Aq 2 (7-08) Catfish Production National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released July 25, 2008, 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) 720-0585, office hours 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. Foodfish Inventory Numbers Up 7 Percent From a Year Ago Commercial catfish operations in the four major producing States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) had 279 million foodsize fish on hand on July 1, 2008, up 7 percent from the July 1, 2007 total of 260 million foodsize fish. The breakouts of foodsize fish inventory numbers on July 1, 2008, with their respective percent change from the previous year were: large foodsize, 6.42 million fish, up 4 percent; medium foodsize, 69.6 million fish, up 3 percent; and small foodsize, 203 million fish, up 9 percent. The four major States also had 660 thousand broodfish on hand on July 1, 2008, down 17 percent from last year's 791 thousand broodfish. The number of large stockers on hand on July 1, 2008, totaled 283 million fish, down 12 percent from the 320 million fish on hand a year ago. There were 280 million small stockers, down 14 percent from last year. Producers had 1.03 billion fingerlings and fry on hand on July 1, 2008, down 29 percent from the 1.45 billion fingerlings and fry on hand July 1, 2007. Live weight, at 18.7 million pounds, was down 8 percent from the 20.3 million pounds a year ago. Water Acres Down 12 Percent The water surface area to be used for catfish production during July 1 through December 31, 2008, totaled 133 thousand acres, down 12 percent from a year ago. Acres used for foodsize fish totaled 110 thousand acres, down 10 percent from the same time period in 2007. Acres for broodfish decreased 31 percent to 2.51 thousand acres, and acres used for fingerling production decreased 17 percent to 17.4 thousand acres. Acres taken out of production during the January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008 period totaled 11.4 thousand acres, while 2.91 thousand acres of the total in production were scheduled to be renovated from July 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. The number of operations on July 1, 2008 in the four major States totaled 638, down 11 percent from last year's total of 713 operations. Catfish: Number of Operations and Water Surface Acres, Used for Production, 2007-2008, by State and United States ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of : Water Surface Acres : Operations : Used for Production State : on Jul 1 : During Jul 1 - Dec 31 :--------------------------------------------------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ Number ----- -------- Acres -------- : AL : 203 175 23,000 21,900 AR : 131 116 30,400 25,300 LA : 19 17 5,500 4,900 MS : 360 330 92,500 80,400 : Four State : Total : 713 638 151,400 132,500 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Catfish Production: Water Surface Acre Usage, by State and United States, 2007-2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :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 : : 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 : 2008 : : AL : 21,000 520 280 845 20 655 AR : 20,700 3,700 630 360 * 2,600 LA : 4,300 380 0 100 * 680 MS : 63,500 12,800 1,600 1,600 50 7,500 : Four State: Total : 109,500 17,400 2,510 2,905 80 11,435 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations. Catfish: Inventory by Size Category, by State and United States, July 1, 2007-2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number : Live Weight Size Category : of :----------------------------------- and : Fish : Total :Average per Fish State :------------------------------------------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ----- 1,000 ---- 1,000 Pounds -- Pounds -- : Large Foodsize : : AL : 1,500 1,700 5,200 5,900 3.5 3.5 AR : 1,520 1,000 5,200 3,600 3.4 3.6 LA : 171 215 571 740 3.3 3.4 MS : 3,000 3,500 10,100 12,500 3.4 3.6 : Four State : Total : 6,191 6,415 21,071 22,740 3.4 3.5 : : Medium Foodsize : : AL : 11,800 21,900 22,800 44,100 1.9 2.0 AR : 17,100 10,200 34,000 20,600 2.0 2.0 LA : 1,230 1,540 2,700 2,920 2.2 1.9 MS : 37,200 36,000 69,600 66,000 1.9 1.8 : Four State : Total : 67,330 69,640 129,100 133,620 1.9 1.9 : : Small Foodsize : : AL : 31,400 35,000 30,000 35,400 1.0 1.0 AR : 37,100 33,500 37,200 33,100 1.0 1.0 LA : 8,110 5,220 8,100 5,240 1.0 1.0 MS : 110,000 129,000 108,000 124,000 1.0 1.0 : Four State : Total : 186,610 202,720 183,300 197,740 1.0 1.0 : : Total Foodsize : : AL : 44,700 58,600 58,000 85,400 AR : 55,720 44,700 76,400 57,300 LA : 9,511 6,975 11,371 8,900 MS : 150,200 168,500 187,700 202,500 : Four State : Total : 260,131 278,775 333,471 354,100 : : Broodfish : : AL : * 60 * 260 * 4.3 AR : 108 100 489 536 4.5 5.4 LA : * 0 * 0 * 0.0 MS : 600 500 3,000 2,400 5.0 4.8 : Four State : Total : 791 660 3,829 3,196 4.8 4.8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations. Catfish: Inventory by Size Category, by State and United States, July 1, 2007-2008 (continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Number : Live Weight : of :----------------------------------- Size Category : Fish : Total : Average and : : : per 1,000 Fish State :------------------------------------------------------- : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 : 2008 :2007 1/ : 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : ----- 1,000 ----- 1,000 Pounds --- Pounds --- : Large Stockers : : AL : 82,400 51,000 31,300 20,500 380 402 AR : 31,800 35,600 10,700 14,200 336 399 LA : 1,850 570 837 315 452 553 MS : 204,000 196,000 90,000 76,000 441 388 : Four State : Total : 320,050 283,170 132,837 111,015 415 392 : : Small Stockers : : AL : 54,600 39,500 7,100 4,300 130.0 109.0 AR : 48,400 38,400 4,500 4,200 93.0 109.0 LA : 1,290 3,350 175 490 136.0 146.0 MS : 222,000 199,000 21,600 19,900 97.3 100.0 : Four State : Total : 326,290 280,250 33,375 28,890 102.0 103.0 : : Total Stockers : : AL : 137,000 90,500 38,400 24,800 AR : 80,200 74,000 15,200 18,400 LA : 3,140 3,920 1,012 805 MS : 426,000 395,000 111,600 95,900 : Four State : Total : 646,340 563,420 166,212 139,905 : : Fingerlings : and Fry : : AL : 73,200 * 1,300 * 17.8 * AR : 239,000 132,000 3,700 2,450 15.5 18.6 LA : 29,000 * 282 * 9.7 * MS :1,111,500 832,000 15,000 14,400 13.5 17.3 : Four State : Total :1,452,700 1,026,900 20,282 18,715 14.0 18.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Revised. 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 Bruce Boess, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section....(202) 720-4447 David Colwell - Cold Storage...............................(202) 720-8784 Fleming Gibson - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised............................(202) 690-3237 Sharyn Lavender - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Honey(202) 720-3244 Kim Linonis - Layers, Eggs.................................(202) 690-8632 Toby Paterson - Catfish Processing, Catfish Production, Trout Production, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink.........................(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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