The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Aquaculture Census 2023 shows that total sales of aquaculture products in 2023 were $1.9 billion, up 26% from the 2018 census.

The latest census shows that 3,453 aquaculture farms in the United States have sales revenue, an 18 percent increase from 2018. In 2023, Mississippi, Washington, Louisiana, Florida and Alabama will account for 55 percent of aquaculture sales and 49 percent of the number of aquaculture farms in the country.

Food fish and mollusks are the largest sales categories in the farmed category, with catfish and oysters being the highest selling species.

Conducted every five years, the U.S. Aquaculture Census Report 2023 expands on data collected during the 2022 Census of Agriculture, providing the most recent detailed information about the aquaculture industry's production and marketing practices, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Bureau.

The U.S. Aquaculture Census Report 2023 provides detailed information covering production and farming methods, surface waters area and origin, sales, point of first sale, and aquaculture products used for restoration, conservation, improvement, or recreational purposes.

Data highlights include:

- Average sales per farm were $552,569.

- Sales of edible fish were $819.6 million, up 14 percent from 2018.

- Mollusk sales were $575.5 million, up 30 percent from 2018.

- Sales of crustaceans in 2023 were $175.7 million, up 75 percent from 2018.

- $480 million worth of catfish represents 59 percent of all food fish sales in 2023.

- Oysters, valued at $327 million, account for 57 percent of mollusk sales in 2023.

- In 2023, Mississippi ranked first in the nation with $277 million in total aquaculture sales.