Alabama's commercial fish catch was 30,081,000 lb (13,644,000 kg), worth $46,985,000, in 1998. The principal fishing port is Bayou La Batre, which brought in about 23,600,000 lb (10,620,000 kg), worth $36,400,000, 11th-highest by value in the nation. Catfish farming is of growing importance. As of January 1999, there were 246 catfish farms (down from 370 in 1990) covering 21,016 acres (9,534 hectares) of water surface, with an average farm size of about 85 acres (34 hectares). In early 2000, Alabama growers had an inventory of 54.2 million stocker-size and 55.4 million fingerling/fry catfish. There were 84 processing and 55 wholesaling plants, with a combined total of about 2,300 employees in 1997. There were 499,132 sport fishing licenses issued by Alabama in 1998. Fish farms distributed 1.7 million bass and 159,000 catfish to Alabama waters in 1998.