Catfish production in the United States will be down slightly this year compared to last year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi – the three major catfish-producing states in the U.S. – will have a total pond acreage of about 54,800 acres, a 5 percent decline from the 57,900 acres used last year. Mississippi accounts for the lion’s share of that, with the state having 35,100 acres available as of 1 July.
The amount of acreage used for food-sized catfish dropped about 6 percent this year to 43,500 acres.
Similarly, operators in the three states reported an inventory of 106 million foodsize fish as of 1 July. That, too, was down about 5 percent from the same time in 2019.
The cause for the decline is the drop in medium-sized food fish. The USDA reported that number at just 26.3 million this year, off about 15 percent from last year. Large-sized fish totaled nearly 2.5 million, a 3 percent increase, while small foodsize fish were down 1 percent at 76.7 million.
Of the 106 million foodsize fish, Mississippi producers have 61.3 million, down from nearly 64 million last year. Alabama’s population is down to 37.8 million from 40 million, and Arkansas went from 6.7 million last year to 6.4 million this year.
The supply of broodfish, or fish that are kept for egg production, is also down significantly this year. Producers in the three states reported just 515,000 on hand, a 29 percent drop from the 730,000 available last year.
Inventory in stockers, though, is up 10 percent from last year as producers have 325 million available. That’s due to a 20 percent increase in the small stockers, of fish weighing between 60 to 180 pounds per 1,000 fish, or measuring around six inches in length.
Fry fish and fingerlings totaled 460 million for this year, down about 8 percent.
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