 1/ : 50 65 283 342 5.7 5.3 361 535 1.28 1.56 : United States ..: 50 65 283 342 5.7 5.3 361 535 1.28 1.56 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. 1/ Other States include State estimates not shown and States suppressed due to disclosure. Catfish, Foodsize and Stockers Percent Sold by Point of First Sale - United States: 2014 and 2015 [Point of First Sale by outlet may not add to 100 percent due to rounding] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Recreational : Live haulers : Retail : Other Size category : Processors : stocking : and brokers : outlets : outlets :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Foodsize : : United States ....: 93.6 95.9 0.7 0.4 1.8 1.8 1.3 0.9 2.5 1.0 :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Wholesale to : Recreational : Live haulers : Government : Other : other producers : stocking : and brokers : agencies : outlets :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 : 2014 : 2015 :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Stockers : : United States ....: 89.7 86.9 4.8 10.0 3.2 1.4 0.4 0.5 1.9 1.2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Terms and Definitions Used to Describe Point of First Sale Government Agencies: Sales to Federal, State, or local government agencies for the purpose of stocking public waters. Live Hauler/Broker: Sales made to an individual or company that generally purchases live fish from a producer and transports them in an oxygenated tank truck to other outlets. Other Outlets: Sales to outlets not meeting one of the other defined outlets. Point of First Sale Outlet: The first point at which money changes hands. Processors: Sales made directly to a plant for processing. Recreational Stocking: Only includes fish sold to individuals or private entities for the sole purpose of stocking recreational waters. Retail Outlets: Fish sold directly to entities who buy fish to re-sell to consumers. Includes grocers, restaurants, and fish markets. Wholesale to Other Producers: Fish sold to other producers for the intention of growing out for further sale at a later time. Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: Data for catfish production are collected from all known producers in the six published states and a sample of producers from the remaining states. NASS Regional 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 January 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 January. Estimation 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 Regional 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 six published states, catfish production estimates are based on a census of all known active producers and therefore, have no sampling variability. However, since all operations in the other states category are not included in the sample, survey estimates are subject to sampling variability. Survey results are also 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. 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 Aaron Cosgrove - Egg Products, Poultry Slaughter, Trout Production ...... (202) 690-3237 Alissa Cowell-Mytar - Cold Storage ...................................... (202) 720-4751 Heidi Gleich - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery ....................... (202) 720-0585 Tom Kruchten - Census of Aquaculture .................................... (202) 690-4870 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs .............................................. (202) 690-8632 Sammy Neal - Catfish Production, Mink, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised .. (202) 720-3244 Joshua O'Rear - Honey ................................................... 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