Shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico reported landings of about 6.6 million pounds in May. That total was the lowest for the month since 2014, according to data released by the Southern Shrimp Alliance.
The total, which was about 50,000 pounds lighter than what was reported in May 2020, is also half of the historical average.
Only one state, Alabama, reported an above-average month. The 825,000 pounds, while down from 870,000 last year, was 44.2 percent higher than the average of 571,963 pounds.
Louisiana reported just 3.5 million pounds for the month. That’s the third straight May the state has failed to top four million pounds, and it’s 62.7 percent off the historical average for May.
In a statement, the alliance believes the landings data does not accurately reflect what’s happening in Louisiana.
“Because of the significant revisions that have been made to Louisiana shrimp landings by NOAA in its annual reporting of shrimp landings in the Fisheries of the United States report, it is possible that these figures reflect data collection issues in Louisiana rather than a decline in shrimp landings volumes,” the SSA noted.
The group notes that summaries reported by NOAA Fisheries may be estimates from federal port agents and not reflect actual totals.
In Texas, the 1.9 million pounds was roughly 200,000 lighter than reports for the same month last year. It was also 12.1 percent below average.
Florida’s Gulf Coast shrimpers reported a harvest of 278,000 pounds. That was 105,000 more than May 2020’s total, but still 57.5 percent off the monthly average.
Mississippi reported just 92,000 pounds, nearly 80 percent off the state’s historical average.
The May slump means the year-to-date total is now below the historical average as well. The 19.1 million pounds landed through the first five months is still more than 2 million pounds better than the previous two years, but it’s 23.4 percent lower than the historical average of 24.9 million pounds.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance tracks data reported by NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
Photo courtesy of Leigh Trail/Shutterstock
