NOAA Fisheries
Example: Your fish supplier says cod is up because "the catch was light." NOAA Fisheries landings can show whether U.S. cod landings actually thinned — but because most restaurant cod is imported and landings reporting lags, treat it as a directional read, not the last word on your delivered price.
the U.S. ocean-fisheries & landings agency
The U.S. agency that manages the nation’s ocean fisheries and publishes commercial landings data — the volume and ex-vessel (dock) value of seafood landed at U.S. ports. It’s part of NOAA, also called the National Marine Fisheries Service. Public and free.
Why it matters
It’s the public read on what U.S.-landed seafood fetches at the dock, so the Cost Index uses it for seafood reference where it can. Be honest about the limit: most restaurant seafood is imported, and domestic landings reporting lags and is thin — so seafood is one of the index’s lower-confidence, harder-to-cover categories. We name the gap rather than paper over it.
Frequently asked
What is NOAA Fisheries?
NOAA Fisheries is the U.S. agency that manages the nation's ocean fisheries and publishes commercial landings data — the volume and ex-vessel (dock) value of seafood landed at U.S. ports. It is part of NOAA and also goes by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The data is public and free.
How does the Cost Index use NOAA Fisheries?
The index uses NOAA Fisheries landings data for seafood reference where it can — the public read on what U.S.-landed seafood fetches at the dock. It is one input among the index's public government sources, not a delivered or retail price.
Why is seafood a lower-confidence category in the index?
Because a large share of restaurant seafood is imported, and domestic landings reporting lags and is thin. So seafood is one of the index's harder-to-cover, lower-confidence categories. The index names that gap rather than papering over it with an invented number.
- BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) — the U.S. price, wage & jobs statistics agency
- USDA Market News — USDA’s public market-price reports
- USDA Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) — mandatory packer price reporting to USDA
- USDA Dairy Product Sales Report (NDPSR) — the weekly U.S. dairy price benchmark
- FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) — the public front door to U.S. economic data
- EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) — the U.S. federal energy-statistics agency
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171 terms.
Plain-English definitions for every term in your audit, organized by category.