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Landings Data Notes and Caveats
All landings summaries will return only non confidential landing statistics. Federal statutes prohibit public disclosure of landings (or other information) that would allow identification of the data contributors and possibly put them at a competitive disadvantage. Most summarized landings are non confidential, but whenever confidential landings occur they have been combined with other landings and usually reported as "Withheld for Confidentiality" Total landings by state include confidential data and will be accurate, but landings reported by individual species may, in some instances, be misleading due to data confidentiality.
Landings data do not indicate the physical location of harvest but the location at which the landings either first crossed the dock or were reported from.
The data returned by these queries represent the most current data available. These data are updated weekly.
Landings are reported in pounds of round (live) weight for all species or groups except univalve and bivalve mollusks, such as clams, mussels, oysters and scallops, which are reported as pounds of meats (excludes shell weight). Our landings data may sometimes differ from state-reported landings due to our reporting of mollusks in meat weights rather than gallons, shell weight, or bushels. Also, we include some species such as kelp and oysters that are sometimes reported by state agricultural agencies and may not be included with state fishery agency landings data.
Many fishery products are gutted or otherwise processed while at sea and are landed in a product type other than round (whole) weight. Our data partners have standard conversion factors for the majority of the commonly caught species that convert their landing weights from any product type to whole weight. It is the whole weight that is displayed in our web site landing statistics. Caution should be exercised when using these statistics. An example of a potential problem is when landings statistics are used to monitor fishery quotas. In some situations, specific conversion factors may have been designated in fishery management plans or Federal rule making that differ from those historically used by NOAA Fisheries in reporting landings statistics.
The dollar value of our landings are ex-vessel (as paid to the fisherman at time of first sale) and are reported as nominal (current at the time of reporting) values. Users can use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Producer Price Index (PPI) to convert these nominal landing values into real (deflated) values.
Landings do not include aquaculture products except for clams, mussels and oysters.
Any query that includes the state of Florida will return landings from both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. For example, a query for all species landed in the Gulf region will return landings from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and both the Gulf AND Atlantic coasts of Florida. This was done to provide the most data possible for the state, as separating landings by coast would have resulted in confidentiality problems. Reporting for the entire state is also consistent with how our data partners (GulfFIN and ACCSP) are reporting Florida data on their web queries. Users may obtain landings for each coast separately by contacting the ACCSP or the State of Florida and submitting a custom data request (see Partners page).
Pacific landings summarized by state include an artificial “state” designation of “At-Sea Process, Pac.” This designation was assigned to landings consisting of primarily whiting caught in the EEZ off Washington and Oregon that were processed aboard large vessels while at sea. No Pacific state lists these fish on their trip tickets which are used to report state fishery landing, hence the at-sea processor designation was used to insure that they would be listed as a U.S. landing.
Landing summaries are compiled from data bases that overlap in time and geographic coverage, and come from both within and outside of NOAA Fisheries. Although numerous checks have been made to verify their completeness and accuracy, discrepancies are always possible. If you should find any errors or questionable data, please notify us via the Comments page.
Processed Products Data Caveats
Every year NOAA Fisheries conducts a survey of seafood processors across the United States gathering information on product quantity and value as well as plant employment. This data collection spans all regions within NOAA Fisheries and generates important information for use in publications and management decisions. The Annual Survey of Seafood Processors is one of the only data collection efforts that includes all companies, regardless of plant size, and includes quantity and value information at the species level (when possible).
The data collection is a collaborative effort between headquarters and the NOAA Fisheries Regions. Regional port agents distribute the survey to the processors in their area and stay in contact throughout the process to assist in filling out the form and answer any questions. Regional port agents play a vital role in keeping the survey current and reach out to local processors to improve return rates. The completed surveys are forwarded to NOAA Fisheries Headquarters, where Office of Science and Technology Fisheries Statistics Division staff enter all data, follow up with processors and port agents, tabulate annual figures and maintain historical databases.
Vessel Documentation Data Caveats
The United States Coast Guard has ceased providing Personal Identifying Information (PII) previously included in the data which comprise the report "Merchant Vessels of the United States" also known as the "List of Documented Vessels." That report's data is the content for NOAA's searchable database accessible on this webpage. All questions regarding the availability of PII data must be addressed to efoia@uscg.mil or the following address:
COMMANDANT (CG-611)
ATTN FOIA OFFICER
US COAST GUARD STOP 7710
2703 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE SE
WASHINGTON DC 20593-7710
You can access our copy of the United States Coast Guard's (USCG) vessel data base and extract vessel characteristics and documentation. This data base is updated periodically. Our query program only retrieves data about vessels which are craft that are 5 net tons or larger and are documented by the USCG. Craft less than 5 net tons ("boats") are numbered by individual states.
Contact the USCG Vessel Documentation Center for vessel title and lien information. http://www.uscg.mil/nvdc
Access the following link to download “Merchant Vessels of the United States" in various formats. This data does not include PII.
https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Prevention-Policy-CG-5P/Inspections-Compliance-CG-5PC-/Office-of-Investigations-Casualty-Analysis/Merchant-Vessels-of-the-United-States/