This year is gearing up to be a productive one for the upper Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery. One year removed from the catastrophic oil spill that paralyzed last spring’s harvest, shrimpers are back at it. The increase in fishing activity — along with warmer-than-usual water temperatures that are conducive to shrimp growth are expected to result in a strong harvest.
But there’s an X factor.
Heavy rainfall and flooding in the middle part of the country has the Mississippi River overflowing its banks, which could spell disaster for Louisiana’s shrimp fishery. That’s forcing officials to open spillways, releasing freshwater into the Gulf and reducing salinity levels in southern Louisiana’s bays and estuaries.
This is bad news for shrimp, as freshwater pushes the crustaceans out to sea sooner than usual, making them harder to catch.
Through March, the Gulf shrimp catch was about the same as a year ago, totaling just under 9.1 million pounds in the first three months of 2011, compared to 9.2 million pounds during the same period in 2010. But the Gulf shrimp catch ended up totaling just 95.7 million pounds last year due to the oil spill, compared to 131.3 million pounds in 2009.
The bulging Mississippi and release of freshwater into the Gulf is a serious concern, but it won’t have as much as an impact on the shrimp fishery as the oil spill did last year, say sources.
In early May, shell-on, head-off domestic Gulf whites were quoted in the low-USD 11 range for U10s, mid-$10 range for U12s, low-USD 10 range for U15s, high-USD 7 range for 16-20s, mid-USD 6 range for 21-25s, mid-USD 5 range for 26-30s, mid-USD 4 range for 31-35s and high-USD 3 range for 36-40s.
