Commercial fishing corresponds to finfish and shellfish fishing in the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). Finfish fishing comprises establishments primarily engaged in the commercial catching or taking finfish (e.g., menhaden, redfish, snapper, seatrout, flounder, mullet, and sheepshead) from their natural habitat. Shellfish fishing comprises establishments primarily engaged in the commercial catching or taking shellfish (e.g., blue crab, oyster, shrimp) from their natural habitat.
Fig. 1 shows the most valued species landed by Mississippi commercial fishermen in 2022. Menhaden was the most valued species, valued at $43.4 million or 78.7 percent of the total landing values. Brown and white shrimp added $9.5 million, or 17.3 percent. Blue crabs came in third most valued species with $1.5 million in dockside sales or 2.7 percent. Red snapper, red drum, spotted seatrout, and striped mullet added 1.3 percent to the total dockside values in 2022. No commercial landings of oysters from Mississippi public reefs have been reported since 2019.
