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Fishing vessels at New Bedford Port, Massachusetts. (Photo: NOAA)
NOAA reveals top fishing ports
UNITED STATES
Friday, September 10, 2010, 21:40 (GMT + 9)
A NOAA Fisheries report finds the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the top spot for value of landings for the tenth year in a row. The New Bedford port brought in USD 249.2 million in 2009, an increase of USD 7.9 million over the previous year. The amount of fish landed was also up by 23.6 million pounds, with scallops responsible for a large part of the high value.
For the 21st consecutive year, Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, Alaska was the country’s top port for the total amount of fish landed. Last year, commercial fishermen unloaded 506.3 million pounds of fish and shellfish there, mostly pollock.
Dutch Harbor-Unalaska also retained its position as the second-highest port for landings value, with landings earning USD 159.7 million in 2009.
Nationwide, the total domestic commercial landings for 2009 were 7.9 billion pounds, valued at USD 3.9 billion. This is a decrease from 2008, when the volume reached 8.3 billion pounds, with a value of USD 4.4 billion. Accounting for most of the decrease was a decline in landings of both pollock and Pacific whiting.
“The successful and collaborative management of the New England scallop fishery is a main reason for the excellent year we saw in 2009,” said Eric Schwaab, NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries Service. “Fishing also supports a healthy industry and working waterfronts.”
The ports of Empire-Venice, Louisiana and Reedville, Virginia, ranked second and third for quantity of landings in 2009, primarily due to menhaden. Some 411.8 million pounds of fish were landed in Empire-Venice and 349.4 million pounds were landed in Reedville.
The report on the nation’s ports is part of Fisheries of the United States 2009, a detailed statistical report on the nation’s commercial and recreational fishing, landings, import, export, per capita fish consumption and consumer expenditures for fish products.
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Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA/NMFS
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