SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Michael Ramsingh — August 21, 2014 — Weather related fishing delays in the Gulf of Mexico's shrimp season this summer appear to have scrambled normal landing patterns. While the catch out of Louisiana in July was a bit higher compared to the month's typical average, landings out of Texas are trending well below their historical range and the total catch is down from last year.
In July the total shrimp harvest out of the Gulf was down 17 percent compared to 2013 at 9.3 million pounds. For the year the catch is down 22 percent from last year, short by over 11 million pounds from 2013 and the five-year average.
Louisiana's shrimp catch in July was well above its five-year average for the month trending 44 percent higher this year at 4.9 million pounds. It appears a number of weather-related fishing delays to the state's catch have pushed Louisiana landings back a bit this season. Colder than normal weather pushed the start to some Louisiana openings in May and July to allow shrimp to grow to harvestable sizes.
Still, for the year, Louisiana's total shrimp catch through July is down 22 percent from last year and down about 14.5 percent from the five year average.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.