July 26, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — NMFS is reporting that shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico last month were slightly higher than in June last year and also in 2017 — but still below the 17-year historic average.
The Fishery Monitoring Branch of the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center released shrimp landings data from the Gulf of Mexico for June 2019 this week. The data showed June landings of 11.1 million pounds were higher than the 10.9 million pounds in June 2018 and June 2017, the Southern Shrimp Alliance said in a press release.
The 17-year historic average for June is 16.7 million pounds.
Although landings volumes appear to have recovered somewhat in June, the commercial shrimp harvest remains substantially below previous years for the year so far. Roughly 28.6 million pounds of shrimp have been landed in the Gulf of Mexico since January, 34 percent below the 17-year historic average of 43.4 million pounds. It is also the second lowest amount reported for a January-to-June time period since 2002.
For 2019 thus far, the landings in Louisiana,10.5 million pounds, and the west coast of Florida, 2.0 million pounds, are the lowest reported in the historic dataset maintained by the Southern Shrimp Alliance, while landings in Mississippi, 1.1 million pounds, are the second lowest total reported.
Last month, NOAA reported ex-vessel prices for just two count sizes of shrimp landed in the eastern Gulf (west coast of Florida) and just three count sizes of shrimp landed in the northern Gulf (Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi). The ex-vessel prices reported for shrimp landed in the western Gulf (Texas) were roughly in line with the ex-vessel prices reported for the same count sizes in June 2018.
NOAA’s monthly reporting of shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico continues to include the disclaimer that the summaries collected or estimated from federal port agents may not reflect individual states’ landings.
As noted, the numbers reported – and the ex-vessel prices that have not been reported – over the last several months by NMFS appear to indicate that port agents may have been unable to collect information in the same manner as they have done historically, the SSA said in the statement.
Ex-vessel prices for 26-30, headless/shell-on shrimp in June show prices roughly the same as the historical averages, but more than $2 a pound less than the high prices reported in June 2014. June ex-vessel prices for U15 shrimp show a general increasing trend for northern Gulf and west coast Florida shrimp but a roller coaster ride for shrimp from the western Gulf. Still, the average ex-vessel price for June for U15 shrimp was $9.52 a pound for both western and northern Gulf shrimp, according to the SSA report.
The full SSA shrimp landings and ex-vessel prices report can be found here:
http://www.shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/June-2019-Landings.pdf
This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.