Shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico reported harvesting 7.8 million pounds of shrimp for the month of July, according to figures from NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
That’s a more than 11 percent jump from last year’s July total, based on data from the Southern Shrimp Alliance. However, it’s nearly 30 percent off from the historical average of 11.1 million pounds, the trade group reported.
Once again, the Gulf totals were bogged down by depressed landings reported from Louisiana. In July, the state reported 1.5 million pounds of shrimp were caught, down about 110,000 from the state’s 2019 tally for the same month. However, it’s more than 63 percent off the average July harvest from 2002-2019.
Only Alabama reported a higher than average harvest for the month. The 1.2 million pounds in landings was actually down about 50,000 pounds from last year, but it was still nearly 17 percent higher than the average of slightly more than one million pounds.
Texas saw a 20 percent jump from last year with its 4.2 million pounds reported. That total marked the largest landings in five years, but it still lagged about 12 percent behind the average of 4.7 million for the month.
Like Texas, Florida’s Gulf Coast also saw a significant jump from year-to-year, as the 347,000 pounds reported was more than 42 percent higher than the landings shrimpers reported in July 2019. However, it also was 11.7 percent lower than the historical average of more than 392,000 pounds.
Mississippi also saw a substantial improvement from its July 2019 harvest, as the 576,000 pounds were nearly 39 percent higher this year. But the tally still was 34 percent off its average of more than 873,000.
For the first seven months, Gulf shrimpers have caught 34.2 million pounds. That’s the second-lowest total on record, ahead of only 2010, based on Alliance data. It’s also 35.4 percent lower than the seven-month average of 52.9 million pounds.
Louisiana is on pace for its worst year, as its 10.9-million-pound haul is its lowest total and more than 60 percent off its historical seven-month average. Mississippi, at 59 percent, and Florida’s Gulf Coast, at 48.5 percent, are also significantly off their averages. Florida’s 2.1 million pounds also ranks as its worst seven-month tally, while the 1.3 million pounds from Mississippi is the state’s second-lowest since 2002.
Texas has 14.8 million pounds harvested through the first seven months. That’s the state’s best start since 2011 and 8.3 percent above its historical average of 13.7 million pounds.
Meanwhile, Alabama is off by 1 million pounds from its January-July 2019 totals, but the 5.2 million pounds collected so far this year is 13.6 percent higher than its average.
Photo courtesy of Dale Stagg/Shutterstock
