NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — October 31, 2013 — For the 13th consecutive year New Bedford is first in the nation in the commercial value of fish landed here, NOAA Fisheries announced Wednesday.
Dutch Harbor, Alaska was the top port in terms of volume in 2012, but New Bedford's dollar value, $411 million, was nearly double that of Dutch Harbor, $214 million.
Eighty percent of New Bedford's catch is scallops; for Dutch Harbor it is wall-eyed pollock.
The dollar value in New Bedford represents an increase over 2011, when the catch totaled $369 million.
New Bedford's total volume in 2012 of 143 million pounds represents a sharp increase over 2011, when it was 117 million, NOAA reported.
Gloucester's fleet showed a slight increase in volume to 83 million pounds but a drop in value to $57 million.
U.S. commercial fishermen landed 9.6 billion pounds of fish and shellfish in 2012, valued at $5.1 billion, according to Fisheries of the United States 2012, an annual report released by NOAA today.
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