The Fisheries Statistic Division of NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center has issued data regarding shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico for April 2018.
Last month, shrimpers landed 4.2 million pounds of shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico, the second-highest total for any April over the last sixteen years. Louisiana led the way, with a reported 1.6 million pounds of shrimp landed in the state, the fourth highest total for any April since 2002 and an amount that was 83.8 percent above the sixteen-year historic average of 0.9 million pounds for the month. A reported 1.4 million pounds were landed in Texas last month, the second highest total recorded for any April since 2002 and an amount that was 72.1 percent above the sixteen-year historic average. And, in Alabama, 0.6 million pounds of shrimp were landed last month, the third highest total recorded for any April since 2002, 131.5 percent above the sixteen-year historic average for the month.
The surge in the volume of shrimp landed in April means that while landings for the first four months of the year (11.8 million pounds) are lower than what they were for the same period in 2016 (15.7 million pounds) and 2017 (13.3 million pounds), they are now just 2.4 percent below the prior seventeen-year historic average (12.1 million pounds).
For the eighth straight month, no ex-vessel prices were reported by NOAA for the eastern Gulf (the west coast of Florida). Ex-vessel prices reported for the northern (Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi) and western (Texas) Gulf were generally at similar levels to those reported in April of last year.
Please click the following link to view SSA’s compilation and summary of April 2001/2002-2018 Shrimp Landings and Ex-Vessel Prices for April 2001-2018:
http://www.shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/April-2018-Landings.pdf
Source: Southern Shrimp Alliance
