Top 10 Most Harvested Saltwater Fish in the US

   11.03.15

Top 10 Most Harvested Saltwater Fish in the US

There’s nothing quite like fresh fish for dinner, and if you’re an American saltwater angler, odds are you’ll be digging into one of these. NOAA Fisheries recently released their 2014 Fisheries of the United States Report, which along with a bunch of other helpful data, also lists the most popular saltwater fish for both commercial and recreational anglers.

For the purposes of this list, the fish are ranked by the amount of total weight landed. Also, the NOAA noted that the data does not include Alaska or Texas, which did not provide weight data for 2014.

10. Sheepshead—5,128,000 pounds landed

Image from Linda Tanner on the Flickr Creative Commons.
Image from Linda Tanner on the Flickr Creative Commons.

9. Scup—5,900,000 pounds landed

Image from Ben Harwood on the Flickr Creative Commons.
Image from Ben Harwood on the Flickr Creative Commons.

8. King mackerel—7,029,000 pounds landed

Image from Clinton & Charles Roberts on the Flickr Creative Commons.
Image from Clinton & Charles Roberts on the Flickr Creative Commons.

7. Spotted seatrout—9,250,000 pounds landed

Image courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Image courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

6. Red drum—9,290,000 pounds landed

Image courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Image courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

5. Summer flounder—12,654,000 pounds landed

Image from Clinton & Charles Roberts on the Flickr Creative Commons.
Image from Alpha on the Flickr Creative Commons.

4. Dolphinfish—15,706,000 pounds landed

Image from Kim on the Flickr Creative Commons.
Image from Kim on the Flickr Creative Commons.

3. Yellowfin tuna—15,953,000 pounds landed

Image courtesy NOAA.
Image courtesy NOAA.

2. Bluefish—20,085,000 pounds landed

Image from Jackie on the Flickr Creative Commons.
Image from Jackie on the Flickr Creative Commons.

1. Striped bass—24,363,000 pounds landed

Image from Nils Rinaldi on the Flickr Creative Commons.
Image from Nils Rinaldi on the Flickr Creative Commons.
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