February 12, 2021 — U.S. commercial scup, or porgy, landings peaked in 1981 at 21.73 million pounds, but dipped to 2.66 million pounds by 2000. In recent years, commercial fishermen have not landed the commercial quota, but there have been industry-wide efforts focused on closing the gap.
The commercial fishery runs year-round, and mostly in U.S. federal waters during the winter and state waters during the summer. A coastwide commercial quota is allocated between three quota periods: winter I, summer, and winter II. Total ex-vessel value in 2018 was USD 9.7 million (EUR 8 million), resulting in an average price per pound of USD 0.73 (EUR 0.60). NOAA data shows landings from October to the end of December 2020 are below last year’s landings.