New data from the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center shows July was a mixed month for shrimpers in the Gulf of Mexico.
Both Louisiana and Florida recorded their worst July since the Southern Shrimp Alliance began compiling data 17 years ago. Conversely, Alabama reported a historic high for shrimp harvests.
In all Gulf states, fishermen brought in 7.9 million pounds of shrimp last month. That’s just barely off from the 8 million pounds they harvested in July 2017. For the year-to-date, shrimpers have gathered 46.9 million pounds in the Gulf, that’s off from the 49.2 million collected through the same period last year.
Despite just landing 1.3 million pounds last month, Louisiana fishermen are still ahead of their overall pace from 2017. They’ve currently totaled 19.9 million pounds, compared to 19.7 from the first seven months of last year. That total is on par for the last four years, but it’s still more than 30 percent down from the state’s 17-year historical data.
Texas saw a sharp increase last month as compared to the year before. In July 2018, shrimpers collected 3.9 million pounds, a difference of more than 1 million pounds than in July 2017. Through July, the state’s fishermen have collected 14.2 million, compared to 13.7 million for the same timeframe last year.
The 2.2 million pounds harvested by Alabama fishermen last month was more than double the state’s 17-year historic average for July. It’s further proof of a second consecutive strong year. Through July, the total landings of 7.8 million pounds is just off last year’s historic haul by about 35,000 pounds. It’s also 85 percent better than the overall average through the first seven months.
Mississippi’s fishermen brought in 487,000 pounds, roughly half of their average July. For the year, the 2 million pounds harvested is about 42 percent below average.
Florida shrimpers gathered just 126,000 pounds last month, a 70 percent decline from the historical average for the month. For the year, the harvest of 3.1 million is down 28 percent from previous years.
As far as prices go, Northern Gulf fishermen are reporting the best prices for UN/15 at USD 9.23 (EUR 8.01) per pound. In Texas ports, the ex-vessel price is USD 8.56 (EUR 7.43).
