USA catfish supplies likely to tighten, with fillet prices rising accordingly.

Catfish farmers and marketers in the United States are smiling again, and for good reason. Prices are trending upward, with per pound quotes reaching $2.85 for boneless fillets and $1.85 for whole fish in February. The historic high water mark for fillets is $3.10.

"Supplies will be tight,"

warned Don Haynie, president of Farm Fresh Catfish Co., Hollandale, Mississippi. A 40 million pound shortfall exists at the moment, he told buyers attending the Sea Fare International Conference in Long Beach, Calif. "Hence there's a higher price point this year at both the retail and foodservice levels."

Farmers were fetching 68-cents a pound for harvested live weight when this story was written, and it was being speculated that producer prices could top out at around 75-cents. So, with an average breakeven point of 62-cents, it was again profitable to be in the catfish raising business.

That was not the case last year, when a depressed market saw prices fall to 48.5-cents. Live weight harvests totaled 460 million pounds, representing a 17% increase over 1991. However, the poor return on investment prompted some producers in the fertile Mississippi-Arkansas-Louisiana catfish bowl to refrain from restocking their ponds.

Catfish raising is unquestionably the most successful aquaculture sector in the USA, with output skyrocketing from just 5.7 million pounds in 1970 to today's lofty level. While a number of farmers have been squeezed out of operation by falling prices over the past several years, potential capacity is still thought to be in the 600 million pound range. Per capita consumption is put at one pound among Americans, which places catfish among the top six fish items eaten in the nation.

Haynie predicted that the popularity of catfish will rise to make it the third or fourth greatest consumed fish in 1993. He credited industry promotions and the product's lack of a strong fishy flavor as two reasons why the species has been gaining favor outside of its traditional southern constituency.

A bonus surge in demand could be realized from publicity generated about the eating habits of the White House's new chief occupant. It seems that Bill Clinton's diet consists of more than the fast food fare he enjoys wolfing down at McDonald's after jogging. "Not only does the President like catfish, but his new Secretary of Agriculture comes from a part of Mississippi that just happens to be the nation's most productive catfish-growing area," informed Haynie.