Catfish Production National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released April 29, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Production" call Jim Brewster at (202) 720-8784, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Foodsize Inventory Down 5 Percent Commercial catfish operations in the four major producing States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) had 173 million foodsize fish on hand on April 1, 1998, down 5 percent from April 1, 1997. Live weight totaled 210 million pounds for all foodsize fish, 5 percent below April 1 a year ago. The breakout of the number of foodsize fish on April 1, 1998 with percent changes from the previous year are: large foodsize, at 3.74 million, up 12 percent; medium foodsize, at 37.6 million, down 2 percent; and small foodsize, at 131 million, down 6 percent. The four major States had 1.21 million broodfish on hand on April 1, 1998, down 6 percent from last year's 1.28 million. Live weight totaled 5.78 million pounds for broodfish, fractionally below April 1, 1997. The number of stockers on hand on April 1, 1998 totaled 532 million fish, down 14 percent from the 616 million fish on hand a year ago. Of the total number of stockers on hand, 273 million were large stockers, down 11 percent from the previous year. The remaining 259 million were small stockers, down 16 percent. Live weight totaled 141 million pounds for all stockers, 13 percent below April 1 last year. Producers had 870 million fingerlings on hand on April 1, 1998, up 8 percent from the 803 million fingerlings on hand April 1, 1997. Live weight, at 22.8 million pounds, increased 1 percent from the 22.7 million pounds a year ago. Aq 2 (4-98) Catfish: Number and Live Weight of Broodfish by State, April 1, 1997-98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 -------- ----- 1,000 Pounds ---- : AL : 168 109 774 596 AR : 235 260 955 1,215 LA : 105 52 560 232 MS : 776 785 3,511 3,741 : Total : 1,284 1,206 5,800 5,784 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish: Number and Live Weight of Foodsize Fish by Size, State, and Total, April 1, 1997-98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Large 1/ : --------- 1,000 --------- ------ 1,000 Pounds ----- : AL : 574 800 1,912 2,681 AR : 640 925 2,180 3,239 LA : 760 745 2,450 2,555 MS : 1,361 1,265 4,673 4,451 : Total : 3,335 3,735 11,215 12,926 : : Medium 2/ : AL : 9,041 10,889 17,887 21,517 AR : 5,170 6,045 9,670 10,840 LA : 6,250 3,910 13,750 7,080 MS : 17,990 16,758 32,322 30,086 : Total : 38,451 37,602 73,629 69,523 : : Small 3/ : AL : 22,979 21,813 24,533 22,755 AR : 21,480 20,300 21,120 19,325 LA : 11,450 11,350 12,900 11,790 MS : 83,712 78,026 77,860 74,090 : Total : 139,621 131,489 136,413 127,960 : : Total : AL : 32,594 33,502 44,332 46,953 AR : 27,290 27,270 32,970 33,404 LA : 18,460 16,005 29,100 21,425 MS : 103,063 96,049 114,855 108,627 : Total : 181,407 172,826 221,257 210,409 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Over three lbs. 2/ Over one and one-half lbs. to three lbs. 3/ Over three-fourths lb. to one and one-half lb. Catfish: Number and Live Weight of Stockers by Size, State, and Total, April 1, 1997-98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Large 1/ : --------- 1,000 --------- ------ 1,000 Pounds ----- : AL : 19,986 21,223 10,951 9,694 AR : 30,180 32,300 15,030 11,640 LA : 31,350 11,620 14,300 4,690 MS : 223,908 207,584 90,065 90,124 : Total : 305,424 272,727 130,346 116,148 : : Small 2/ : AL : 25,344 27,148 2,452 2,499 AR : 50,420 43,700 5,940 3,772 LA : 24,250 19,630 2,470 1,790 MS : 210,488 169,037 21,259 16,702 : Total : 310,502 259,515 32,121 24,763 : : Total : AL : 45,330 48,371 13,403 12,193 AR : 80,600 76,000 20,970 15,412 LA : 55,600 31,250 16,770 6,480 MS : 434,396 376,621 111,324 106,826 : Total : 615,926 532,242 162,467 140,911 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Not published separately to avoid disclosure of individual operations. 1/ Over 180 lbs/1000 to 750 lbs/1,000. 2/ Over 60 lbs/1000 to 180 lbs/1,000. Catfish: Number and Live Weight of Fingerlings by State, April 1, 1997-98 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Live Weight State :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1997 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------- 1,000 --------- ----- 1,000 Pounds ----- : AL : 47,967 38,996 1,902 1,502 AR : 115,410 120,700 4,040 3,540 LA : 30,350 53,260 1,120 1,160 MS : 609,579 656,895 15,505 16,560 : Total : 803,306 869,851 22,567 22,762 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Over 2 lbs/1,000 to 60 lbs/1,000. Catfish: Round Weight Processed by Month, United States, 1991-Current -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Feb : Mar : Apr : May : Jun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds : 1991 : 32,206 33,036 35,951 31,205 31,322 31,588 1992 : 36,200 39,228 45,048 41,177 39,111 36,813 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 0 0 0 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Jul : Aug : Sep : Oct : Nov : Dec : Total :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Pounds : 1991 : 32,720 32,912 33,244 35,400 31,114 30,172 390,870 1992 : 36,128 37,958 37,857 39,212 35,073 33,562 457,367 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish: Prices Paid To Producers by Month, United States, 1991-Current 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Feb : Mar : Apr : May : Jun -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound : 1991 : 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.66 0.65 1992 : 0.53 0.56 0.60 0.63 0.63 0.61 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 0.00 0.00 0.00 :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Jul : Aug : Sep : Oct : Nov : Dec :Ann. Avg. :----------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Pound : 1991 : 0.63 0.60 0.59 0.58 0.57 0.53 0.631 1992 : 0.59 0.58 0.59 0.61 0.62 0.63 0.598 1993 : 0.72 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.709 1994 : 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.784 1995 : 0.79 0.79 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.786 1996 : 0.79 0.78 0.77 0.76 0.75 0.73 0.773 1997 : 0.71 0.70 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.712 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Price of fish delivered to processing plant door. Price includes charges for any services provided by the processing plant, but does not include any adjustments based on year-end settlements. Catfish Losses to Wildlife Reported by Sixty-nine Percent of All Operations A survey of producers in the 15 largest catfish producing States in 1996 revealed that 69 percent of the producers reported some wildlife-caused losses. The lowest rate of reported losses was in the Southeast, where 46 percent reported wildlife-caused losses. The highest rate of loss was reported in Mississippi at 84 percent. The average cost of wildlife-caused loss for all States was $13,700 per operation reporting a loss while the average expense to prevent loss was $6,200. Birds were most frequently cited as the cause of losses and double-crested cormorants were most frequently cited as the primary bird species causing losses. The next most frequently cited birds were great blue herons. Muskrats were the most frequently cited mammal (primarily for damaging dikes and roads). Of those producers citing wildlife-caused losses, the main problem reported was feeding on catfish. In addition, wildlife caused losses by injuring catfish, disturbing feeding patterns, and damaging roads and levees. These 15 States had total sales of 425 million dollars during 1996 and a water surface area of 177,460 acres during January 1 through June 30, 1997. The total number of operations on January 1, 1997, was 1,319, down 1 percent from the January 1, 1996, total of 1,328. The number of operations in the top 3 producing States (AL, AR, and MS), however, increased 1 percent from January 1, 1996. This Wildlife Damage Survey was funded by USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : No. of : Water : Total :Percentage : Avg. Cost : Average State :Operations: Surface : 1996 :w/Wildlife-:of Wildlife- : Expense and : Jan. 1, :Acres During :Sales 1/:Caused Loss: Caused Loss :to Prevent Region : 1997 1/ :Jan 1-Jun 30,: : 1996 2/ : 1996 2/ 3/ : Loss : : 1997 1/ : : : :1996 2/ 4/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number Acres $1,000 Percent ------- Dollars ------ : AL : 245 21,000 52,795 68 9,000 4,000 : AR : 180 28,500 52,214 74 17,500 6,400 : MS : 360 102,000 274,559 84 18,200 8,700 : S. E. 5/ : 181 4,090 7,468 46 8,200 2,700 : West 6/ : 171 5,670 9,573 66 8,700 4,000 : S. W. 7/: 182 16,200 28,774 63 11,000 6,600 : Average : NA NA NA 69 13,700 6,200 : Total : 1,319 177,460 425,383 NA 12,500,000 5,600,000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Source: USDA, NASS, Catfish Production, February 3, 1998. 2/ Source: USDA, APHIS, Wildlife-Caused Losses for Catfish Producers in 1996. 3/ Average of operations reporting wildlife caused losses. May not calculate due to rounding proccedures and non-response calculations. 4/ Average of those operations reporting expenses to prevent wildlife caused losses. May not calculate due to rounding procedures and non-response calculations. 5/ Includes FL, GA, KY, NC, SC, and TN. 6/ Includes CA, KS, MO, and OK. 7/ Includes LA and TX. Catfish Production Estimates Survey Procedures: About 1,400 operators were contacted during the first half of January by mail, telephone, and personal face-to-face interview, and 86 percent provided a usable report. An attempt was made to contact all known catfish producers during this time. States use every available source of producer names to make their list as complete as possible. Great care is exercised to ensure that all operations are accounted for in the estimates. 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 are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. Reliability: Catfish production 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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