Catfish Production Release

Catfish
Production
Washington, D.C.

Released July 23, 2010, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of
Agriculture. For information on Catfish Production call Chris Hawthorn at (202) 720-0585, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

Special Note
NASS is in the process of modifying report layouts in order to improve readability. This report issue is published
using both layouts but all future issues will only be produced with the new layout, which is available on the NASS
website: http://www.nass.usda.gov. This is the last issue using this layout.

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.

Water Acres Down 15 Percent
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.

Aq 2 (7-10)

Catfish: Number of Operations and Water Surface Acres, Used for
Production, 2009-2010, by State and United States
Number of
Water Surface Acres
Operations
Used for Production
on July 1 1
During July 1 - December 31

State

2009

2010

2009 2

2010

Number

Number

Acres

Acres

AL
AR
MS
Total

613

459

21,700
20,700
70,000

20,600
14,600
60,000

112,400

95,200

1

State level number of operations will only be published every five years in conjunction with the Census of Agriculture.
2
Revised.

Catfish Production: Water Surface Acre Usage,
by State and United States, 2009-2010
Acres Intended for Utilization During Jul 1-Dec 31 forState

Foodsize

Acres

2009

Fingerlings

Broodfish

Acres

Acres

Renovation

New
Construction

Acres Taken
Out of
Production
During
Jan 1-Jun 30

Acres

Acres

Acres

Currently Under
or Scheduled for -

1

AL
AR
MS

20,400
17,400
55,000

900
2,700
11,000

340
250
1,600

290
1,300
1,500

70

300
2,800
8,300

Total

92,800

14,600

2,190

3,090

70

11,400

AL
AR
MS

19,500
11,700
48,000

880
2,300
9,300

120
330
1,400

*
*
900

*
*

280
3,300
3,000

Total

79,200

12,480

1,850

1,550

45

6,580

2010

1

Revised.
* Not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations.

Catfish Production
July 2010

2

Agricultural Statistics Board
NASS, USDA

Catfish: Inventory by Size Category, by State
and United States, July 1, 2009-2010
Size Category
and State

Live Weight

Number of Fish
2009

1

Total

2010

1,000

2009

1,000

1

1,000 Pounds

Average
2010

1,000 Pounds

2009

1

2010

Pounds per Fish

Pounds per Fish

Large Foodsize
AL
AR
MS

2,100
1,260
3,220

2,200
400
3,800

8,350
4,250
11,700

8,000
1,300
13,000

4.0
3.4
3.6

3.6
3.3
3.4

Total

6,580

6,400

24,300

22,300

3.7

3.5

Medium Foodsize
AL
AR
MS

21,300
11,000
32,900

27,300
8,470
25,500

42,600
20,800
60,900

52,300
15,900
47,200

2.0
1.9
1.9

1.9
1.9
1.9

Total

65,200

61,270

124,300

115,400

1.9

1.9

Small Foodsize
AL
AR
MS

39,200
28,700
103,000

38,000
18,800
87,500

43,000
29,000
98,400

37,200
17,700
86,400

1.1
1.0
1.0

1.0
0.9
1.0

Total

170,900

144,300

170,400

141,300

1.0

1.0

Total Foodsize
AL
AR
MS

62,600
40,960
139,120

67,500
27,670
116,800

93,950
54,050
171,000

97,500
34,900
146,600

Total

242,680

211,970

319,000

279,000

Broodfish
AL
AR
MS

59
41
430

21
65
380

266
194
2,000

99
264
1,800

4.5
4.7
4.7

4.7
4.1
4.7

Total

530

466

2,460

2,163

4.6

4.6

1

Revised.

Catfish Production
July 2010

3

Agricultural Statistics Board
NASS, USDA

Catfish: Inventory by Size Category, by State
and United States, July 1, 2009-2010
Size Category
and State

Live Weight

Number of Fish
2009

1

1,000

Total

2010

2009

1,000

1

1,000 Pounds

Average
2010
1,000 Pounds

2009

1

Pounds per 1,000
Fish

2010
Pounds per 1,000
Fish

Large Stockers
AL
AR
MS

53,000
20,100
158,000

38,400
14,700
113,000

18,900
7,600
63,800

14,300
6,150
45,000

357
378
404

372
418
398

Total

231,100

166,100

90,300

65,450

391

394

Small Stockers
AL
AR
MS

34,100
21,800
160,000

41,200
13,900
114,000

3,550
2,400
15,200

3,900
1,540
10,800

104.0
110.0
95.0

94.7
111.0
94.7

Total

215,900

169,100

21,150

16,240

98.0

96.0

Total Stockers
AL
AR
MS

87,100
41,900
318,000

79,600
28,600
227,000

22,450
10,000
79,000

18,200
7,690
55,800

Total

447,000

335,200

111,450

81,690

Fingerlings
and Fry
AL
AR
MS

54,000
87,600
741,000

40,200
104,000
661,000

960
1,570
12,000

1,200
1,700
8,000

17.8
17.9
16.2

29.9
16.3
12.1

Total

882,600

805,200

14,530

10,900

16.5

13.5

1

Revised.

Catfish Production
July 2010

4

Agricultural Statistics Board
NASS, USDA

Reliability of Catfish Production Estimates
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.

Catfish Production
July 2010

5

Agricultural Statistics Board
NASS, USDA

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
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

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