Only one of the five Gulf of Mexico states saw an above-average shrimp harvest in July, as the region is on pace for a near record-low landings total for the year. That’s according to data released by NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center, which was analyzed by the Southern Shrimp Alliance.
Slightly more than 7 million pounds of shrimp were collected in July, down 37.8 percent from the SSA’s 17-year historic average and the third-worst July on record since the group began collecting data in 2002. Shrimpers have landed 35.6 million pounds for the first seven months of the year, 33.9 percent below the SSA average and the second-worst start of the year, ahead of only 2010.
Louisiana, typically the Gulf’s leading producer, saw just 1.6 million pounds reported in its ports. While that was a more than 300,000-pound improvement off the record July low from last year, it remained 62.1 percent off the state’s historic average for the month.
For the year, shrimpers have harvested just 12.1 million pounds in Louisiana, and the state is on track to report its worst year since the SSA began tracking.
While NOAA Fisheries has stated the harvest totals may not necessarily reflect the total landings, the reports come as officials in Louisiana and the other Gulf states have pressed U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to declare a fishery disaster in the region. Record flooding along the Mississippi River has led to a substantial amount of freshwater and pollutants being dumped into the Gulf.
Last month also saw Hurricane Barry come through the region. While the storm did not do as much damage as other storms in the past, it still caused havoc.
Only Alabama reported an above-average harvest, with 1.2 million pounds reported. While it was 24.4 percent higher than the SSA average, it was also nearly half of the total reported for July 2018. Still, Alabama is on pace for its third highest year, according to SSA figures, with nearly 6.2 million pounds landed since January.
Texas saw its July report finish 26.4 percent below average, as shrimpers there landed 3.5 million pounds. For the year, Texas is about 120,000 pounds below its seven-month average of 13.7 million pounds.
Mississippi, meanwhile, recorded only 415,000 pounds in July, off nearly 54 percent from its 900,000-pound average according to the SSA. At 1.5 million pounds reported since January, the state is on pace for its second-worst year since 2002.
On Florida’s west coast, shrimpers reported just 244,000 pounds, more than 39 percent off their July average. With just 2.3 million pounds collected since the start of the year, shrimpers there are on pace for their worst year, according to the SSA.
