Shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico were slightly below normal for April, but it was not enough to bump the industry from its above-average clip for the first four months of the year.
Shrimpers in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida’s Gulf Coast reported a harvest of 2.3 million pounds in April. While it was about 75,000 pounds more than what was caught in April 2020, it was about 400,000 pounds – or 15 percent – off the historical average tracked by the Southern Shrimp Alliance. The trade group tracks data reported by NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
For 2021, the Gulf states including Mississippi have reported 12.5 million pounds. That’s the best start to a year since 2017 and 5.4 percent above the historical average.
For the month, Louisiana reported 444,000 pounds of landings, which was about 3,000 pounds fewer than last year and 49.5 percent off the historical average for the month.
Texas reported catching one million pounds of shrimp. While that was more than 300,000 lighter than last year, the monthly haul still was 13 percent above average.
Shrimpers in Alabama enjoyed a strong month, with 576,000 pounds harvested. That more than doubled its April 2020 landings total of 241,000 pounds, and it was 89.3 percent higher than the historical average.
In Florida, Gulf Coast fishermen reported 263,000 pounds, roughly 40,000 higher than last year but still 57.1 percent off the average.
Texas and Alabama’s totals are helping the region’s overall catch total, with the 6.5 million pounds harvested in Texas so far a record through the first four months of a year. The historical average in Texas for the first four months is 4.3 million pounds. The 2.2 million pounds landed in Alabama are 39.1 percent above the average.
Louisiana’s 2.3 million pounds is 37.4 percent below normal, while Florida’s Gulf production of 1.4 million pounds is 39.5 percent below average. Mississippi has just reported 115,000 pounds for the year, 64.5 percent off its average.
In addition to the shrimp landings, the Southern Shrimp Alliance reported that its request to federal officials to add frozen raw warmwater shrimp imports to the harmonized tariff schedule has been accepted. In a statement, the SSA said the move puts shrimp in the same category of other seafood products and how the U.S. treats seafood imports that are farmed or caught in the wild.
SSA Executive Director John Williams said the association was thankful for the decision.
“Although much of the federal oversight of imported shrimp distinguishes between wild-caught and farm-raised imports, prior to this change, there has been no way to monitor whether regulatory actions have had an impact on the U.S. market,” he said. “The … decision is an important step forward in making opaque foreign shrimp supply chains more transparent.”
Photo courtesy of Vipavlenkoff/Shutterstock
