The 2019 Oregon pink shrimp season has come to a close, with preliminary landings trending below the 20-year average of 31 million pounds, according to a report from the British Columbia, Canada-based seafood wholesaler Tradex Foods.
According to Tradex, the Oregon fishery’s shrimpers landed around 27 million pounds this year – 15 percent less than the 35 million pounds harvested in 2018 and just over half as much as the 53 million pounds tallied in 2015.
While the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has yet to fully analyze the data, these initial figures suggest that next year's harvest shouldn't see much of an increase, the organization told Tradex. El Nino is partially to blame for this season’s lower landings, ODFW added, as warmer water temperatures always result in less favorable shrimp recruitments in this particular stock.
A majority of the pink shrimp landed in 2019 are reportedly much bigger than those seen in previous years, coming in at 175/250 and 250/350 counts, West Coast shrimp processors revealed. Ex-vessel pricing remains on par with the last five years at around USD .74 (EUR .66) per pound, Tradex said, translating into a value of USD 20 million (EUR 17.7 million) for the 2019 fishery.
Photo courtesy of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
