A record-low May harvest for Louisiana shrimpers led to the Gulf of Mexico states reporting landings of nearly half their average for the month.
Fishermen from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida’s Gulf Coast reported harvesting just 7.5 million pounds shrimp in May. That’s the lowest total for the month in five years and the third lowest since 2002, when the Southern Shrimp Alliance began tracking the data from the Fishery Monitoring Branch of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center at NOAA Fisheries.
The average haul for Gulf shrimpers in May is just less than 14 million pounds.
Louisiana reported just 3.3 million pounds for May, down from nearly 9.6 million a year ago. For the year-to-date, the state has reported just 4.8 million pounds, nearly two-thirds off its historical average and by far on pace to be the state’s worst season. Through May 2010 and 2014, shrimpers in the state had harvested 6.6 million pounds.
While Louisiana’s figures were way down for the month, Texas and Alabama enjoyed above-average year-to-date landings. Texas landed 2.7 million pounds in May, a 26.3 percent increase. The 760,000 pounds collected in Alabama represents a 39.8 percent increase over its average for the month.
The year-to-date figures in those states are strong as well. In Texas, shrimpers have gathered nearly 7 million pounds, an 18.6 percent increase over the historical average of 5.9 million pounds. The 3.1 million pounds landed in Alabama are 53.5 percent higher than the average of 2 million for the first five months.
Mississippi reported landings of 354,000 pounds last month, 23.5 percent down from its average May. At 518,000 pounds for the year, the state is 34 percent below its average for the first five months.
Much like Louisiana, gulf shrimpers in Florida are on pace for their worst year since the SSA began compiling data. The 1.6 million in landings through May is 49.2 percent below its average. For May, the 370,00 pounds harvested is the lowest since 2013 and 47 percent off the average for the month.
For the year, Gulf shrimpers have hauled in 17 million pounds of shrimp. That’s the lowest five-month figure since 2014 and 34.3 percent down from the historic average of 25.9 million pounds.
The SSA noted that NOAA’s data is collected or estimated by federal port agents and may not truly reflect the actual landings from the states. In addition to the landings data, the Alliance said in a statement that it also appears the federal agency also has not been able to collect pricing data in the same fashion as in years past.
“Nevertheless, this monthly reporting data is important to the commercial shrimpers, as it provides the industry with the ability to quickly assess the impact of outside events on the fishery, as well as identify what concerns the industry needs to prioritize,” the Southern Shrimp Alliance said in a statement.
