A recently released report on US farm-raised catfish paints a grim portrait on the industry overall, but also a few bright spots, reports South East Farm Press.
According to the recently released 2013 US Catfish Database compiled by Auburn University aquaculture economist Terry Hanson, the acreage devoted to catfish farming in the US continued its steady decline in 2013 and is now down 62%, or 121,135 acres, from its peak in 2002.
Meanwhile, imports of frozen catfish and pangasius fillets increased by 44% pounds in 2013, to 281 million pounds, accounting for 78% of all sales of frozen catfish fillets in the US.
Imports in 2013 were nearly ten times what they were just eight years ago, while the number of pounds of US catfish processed is down nearly 50% from that same year.
“Though the majority of the news for the US catfish industry is bleak, 2013 did bring slight increases in both pounds processed, up 11% from 2012, and total producer income, also up 11% over the previous year,” said Hanson.
“We are encouraged by these signs that the industry may be stabilizing,” he added.