NEWS RELEASE  NOAA 97-48              August 18, 1997        
 Steven Pennoyer                       9:10 a.m.              
 907-586-7221                          For Immediate Release 

                 DUTCH HARBOR-UNALASKA IS NATION'S 
                     TOP FISHING PORT FOR 1996

Commercial fishermen brought 579 million pounds of fish, worth $118.7
million, to the port of Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, Alaska, in 1996 --
making it the port with both the highest volume and dollar value of
fish in the country, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration announced today.

Officials at NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service said the port
of Dutch Harbor-Unalaska netted the top volume landings slot for the
ninth straight year.  However, landings there dropped 105 million
pounds over 1995 figures due to declines in pollock landings. 
Empire-Venice and Cameron, La., the number two and three ports in
1994, regained those positions again in 1996 with landings of 316 and
315 million pounds, respectively. 

Landings at Dutch Harbor-Unalaska were valued at $118 million, a
decrease of $106 million from the record 1994 value of $224 million. 
New Bedford, Mass., was second in value, with landings worth $100.5
million, while the Kodiak, Alaska, catch value was third at $82.3
million in 1996.

The top 10 leading U.S. ports in volume and value of fish and
shellfish landed in 1994 and 1995, and the latest statistics of 1996
are:

                               VOLUME
                (figures are in millions of pounds)

     PORT                     1994     1995       1996

     Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, Alaska     699.6*     684.6                         579.6
     Empire-Venice, La.       431.7    298.1      316.5
     Cameron, La.             401.8    280.0      315.7
     Seattle, Wash.           391.8    229.0      241.2 
     Kodiak, Alaska           307.7    362.4      202.7 
     Intercoastal City, La.   304.8    179.2      199.0
     Morgan City-Berwick, La. 243.6    127.4      162.9
     Los Angeles, Calif.        98.2   168.5      157.6
     Pascagoula-Moss Point, Miss.      200.9      128.6                         148.0 
     Ketchikan, Alaska          93.6   116.7      136.8

     * Record for quantity is 848.2 million pounds landed in Los
Angeles, Calif., in 1960.NOAA 97-48 (continued)                    VALUE
                (figures are in millions of dollars)

     PORT                     1994     1995       1996

     Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, Alaska     224.1**    146.2                         118.7
     New Bedford, Mass.         82.4     86.9     100.5 
     Kodiak, Alaska           107.6    105.4        82.3
     Key West, Fla.             53.0     66.7       62.8
     Brownsville-Port Isabel, Texas      64.1       66.0                          60.0
     Honolulu, Hawaii           44.0     46.7       50.1
     Point Judith, R.I.         36.5     43.7       46.0
     Empire-Venice, La.         60.1     51.1       45.4
     Dulac-Chauvin, La.         55.0     53.4       45.2
     Portland, Maine            43.6     39.4       38.6

** Current record for value.

For a complete list of commercial fishery landings and value at 60
major U.S. ports for 1994-1996, contact Gordon Helm at Gordon J.
Helm@noaa.gov or (301)713-2370.