US fishermen’s catch up in value, volume declines slightly

The federal government says American fisheries grew by a little more than 2 per cent in value last year, even with fishermen bringing slightly less fish to shore.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says in an annual report released Wednesday that U.S. commercial fishermen brought 9.6 billion pounds (4.3 billion kilograms) of seafood to land last year — down 1.5 per cent from 2015.

The catch was valued at $5.3 billion, 2.1 per cent more than in 2015. The largest U.S. commercial fishery remains the Alaska pollock, which came close to a record year in catch volume.

The report says the U.S. also imported more seafood in 2016 than the previous year. The average American ate almost 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) of fish and shellfish last year, slightly down from 2015.