Catfish Production ISSN: 1948-271X Released July 20, 2021, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Water Surface Acres Down 3 Percent The water surface area to be used for catfish production in the three major producing States (Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi) during July 1 through December 31, 2021, totaled 53,200 acres, down 3 percent from a year ago. Acres used for Foodsize fish totaled 41,700, down 4 percent from the same time period in 2020. Acres used for Fingerling production at 6,840 acres, are up 3 percent, and acres for Broodfish at 1,605 acres, are up 5 percent. Of the total acres in production, 2,705 acres were scheduled to be renovated from July 1 to December 31, 2021 compared with 685 acres taken out of production during the period of January 1 through June 30, 2021. Foodsize Inventory Up 4 Percent Catfish operations in the three major producing States had 110 million Foodsize fish on hand on July 1, 2021, up 4 percent from July 1, 2020. The breakouts of Foodsize fish inventory numbers on July 1, 2021, with their respective percent change from the previous year were: Large foodsize at 3.15 million fish, up 27 percent; Medium foodsize at 28.1 million fish, up 7 percent; and Small foodsize at 79.1 million fish, up 3 percent. The three major Catfish producing States also had 615,000 Broodfish on hand on July 1, 2021, up 19 percent from last year's 515,000 Broodfish. Catfish operations in the three major producing States had 317 million Stockers on hand on July 1, 2021, down 2 percent from the July 1, 2020 total of 325 million Stockers. The breakouts of Stocker fish inventory numbers on July 1, 2021, with their respective change from the previous year were: Large stockers at 149 million fish, up slightly from the previous year and Small stockers at 169 million fish, down 5 percent from last year. Producers had 463 million Fingerlings and fry on hand on July 1, 2021, down 1 percent from July 1, 2020. Water Surface Acres Used for Production - Major States: 2020 and 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : Water surface acres used for production July 1 - December 31 State : : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 2020 : 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : acres : Alabama ................................: 15,800 15,600 Arkansas ...............................: 3,900 3,700 Mississippi ............................: 35,100 33,900 : 3 State total ..........................: 54,800 53,200 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Catfish Water Surface Acres by Use - Major States: 2020 and 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- :Acres intended for utilization during July 1 - December 31 for: :--------------------------------------------------------------:Acres taken out : : : : Currently under : of production Year and State : : : : or scheduled for : during : Foodsize :Fingerlings: Broodfish :--------------------------: January 1 - : : : : : New : June 30 : : : : Renovation :construction : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : acres : : 2020 : Alabama ......................: 15,300 320 30 280 (D) 490 Arkansas .....................: 2,600 1,000 95 180 (D) 215 Mississippi ..................: 25,600 5,300 1,400 1,600 (D) 890 : 3 State total ................: 43,500 6,620 1,525 2,060 380 1,595 : 2021 : Alabama ......................: 15,200 340 10 (D) 160 105 Arkansas .....................: 2,500 1,000 95 (D) - - Mississippi ..................: 24,000 5,500 1,500 2,000 270 580 : 3 State total ................: 41,700 6,840 1,605 2,705 430 685 : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Represents zero. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. Catfish Inventory by Size Category - Major States: July 1, 2020 and 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : Live weight Size category : Fish :------------------------------------- and State : : Total : Average :------------------------------------------------------- : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 fish 1,000 pounds pounds per fish : Large foodsize : Alabama ..............: 1,200 1,670 4,500 6,300 3.8 3.8 Arkansas .............: 300 290 1,090 1,020 3.6 3.5 Mississippi ..........: 990 1,190 3,200 3,900 3.2 3.3 : 3 State total ........: 2,490 3,150 8,790 11,220 3.5 3.6 : Medium foodsize : Alabama ..............: 11,300 11,800 22,200 23,600 2.0 2.0 Arkansas .............: 2,230 2,360 4,350 4,450 2.0 1.9 Mississippi ..........: 12,800 13,900 24,100 26,900 1.9 1.9 : 3 State total ........: 26,330 28,060 50,650 54,950 1.9 2.0 : Small foodsize : Alabama ..............: 25,300 28,900 25,200 28,300 1.0 1.0 Arkansas .............: 3,910 3,650 3,950 3,900 1.0 1.1 Mississippi ..........: 47,500 46,500 47,500 46,800 1.0 1.0 : 3 State total ........: 76,710 79,050 76,650 79,000 1.0 1.0 : Total foodsize : Alabama ..............: 37,800 42,370 51,900 58,200 (X) (X) Arkansas .............: 6,440 6,300 9,390 9,370 (X) (X) Mississippi ..........: 61,290 61,590 74,800 77,600 (X) (X) : 3 State total ........:105,530 110,260 136,090 145,170 (X) (X) : Broodfish : Alabama ..............