October 30, 2014 — For the 14th year in a row, New Bedford ranked first in the nation for the commercial value of fish landed in 2013, NOAA Fisheries announced Tuesday.
The two top fishing ports in the nation have continued their extended reigns. For the 14th year in a row, New Bedford ranked first in the nation for the commercial value of fish landed in 2013, NOAA Fisheries announced Tuesday.
Dutch Harbor, Alaska, landed 753 million pounds of seafood in 2013, the 18th consecutive year in which it has led the nation in volume of catch.
New Bedford landed 130 million pounds of seafood last year but, boosted by the highly valuable sea scallop, its value was $379 million.
In contrast, the value of the Dutch Harbor catch was $197 million.
“It’s no surprise that it’s the highly valued sea scallop fishery again,” NOAA Fisheries chief scientist Richard Merrick said.
Eighty-one percent of New Bedford's catch is scallops. For Dutch Harbor, 88 percent is wall-eyed pollock.
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