NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico Data Management division has now released information regarding shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico for the first two months of 2018.
In February, more than 2.7 million pounds of shrimp was landed in the Gulf of Mexico. Although below the amount of shrimp landed in the month of February in each of the three previous years, the volume of shrimp landed last month was down only three percent from the prior seventeen-year historic average for February (2.8 million pounds).
NOAA’s totals for February do not include any reporting for Louisiana. For the first time in the eighteen-year time period tracked by the Southern Shrimp Alliance, NOAA was not able to report any shrimp landings for the state of Louisiana because of an insufficient number of dealers reporting.
Nevertheless, even without any reported landings from Louisiana, total shrimp landed in the Gulf remained near historic levels because landings in Alabama last month (1.1 million pounds) were roughly three times the prior seventeen-year historic average for the month (0.4 million pounds). Total landings in the state of Alabama last month were the highest ever recorded since the Southern Shrimp Alliance began compiling data. Landings in Alabama have increased significantly in each February over the last four years.
For the year, the total volume of shrimp caught in the Gulf of Mexico (4.6 million pounds) is 32.8 percent below the prior seventeen-year historic average (6.9 million pounds). However, this low total – attributable to a massive drop in reported Louisiana landings – may have little impact on annual landings, as the shrimp caught in the first two months of the year accounts for only between four and seven percent of the total volume of shrimp landed in the Gulf of Mexico each year.
For the sixth 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 mixed compared to February of last year. Dockside prices for U15 shrimp were reported to be higher in the western Gulf than last year, but lower in the northern Gulf. Prices for smaller count size shrimp (31/35; 36/40; and 41/50) were reported to be slightly higher last month in the northern Gulf than in February 2017, while prices for the same count sizes in the western Gulf were reported to be lower than they were in February 2017.
Please click the following link to view SSA’s compilation and summary of February 2001-2018 Shrimp Landings and Ex-Vessel Prices for February 2001-2017: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/February-2018-Landings.pdf