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arkansas .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ..........: 480 580 2,450 2,950 5.1 5.1 : 3 State total ........: 515 615 2,607 3,112 5.1 5.1 : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ See footnote(s) at end of table. --continued Catfish Inventory by Size Category - Major States: July 1, 2020 and 2021 (continued) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Live weight Size category : Fish :------------------------------------------- and State : : Total : Average :----------------------------------------------------------------- : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 : 2020 : 2021 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --- 1,000 fish --- 1,000 pounds pounds per 1,000 fish : Large stockers : Alabama ..............: 47,100 55,900 18,100 20,900 384 374 Arkansas .............: 4,780 5,400 1,320 1,630 276 302 Mississippi ..........: 96,400 87,300 35,200 28,900 365 331 : 3 State total ........: 148,280 148,600 54,620 51,430 368 346 : Small stockers : Alabama ..............: 62,100 43,600 5,950 4,500 95.8 103.0 Arkansas .............: 4,550 4,100 468 401 103.0 97.8 Mississippi ..........: 110,000 121,000 12,000 14,000 109.0 116.0 : 3 State total ........: 176,650 168,700 18,418 18,901 104.0 112.0 : Total stockers : Alabama ..............: 109,200 99,500 24,050 25,400 (X) (X) Arkansas .............: 9,330 9,500 1,788 2,031 (X) (X) Mississippi ..........: 206,400 208,300 47,200 42,900 (X) (X) : 3 State total ........: 324,930 317,300 73,038 70,331 (X) (X) : Fingerlings and fry : Alabama ..............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Arkansas .............: (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) (D) Mississippi ..........: 410,000 418,000 7,550 7,400 18.4 17.7 : 3 State total ........: 468,810 463,010 8,513 8,179 18.2 17.7 : ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (X) Not applicable. 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. Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: All known catfish producers in the three published States are surveyed to collect production data. Individual NASS regional 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 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. Missing data for large operations are estimated based on similar operations or historical data. Summary expansions account for the remaining non-response operations. NASS regional 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. Due to sequestration, NASS did not produce July catfish production estimates in 2013. 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. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@usda.gov Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch ..................................... (202) 692-0069 Jean Porter, Head, Poultry and Specialty Commodities Section ................ (202) 690-3223 Holly Brenize - Poultry Slaughter......................................... (202) 720-0585 Alissa Cowell-Mytar - Cold Storage, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses .. (202) 720-4751 Liana Cuffman - Catfish and Trout, Mink, Census of Aquaculture ........... (202) 720-8784 Fatema Haque - Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised ........................... (202) 720-3244 Derron Martin - Chicken Hatchery, Egg Products............................ (202) 690-3237 Seth Riggins - Honey, Honey Bee Colonies ................................. (202) 690-4870 Autumn Stone - Layers, Eggs .............................................. (202) 690-3676 Takiyah Walker - Broiler Hatchery......................................... (202) 720-6147 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e- mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on "National" or "State" in upper right corner above "search" box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive. Cornell's Mann Library has launched a new website housing NASS's and other agency's archived reports. The new website, https://usda.library.cornell.edu. All email subscriptions containing reports will be sent from the new website, https://usda.library.cornell.edu. To continue receiving the reports via e-mail, you will have to go to the new website, create a new account and re-subscribe to the reports. If you need instructions to set up an account or subscribe, they are located at: https://usda.library.cornell.edu/help. You should whitelist notifications@usda-esmis.library.cornell.edu in your email client to avoid the emails going into spam/junk folders. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail: nass@usda.gov. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF), found online at www.ascr.usda.gov/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.