Source: NCDENR, 7/23/21 Commercial fishermen sold 42.9
million pounds of fish and shellfish to North Carolina seafood dealers in 2020,
a decrease of 19% from 2019 and about a 23% decrease from the previous
five-year average. Recreational fishermen landed 53.5 million
finfish weighing 24.9 million pounds from state coastal and estuarine waters in
2020. The total weight harvested was about 4.6% higher than 2019 and a 4%
increase over the previous 5-year-average. The decrease in commercial harvest was tied to a 41.3% decrease in hard blue crab landings from 2019 that may have been partly due to impacts from COVID-19. The Division of Marine Fisheries heard from several fishermen who said they found it difficult to move blue crabs at the beginning of the state’s stay-at-home order when many restaurants were closed. Even so, hard blue crabs remained the state’s top commercial seafood in terms of pounds landed, while shrimp brought the most money to fishermen at the docks. The top five species by weight landed commercially from North Carolina coastal and estuarine waters in 2020 were:
Species
|
Pounds
Landed
|
Estimate
Dockside Value (Ex-Vessel)
|
Hard
Blue Crabs
|
13.1
million
|
$19.1
million
|
Shrimp
|
9.7
million
|
$22.3
million
|
Summer
Flounder
|
1.8
million
|
$3.7
million
|
Spiny
Dogfish
|
1.5
million
|
$205,016
|
Striped
Mullet
|
1.3
million
|
$651,104
|
The
top five species landed recreationally from North Carolina coastal and
estuarine waters in 2020 were:
Species
|
Pounds
Landed
|
Number
of Fish Landed
|
Spotted
Seatrout
|
3.6
million
|
2.1
million
|
Yellowfin
Tuna
|
2.4
million
|
83,766
|
Dolphin
|
2.1
million
|
262,372
|
Bluefish
|
2.1
million
|
2.1
million
|
Spanish
Mackerel
|
1.8
million
|
1.3
million
|
Anglers
took 16.4 million fishing trips in North Carolina coastal and estuarine waters
in 2020, about 1.1 million fewer than in 2019. The Division of Marine Fisheries’ Trip Ticket Program collects commercial fishing landings statistics through statutorily-mandated reporting of all commercial fisherman to dealer transactions.
The division estimates
recreational fishing harvests through the Marine Recreational Information
Program (MRIP). The data for MRIP is gathered by port agents talking to
fishermen at recreational access sites such as piers, boat ramps, charter
docks, and on the beach. Data is also gathered through mail surveys to license
holders. The estimates do not include recreational landings of shrimp, crabs,
and shellfish. For a full landings report, see the 2020 Annual Fisheries Bulletin.
|