Aq 2 (7-07) Catfish Production National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released July 26, 2007, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Catfish Production" call Toby Paterson at (202) 720-3570, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Foodfish Inventory Numbers Down 11 Percent From a Year Ago Commercial catfish operations in the four major producing States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) had 260 million foodsize fish on hand on July 1, 2007, down 11 percent from the July 1, 2006 total of 291 million foodsize fish. The breakouts of foodsize fish inventory numbers on July 1, 2007, with their respective percent change from the previous year were: large foodsize, 6.19 million fish, down 13 percent; medium foodsize, 67.3 million fish, down 9 percent; and small foodsize, 187 million fish, down 11 percent. The four major States also had 791 thousand broodfish on hand on July 1, 2007, down 15 percent from last year's 930 thousand broodfish. The number of large stockers on hand on July 1, 2007, totaled 320 million fish, up 6 percent from the 301 million fish on hand a year ago. There were 326 million small stockers, down 3 percent from last year. Producers had 1.45 billion fingerlings and fry on hand on July 1, 2007, down slightly from the 1.46 billion fingerlings and fry on hand July 1, 2006. Live weight, at 20.3 million pounds, was down 12 percent from the 23.2 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, 2007, totaled 151 thousand acres, down 3 percent from a year ago. Acres used for foodsize fish totaled 122 thousand acres, down 2 percent from the same time period in 2006. Acres for broodfish decreased 6 percent to 3.64 thousand acres, and acres used for fingerling production decreased 10 percent to 21.1 thousand acres. Acres taken out of production during the January 1, 2007 through June 30, 2007 period totaled 3.86 thousand acres, while 4.13 thousand acres of the total in production were scheduled to be renovated from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The number of operations on July 1, 2007 in the four major States totaled 713, down 5 percent from last year's total of 753 operations. Special Note Two tables, which were included in previous year's Catfish Production reports, were removed from this year's publication. The tables removed were round weight of catfish processed and prices paid to catfish producers by processors. To access these data in the future, refer to the monthly Catfish Processing report. Catfish: Number of Operations and Water Surface Acres, Used for Production, 2006-2007, by State and United States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of : Water Surface Acres : Operations : Used for Production State : on Jul 1 : During Jul 1 - Dec 31 :--------------------------------------------------------------- : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 : 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Number ----- -------- Acres -------- : AL : 217 203 24,300 23,000 AR : 132 131 30,000 30,400 LA : 24 19 5,700 5,500 MS : 380 360 96,000 92,500 : Four State : Total : 753 713 156,000 151,400 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish Production: Water Surface Acre Usage, by State and United States, 2006-2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :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: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Acres : : 2006 : : AL : 21,800 1,200 400 950 330 410 AR : 24,500 4,100 560 630 * 940 LA : 4,900 600 100 140 730 MS : 73,000 17,500 2,800 4,000 200 2,400 : Four State: Total : 124,200 23,400 3,860 5,720 * 4,480 : 2007 : : AL : 21,700 680 420 380 115 750 AR : 26,000 3,800 * 280 * 670 LA : 4,800 610 * 370 * 140 MS : 69,700 16,000 2,600 3,100 300 2,300 : Four State: Total : 122,200 21,090 3,640 4,130 495 3,860 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations. Catfish: Inventory by Size Category, by State and United States, July 1, 2006-2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number : Live Weight Size Category : of :----------------------------------- and : Fish : Total :Average per Fish State :------------------------------------------------------- : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 : 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ----- 1,000 ---- 1,000 Pounds -- Pounds -- : Large Foodsize : : AL : 