Torrential rainfalls, record flooding across the Gulf may impact this years Brown shrimp harvest
“The unprecedented flooding in Texas forced young shrimp out of their nursery habitats needed for growth and survival and into the mouths of bays,” NOAA said in a news release. “These extreme environmental factors may impact our forecast of harvest of brown shrimp this year since it is unknown whether survival of shrimp was reduced or shrimp just moved out of our sampling area because of the reduced salinities and low oxygen levels.” Brown shrimp is an annual crop. Larval and juvenile brown shrimp enter the Louisiana and Texas estuaries each year from February through July, with peak recruitment occurring from February through early April. As the shrimp grow, they begin to move out of the shallow backwaters in late spring, and are targeted in the bays by Louisiana’s inshore shrimp fleet. This year’s season stretched from May 23 through July 3 across most of the Louisiana coast. Read the rest here 13:57
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