Commercial Fishing
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Industry Overview
The US commercial fishing industry includes about 25,000 commercial fishing vessels (CFVs) with combined annual revenue of $4 billion. Around 55,000 small, undecked vessels are also used to catch wild fish for profit, though the economic impact of undecked vessels is negligible. No major companies dominate the industry, which is highly fragmented.
The commercial fishing industry includes the wild catching of finfish, shellfish, and other marine products from their natural habitat. Seafood processing and distribution and fish farming (aquaculture) are covered in separate industry profiles.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven by domestic trends in fish consumption and competition from imports. The profitability of individual companies depends on maximizing yield without depleting stocks. Industrial fisheries have advantages in fleet size and access to experienced crew members. Small-scale and “artisan” fisheries can compete effectively by serving a local market or by specializing in ultra-fresh fish. The industry is labor-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is $100,000.
Products, Operations & Technology
Industry revenue is evenly split between shellfish and finfish. Major shellfish products are crab, shrimp, lobster, and scallop (each with 10 percent of industry revenue). Major finfish products include Alaskan pollock, salmon, halibut, and cod.
The term "fishery" can refer to a commercial fishing operation and to a region home to a large population of a specific fish; for example, the Alaskan pollock fishery.
The US lands nearly 12 billion pounds of fish and shellfish annually, around 4 percent of the world’s total. The US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the federal territory that extends 200 miles offshore, accounts for the majority of US landings. Landings from three to 200 miles offshore represent 70 percent of total landings by weight and 55 percent of industry revenue. Fish and shellfish landed from zero to three miles offshore represents slightly less than 30 percent of total volume and around 40 percent of industry value. Landings from the high seas (beyond 200 miles from shore) account for only 2 percent of industry volume and value. No foreign landings occur in the EEZ.
Commercial fishers rely on a wide range of gear and equipment to land fish and shellfish. While US fishing vessels can be less than 25 feet to over 300 feet long, 99 percent are small boats less than 80 feet. Hulls can be forged from wood, aluminum, steel, fiberglass, and concrete. The typical US fishing vessel is 15 to 30 years old.
Most vessels are capable of hauling tens of thousands of fish at a time. Some are equipped to transfer fish to a seafood processing vessel, allowing the ship to extend a fishing excursion and haul in new landings. Other boats store fish in holding tanks or refrigeration units.
Excursions can last several weeks to several months. The vessel is led by a captain (skipper), who plans the trip, determines the intended catch, hires a crew, navigates the vessel, maintains equipment, and facilitates the sale of the catch. A typical fishing vessel carries fewer than 10 people, led by a captain, a first mate, and a boatswain who manages the deckhands. A captain’s or first mate’s vessel watch usually lasts six hours. Larger fisheries may use small aircraft as “spotters” to locate schools of fish.
Shrimp, flounder, and scallops are typically caught with trawls or dredges, scooping nets that scrape the ocean floor. Crab and lobster are caught with baited pots and traps. Pelagic fish – fish that swim in the open ocean – are typically caught by nets (seine, butterfly, and gill) and lines using baited hooks (troll and long lines). Purse seines are especially effective at catching fish that school near the surface of the ocean (salmon, menhaden, herring, anchovy). Danish seines are used to catch bottom-feeding demersal fish (cod, pollack, haddock, snapper, grouper).
Major inputs include diesel fuel, equipment and supplies, and bait. A typical shrimp trawler consumes around 20 to 25 gallons of diesel fuel per hour.
Recent technological advances include sonar-based fish-finding devices, stronger synthetic twine, state-of-the-art GPS tracking, improvements in refrigeration and cooling, and advancements in hydraulic hauling machinery.
