Commercial catfish operations in Arkansas had 15.5 million foodsize fish on hand on July 1, 2012, up 8 percent from July 1, 2011, according to the Arkansas Catfish Production Report.
The report was issued July 20 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
According to the report, the breakouts of foodsize fish inventory with their respective percent change from a year ago are: large foodsize, 550,000 up 112 percent; medium foodsize, 4.42 million, down 10 percent; and small foodsize, 10.5 million, up 14 percent.
Arkansas was ranked third in the nation, behind Mississippi and Alabama, in total foodsize catfish inventory on July 1, 2012. Broodfish on hand totaled 50,000 fish, unchanged from the previous year; total stockers, at 38.1 million, were down 16 percent; and fingerlings and fry, at 72.6 million, were down 27 percent from a year earlier.
Details: Visit www.nass.usda.gov