3,400 1,500 11,700 5,200 3.4 3.5 AR : 1,230 1,520 4,500 5,200 3.7 3.4 LA : 195 171 670 571 3.4 3.3 MS : 2,300 3,000 8,000 10,100 3.5 3.4 : Four State : Total : 7,125 6,191 24,870 21,071 3.5 3.4 : : Medium Foodsize : : AL : 18,100 11,800 34,100 22,800 1.9 1.9 AR : 13,200 17,100 25,600 34,000 1.9 2.0 LA : 1,860 1,230 3,250 2,700 1.7 2.2 MS : 40,500 37,200 73,500 69,600 1.8 1.9 : Four State : Total : 73,660 67,330 136,450 129,100 1.9 1.9 : : Small Foodsize : : AL : 47,200 31,400 44,900 30,000 1.0 1.0 AR : 34,900 37,100 34,800 37,200 1.0 1.0 LA : 3,950 8,110 3,450 8,100 0.9 1.0 MS : 124,000 110,000 125,000 108,000 1.0 1.0 : Four State : Total : 210,050 186,610 208,150 183,300 1.0 1.0 : : Total Foodsize : : AL : 68,700 44,700 90,700 58,000 AR : 49,330 55,720 64,900 76,400 LA : 6,005 9,511 7,370 11,371 MS : 166,800 150,200 206,500 187,700 : Four State : Total : 290,835 260,131 369,470 333,471 : : Broodfish : : AL : 80 * 360 * 4.5 * AR : 130 108 590 489 4.5 4.5 LA : 20 * 100 * 5.0 * MS : 700 600 3,300 3,000 4.7 5.0 : Four State : Total : 930 791 4,350 3,829 4.7 4.8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations. Catfish: Inventory by Size Category, by State and United States, July 1, 2006-2007 (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number : Live Weight : of :----------------------------------- Size Category : Fish : Total : Average and : : : per 1,000 Fish State :------------------------------------------------------- : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 : 2007 : 2006 : 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ----- 1,000 ----- 1,000 Pounds --- Pounds --- : Large Stockers : : AL : 72,100 82,400 26,900 31,300 373 380 AR : 37,500 31,800 12,000 10,700 320 337 LA : 2,290 1,850 1,140 837 498 452 MS : 189,000 204,000 76,600 90,000 405 441 : Four State : Total : 300,890 320,050 116,640 132,837 388 415 : : Small Stockers : : AL : 67,700 54,600 7,000 7,100 103.0 130.0 AR : 60,700 48,400 5,830 4,500 96.0 93.0 LA : 3,420 1,290 315 175 92.1 136.0 MS : 204,000 222,000 19,700 21,600 96.6 97.3 : Four State : Total : 335,820 326,290 32,845 33,375 97.8 102.0 : : Total Stockers : : AL : 139,800 137,000 33,900 38,400 AR : 98,200 80,200 17,830 15,200 LA : 5,710 3,140 1,455 1,012 MS : 393,000 426,000 96,300 111,600 : Four State : Total : 636,710 646,340 149,485 166,212 : : Fingerlings : and Fry : : AL : 74,000 73,200 1,100 1,300 14.9 17.8 AR : 299,000 239,000 5,000 3,700 16.7 15.5 LA : 34,100 29,000 277 282 8.1 9.7 MS :1,050,000 1,111,500 16,800 15,000 16.0 13.5 : Four State : Total :1,457,100 1,452,700 23,177 20,282 15.9 14.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Reliability of Catfish Production Estimates Survey Procedures: Data for catfish production are collected from all known producers. Individual NASS field offices maintain a list of all known catfish producers and use known sources of producers to update their lists. All known catfish producers 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. Care is exercised to ensure all operations are accounted for. 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 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: 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. 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 of a 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 or over 6 inches in length. Fingerlings - Fish weighing 2 to 60 pounds per 1,000 fish or 2 to 6 inches in length. Fry - Fish weighing less than 2 pounds per 1,000 fish or less than 2 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. Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch..............................(202) 720-3570 Darin Jantzi, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section......(202) 720-3570 David Colwell - Cold Storage..................................(202) 720-8784 Fleming Gibson - Egg Products, Poultry Slaughter, Catfish Processing, Mink.............................(202) 690-3237 Darin Jantzi - Layers, Eggs...................................(202) 720-3570 Sharyn Lavender - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey...(202) 720-3244 Toby Paterson - Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised...............................(202) 720-0585 ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. For access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. 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