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Most Recent Commercial Landings Data for Freshwater Fisheries in Florida

Commercial landings data for Florida's inland waters were collected by contacting known commercial fish houses and harvesters by mail and, when necessary, by phone.  Landings and economic value data for 2004 and 2005 are provided in the tables below.  Over fourteen million pounds of fish were commercially harvested in freshwaters of Florida in 2004, which was much higher than the harvest reported in 2005.  This decline was largely caused by a reduction in the commercial harvest from Lake Okeechobee.  Reported landings had an ex-vessel value of approximately $7 million and $5 million in these two years, respectively.  This value only includes the selling (or retail) price of these landings and not other associated expenses such as boat costs, bait, and gas.  The actual total economic value of these landings to Florida's economy are much higher when these other factors are taken into account.

2004 Data Summary

Species or Group	Total Landings *(lbs)	Total Value of Landings
American Eel	7,330	$18,410
Catfish	5,502,611	$3,299,858
Gar/Shad	2,241,760	$550,437
Mullet	82,800	$115,434
Scalefish (Bluegill/ Redear Sunfish)	445,355	$1,059,945
Tilapia	5,865,227	$1,798,892
Total	14,145,083	$6,842,976

* total landings are in terms of whole weight