Saving Seafood

U.S. shrimping communities seek disaster declaration over low prices

September 5, 2023 — Pounded by dockside prices under $1 a pound, southern U.S. shrimp fishermen and their elected officials are calling for state and federal declarations of a fishery disaster over what they say is dumping of foreign shrimp on the U.S. market.

“Due to the influx of imported shrimp entering the state of Louisiana, which is allowing foreign countries to dominate our Louisiana shrimp industry…shrimp harvesters are receiving lower than $1 per pound for their shrimp product which is lower than they have ever received in years past,” wrote president Acy Cooper Jr. and other members of the Louisiana Shrimp Association in an Aug. 25 letter to Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

With operating costs also rising, “commercial fishing vessels are forced to remain dockside and businesses are being forced to shut down their operations,” the letter states, asking Edwards for an emergency declaration.

That same day the Southern Shrimp Alliance sent a letter to Southern governors from North Carolina to Texas urging disaster declarations. The group noted that in 2022 Congress changed the statutory authorization for the federal Fishery Disaster Assistance program to allow the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to take action when a fishery is hit by man-made disaster “otherwise beyond the control of fishery managers to mitigate through conservation and management measures.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Louisiana inshore shrimp season opens as coronavirus hits industry; ‘it’s just not moving’

August 11, 2020 — Louisiana shrimpers started heading out to sea Monday as the fall inshore shrimp season kicked off. But with restaurants closed due to coronavirus, opening day arrived at a time when fewer people are buying shrimp, and prices remain low.

“It’s all about supply and demand,” said Acy Cooper Jr., president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. Most shrimpers sell their catch to processors, who sell the shrimp to restaurants. But processors haven’t been able to move shrimp out of inventory because of restaurant closures. “It’s just not moving,” Cooper said.

The more shrimp that sits in inventory, the less processors are willing to pay fishers for shrimp at the dock, he said. The federal economic relief package passed in March included $300 million for fisheries, of which nearly $15 million was allocated for Louisiana. But fishers still haven’t seen any of that money.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

NOAA finalizes TED rule for shrimp skimmer trawls

January 21, 2020 — Three years after it was proposed, NOAA has adopted a rule to expand sea turtle excluder requirements in the U.S. shrimp fishery – but has decided to spare about 80 percent of shallow water fishermen who could have been affected.

Turtle excluding devices, or TEDs, have been required for years on shrimp otter trawls, and the new rule will impose that on boats 40 feet and over pulling skimmer nets.

Read the full story from National Fisherman at Seafood Source

Louisiana Shrimp Stocks in Good Shape But Not Ready for Early Season Opener

April 13, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — While shrimp conditions are good this year, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission isn’t ready to open the spring season early.

Commission members said at their meeting today in Baton Rouge that they want more data before setting the dates for the season.

Nearly all of the shrimpers at the meeting said they would rather wait for the season to open at the normal time so the shrimp can grow to be larger. The spring shrimp season usually opens in mid to late May.

LDWF biologist Jeff Marx said data he’s collected show better conditions than in previous years. Shrimp size, growth and development generally depend on the amount of rainfall, the temperature and salinity level of the water.

But shrimpers spoke against an early season.

“We have a year where Jeff’s data, so far, stated we have optimum weather for growth,” said Houma shrimper Barry Rogers. “I’ve spoken to factories, spoken to fishermen (and) everyone would like to see us at least work on 60 to 70 count (per pound) shrimp. It would be great for the fishermen and great for the processors.”

Acy Cooper, a commercial shrimper and president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, said two weeks can make a big difference in the size of the shrimp, especially with how high the temperatures are right now.

“I don’t think we need a meeting at the end of the month because of the fact that we can’t go opening the season with smaller shrimp,” Cooper said. “Giving them another week or two would make a big difference. Even if it takes a little longer for us to go to work, the shrimp (will be) bigger and it’s more profitable for us.”

Cooper said last year the shrimp were so small that it was hard for shrimpers to make any money.

John Brown, a 33-year shrimper, was the sole fishermen to express interest in opening the season early. Brown said because of the pump stations and freshwater diversions in the Barataria Basin area, shrimp haven’t been able to grow large anymore.

“If you wait, you’re gonna catch nothing. I can tell you what you’re going to catch,” Brown said. “One hundred percent of my income comes from fishing. When the season’s open, I trawl. I don’t make money on big shrimp because we don’t catch big shrimp anymore.”

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.