GREY GOOSE will visit New Bedford MA and Kodiak AK during 2011 Expedition

New Bedford, Mass. and Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, Alaska Remain Top Fishing Ports

September 9, 2010

A NOAA Fisheries report finds the port of New Bedford, Mass., the top spot for value of landings for the tenth year in a row. The New Bedford port brought in $249.2 million in 2009, an increase of $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 $159.7 million in 2009.

Nationwide, the total domestic commercial landings for 2009 were 7.9 billion pounds, valued at $3.9 billion. This is a decrease from 2008, when the volume reached 8.3 billion pounds, with a value of $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, La. and Reedville, Va., 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. The report is available online.

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TOP 10 COMMERCIAL FISHERY LANDINGS AT MAJOR U.S. PORTS, 2008-2009
Figures in Millions of Pounds

Port	2008	2009
Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, Alaska	612.7	506.3
Empire-Venice, La.	353.2	411.8
Reedville, Va.	354.2	349.4
Kodiak, Alaska	250.9	282.9
Intercoastal City, La.	254.6	244.7
Pascagoula-Moss Point, Miss.	190.2	217.8
Cameron, La.	171.9	178.8
New Bedford, Mass.	146.4	170.0
Port Hueneme-Oxnard-Ventura, CA	46.3	141.3
Gloucester, Mass.	120.2	122.3

           

TOP 10 COMMERCIAL FISHERY VALUES AT MAJOR U.S. PORTS, 2008-2009 
Figures in Millions of Dollars

Port	2008	2009
New Bedford, Mass.	241.3	249.2
Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, Alaska	195.0	159.7
Kodiak, Alaska	98.7	103.8
Naknek-King Salmon, Alaska	65.3	76.1
Cape May-Wildwood, N.J.	73.7	73.4
Hampton Roads area, Va.	72.3	68.1
Empire-Venice, La.	62.9	67.1
Honolulu, Hawaii	73.3	59.4
Sitka, Alaska	48.2	51.3
Dulac-Chauvin, La.	48.9	50.9

Note: To avoid disclosure of private enterprise, certain ports