Last night, the Fishery Monitoring Branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center released shrimp landings data from the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June.
Through the first half of this year, shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico are at the lowest levels reported over the last nineteen years. NOAA indicates that 26.5 million pounds of shrimp have been landed in the Gulf in 2020, an amount that is 37.8 percent lower than the historical average for the previous 18 years (42.5 million pounds). This volume of shrimp is the lowest ever reported in the Gulf.
This historic low is being driven by brutal landings data out of Louisiana. Last month, NOAA reported that just 3.7 million pounds of shrimp was landed in Louisiana, the lowest recorded for any June going back to 2002. These landings were an astonishing 61.7 percent below the historical average for the prior 18 years (9.7 million pounds). In the first half of this year, just 9.4 million pounds of shrimp has been landed in Louisiana, which is also the lowest recorded for any year going back to 2002 and is a stunning 61.1 percent below the historical average for the prior 18 years (24.1 million pounds).
Abnormally low shrimp landings have also been reported on the West Coast of Florida and in Mississippi. In the West Coast of Florida, the 1.7 million pounds of shrimp landed in 2020 is the lowest ever reported and less than half the historical average for the prior 18 years (3.7 million pounds). In Mississippi, the 0.7 million pounds of shrimp landed this year is the second lowest total reported over the last nineteen years.
Gulf shrimp landings would look even worse if not for Texas. Through June, the 10.6 million pounds of shrimp landed in Texas, as reported by NOAA port agents in Texas and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, is almost 20 percent higher than the historical average of 8.9 million pounds of shrimp landed over the prior eighteen years. Shrimp landings in Texas have been higher this year than the prior two years.
Ex-vessel prices for shrimp landed in the Western Gulf were reported by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, while no ex-vessel prices were reported for the eastern (Florida west coast ports) Gulf and ex-vessel prices were reported for four count sizes (U15; 15/20; 21/25; 26/30) for the northern (Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi) Gulf. With just one exception, the ex-vessel prices reported for June 2020 were significantly below those reported in June 2019.
As in past months, NOAA’s monthly reporting of shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico continues to include the following disclaimer:
“BE ADVISED THAT THE SUMMARIES IN THIS REPORT ARE COLLECTED OR ESTIMATED BY THE FEDERAL PORT AGENTS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE LANDINGS FROM THE STATES”
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