The fisheries department of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released two new reports showing that strong progress has been made in ensuring the sustainability and stability of the nation’s fisheries.
The Fisheries of the United States, 2017 provides data on commercial landings and recreational catch together with information about the fish processing industry, consumption and aquaculture. The Fisheries Economics of the United States, 2016 focuses on the economic impact of fisheries and related sectors reporting on such matters as employment, sales and the broader economy.
Fisheries of the United States, 2017
According to the first report, fishing and seafood consumption in the US increased in 2017, with landings and value of US fisheries continuing a strong, positive trend. American fishermen landed 9.9 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2017, while the US imported 5.9 billion pounds of seafood, up 1.6 per cent. This represents an increase of US$110m from the previous year.
Overall, the top three value US commercial species were salmon, crab and lobster with landings of Alaska pollock remaining the largest by volume.
Saltwater recreational fishing remains among the nation’s favourite pastimes and is a key contributor to the national economy, with 202 million fishing trips taken.
Fisheries Economics of the United States, 2016
In 2016, economic impacts from recreational fishing grew across the board. Nationally, 9.8 million saltwater anglers took recreational fishing trips - a 9 per cent increase from 2015. Saltwater recreational fishing supported 472,000 jobs and contributed US$39bn to GDP.
The commercial fishing and seafood industry supported 1.2 million jobs in 2016, generating US$144bn in sales and adding US$61bn to GDP. The domestic harvest increased by 2 per cent from 2015 and supported 711,000 jobs across the economy. American lobster and sea scallops had the largest revenue increases, with each product up US$46m in revenue.
