Today, NOAA released shrimp landings data from the Gulf of Mexico for October. Last month, 11.7 million pounds of shrimp were landed in the Gulf of Mexico. This was the smallest amount of shrimp landed in that month in the fifteen year data series maintained by the Southern Shrimp Alliance. In total, landings in October were 23.4% below the prior fourteen-year historical average for the month.
The decline in landings for the month was driven by historically low landings in Texas. At 3.5 million pounds, the volume of shrimp landed in the state was roughly a third below the prior fourteen-year historical average and the lowest recorded in the last fifteen years. Although October landings in Louisiana were higher this year (6.5 million pounds) than October 2015 (6.3 million pounds), the total was still 18.6% below the prior fourteen-year historical average.
For the year, 79.0 million pounds of shrimp have been landed in the Gulf, marking the fifth straight year of declines in overall landings in the region. In total, 2016 Gulf of Mexico shrimp landings are 23.8% below the prior fourteen-year historical average. Landings in Louisiana are almost 30% off the prior fourteen-year historical average, while landings in Texas are 25.9% below the prior fourteen-year historical average.
While volumes have remained significantly lower than historical averages, ex-vessel prices for shrimp were significantly higher than they were last October. Western and Northern Gulf ex-vessel prices for U15 count shrimp increased significantly. Western Gulf ex-vessel prices for 26-30 count shrimp ($4.13/lb.) were substantially higher than those reported in October of last year ($2.88/lb.). For 41-50 count shrimp, ex-vessel prices in October were reported as being significantly higher than October 2015 in all regions of the Gulf.
Please click the following link to view SSA’s compilation and summary of October 2002-2016 Shrimp Landings and Ex-Vessel Prices for October 2001-2016: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/October-2016-Landings.pdf