Under 11.6 million pounds (5,262 metric tons – MT) of shrimp were landed in the Gulf of Mexico last month, down slightly compared to a year previously and the lowest October catch recorded for the past five years.
This catch decline contines the trend seen in September when less than 7.2 million pounds (3,266 MT) of shrimp were landed, some 4 million pounds (1,814 MT) less than in the corresponding month of 2016.
The Gulf’s accumulative shrimp catch for the past 10 months totaled 84.8 million pounds (38,465 MT), which was up on the 79 million pounds (35,834 MT) recorded at the same stage of last year, but short of the totals achieved in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
According to the latest data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, ex-vessel prices for all shrimp sizes in the Western Gulf trended upwards last month compared to October 2016, while prices for all sizes in the Northern Gulf decreased. There was insufficient dealers’ reporting in the Eastern Gulf.
The average ex-vessel price per pound of UN/15 sized headless shrimp in October this year was USD 7.75 (EUR 6.50) in the Northern Gulf and USD 8.83 (EUR 7.40) in the Western Gulf. For 26/30 sizes, prices stood at USD 3.04 (EUR 2.55) per pound in the Northern Gulf and USD 3.69 (EUR 3.09) in the Western Gulf. For 41/50s, the prices were USD 1.90 (EUR 1.59) in the Northern Gulf and USD 2.57 (EUR 2.15) in the Western Gulf.
Gulf Coast fishermen landed 93.9 million pounds (42,592 MT) of shrimp last year, down from 106.9 million pounds (48,489 MT) in 2015 and the lowest level for five years.
NOAA’s data also finds that the United States imported more than 1 billion pounds (453,592 MT) of shrimp in the first nine months of this year – the highest level for five years. The main imported shrimp formats during this period were peeled (593.2 million pounds – 269,071 MT), shell-on headless (364.3 million pounds – 165,244 MT) and breaded (76.6 million pounds – 34,745 MT).
The per capita consumption of shrimp in the United States now stands at 4.1 pounds (1.9 kg), making it the country’s most popular seafood product.
