Overview

Catfish are one of the most important freshwater species cultured in the United States, particularly in the South. As of 2010, catfish is the sixth most popular fish or seafood consumed in the United States; only shrimp, canned tuna, salmon, tilapia and pollock are more popular. That year, Americans consumed an average of 15.8 pounds of seafood per person, and 0.80 pounds of that was catfish.  (National Fisheries Institute 2011)  February 2011 ... Catfish

Marketing

• Aquaculture, Economic Research Service, USDA.
• Aquaculture Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - Fisheries market news and statistic summaries (aquaculture results by catch, available grants, new marine product food safety guidelines, endangered natural stocks, export guidelines for shipments to the European Union, links and addresses of many National Marine Fisheries Support Offices, and other information). Site includes information on Department of Commerce Aquaculture Policy, the National Aquaculture Act of 1980, recent NOAA Aquaculture Policy and breaking research and legislative news.
• Catfish Institute - An association of catfish farmers, processors and feed manufacturers.
• Catfish Marketing Association.
• Catfish Processing, National Ag Statistics Service (NASS), USDA - This monthly report contains the most current information on farm-raised catfish, including round weight purchased, prices paid, inventory, quantity sold, price, imports and exports.
• Census of Aquaculture (2005), USDA, 2006.
• Fisheries Statistics Division, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), NOAA - Contains leads, current and historical trade statistics, import requirements, news and regulatory information. This mission of the Trade and Commercial Service staff is to promote and facilitate trade for the U.S. seafood and aquaculture industries by expanding existing markets and opening new ones for the U.S. producers and processors.
• Fishery Products (Domestic Production and International Trade Information), FSAonline, USDA.
• Imports and Exports of Fishery Products: Annual Summary, Fisheries Statistics Division, NMFS, 2009.
• Introduction to Financial Statements and Ratios: A Delta Catfish Farm Example, Mississippi State University Extension Service, 2007.
• Top 10 Consumed Seafood, National Fisheries Institute, aboutseafood.com, 2010 - Lists the top ten species consumed in the United States by pounds per person.

Production

• 2008 U.S. Catfish Database, Auburn University and Mississippi State University, 2009 - This publication is a collection of data about the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry, including the production and processing sectors of the industry.
• 2007 Projected Louisiana Crawfish and Catfish Production Costs, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center - This report presents estimates of projected costs for crawfish and catfish production in Louisiana for 2007.
• Catfish, North Carolina State University Aquaculture Extension.
• Catfish, Louisiana State University Ag Center.
• Catfish, Southern Regional Aquaculture Center, Texas A&M University.
• Catfish 2010 Part II: Health and Production Practices for Foodsize Catfish in the United States in 2009, APHIS, USDA, July 2011 - This study takes a broad look at management, production, and health practices across the various facets of the catfish industry, including breeding, hatching, and foodsize-fish growout.
• Catfish Production, NASS, USDA - This report, issued twice yearly, contains the grower inventory numbers by size groups for selected states, including number of operations and water acres.
• Commercial Catfish Production, Mississippi State University Extension Service.
• Crawfish and Catfish Production in Louisiana, Projected Commodity Costs and Returns, Louisiana State University Ag Center, 2007.
• Farm-raised Channel Catfish, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 2009 - The channel catfish is the primary species of farm-raised fish in the United States. Most of the farm-raised catfish are cultured in ponds constructed with levees.
• Texas Catfish Production in Ponds,Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University, 2005.

Case Studies

• Texas Aquaculture Cooperative, Markham, Texas - With catfish farmers scattered throughout parts of southern Texas, a dozen banded together in 2002 to create the Texas Aquaculture Cooperative, which has grown to include 35 producers and a frozen catfish processing plant.

Links checked May 2011.