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.

Due to concerns about how these landings data are obtained, data-collection efforts were suspended for most species and groups in 2006 so that existing methods can be re-evaluated and re-designed to improve data accuracy.  However, American eel Anguilla rostrata landings data continue to be collected from permitted harvesters, in compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's American Eel Fishery Management Plan.

2004 Data Summary

2005 Data Summary

2006 Data Summary

2007 Data Summary

* total landings are in terms of whole weight