SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Michael Ramsingh — June 24, 2014 — A cool rainy spring has delayed the Gulf shrimp season in Louisiana, and contributed to lower landings in Texas. As a result, the Gulf shrimp harvest in May was down 58% over last year, and is the lowest harvest in five years.
A cool rainy spring has delayed the Gulf shrimp season in Louisiana, and contributed to lower landings in Texas. As a result, the Gulf shrimp harvest in May was down 58% over last year, and is the lowest harvest in five years.
In May, only 5.7 million pounds was landed, 8 million pounds less than last year. This level is even lower than the oil spill year in 2010 when large swaths of the Gulf were closed.
May typically marks the month where Gulf landings begin to pick up but colder winter temperatures and a wet spring delayed the start to the seasons in Louisiana and Mississippi, which begin only when shrimp reach harvestable size.
The impact of the late start was evident as Louisiana's and Mississippi's landings were both down from year ago levels. However, reports from fishermen currently indicate plenty of good sized brown shrimp and there is a general expectation that this season's overall landings will be strong.
The weather also affected landings in Texas. The Texas season closed on May 15th, and those shrimpers who wanted to continue fishing went to Lousiana.
Mike Cox, a spokesperson with the Texas Dept. of Parks and Wildlife, said that the cool spring and low levels of runoff due to drought led to high salinity levels in the Bays, and that led to slower growth.
In May, Texas' shrimp landings hit a five-year-low of 806,000 pounds. On a year-to-date level the Texas shrimp haul is also at a five-year low, down nearly 24 percent from 2013 to 3.8 million pounds.
However, the shortfall has led to high prices. Morgan Cross, of Harrington Seafood told the Brownsville Herald
"This year is probably the highest prices have been in 30 or 35 years."
He was heading to Lousiana to keep shrimping.
Most observers are optimistic that a summer turnaround will keep domestic shrimp landings within historical averages, and current prices will certainly lead to heavy fishing effort.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.