Tag Archives: brown shrimp
Southern Shrimp Alliance Welcomes NOAA Fisheries’ Confirmation that U.S. Wild-Caught Shrimp Is the Sustainable Choice
Last week, NOAA Fisheries published an on-line resource with facts regarding wild-caught American shrimp, explaining what makes it a sustainable seafood choice. Shrimp is, far and away, the most popular seafood in America. As NOAA Fisheries explains, “now about one-quarter of the seafood Americans eat is shrimp.” Yet, despite Americans’ love of shrimp, the U.S. shrimp industry is struggling. NOAA Fisheries notes that despite the fact that landings volumes were roughly the same in 2023 as they were in 2022, preliminary data from the Gulf of Mexico show that the industry sold $329 million of wild-caught shrimp in 2022 and that revenue dropped to $204 million in 2023 – a 38 percent drop.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:29
Is U.S. Wild-Caught Shrimp Sustainable? The Short Answer Is Yes
U.S.-harvested shrimp is nutritious, delicious… and sustainable! The shrimp fishery has also historically been a culturally important economic engine. It provides a livelihood for thousands of U.S. commercial fishermen. U.S. shrimp are a sustainable seafood option, and the United States sets a global precedent for shrimp trawl bycatch reduction. But our nation’s shrimp industry is struggling to stay afloat and there’s confusion about its sustainability. Here are the facts about U.S. wild-caught shrimp. Most U.S. shrimp are caught in the Southeast from Texas to North Carolina. Three species—white shrimp, pink shrimp, and brown shrimp—make up the vast majority of the shrimp caught. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:22
Federal Waters off Texas Close to Shrimping on May 15, 2024
The shrimp fishery is closed annually off Texas to allow brown shrimp to reach a larger and more valuable size prior to harvest, and to prevent waste of brown shrimp that might otherwise be discarded due to their small size. The Texas closure ranges from 45 to 60 days. The closing date is based on catch rates of brown shrimp collected with seine gear by the Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, mean length of shrimp collected in April, percent of samples containing shrimp, and periods of maximum nocturnal ebb tidal flow. Texas will re-open state waters to shrimp trawling based on sampling projections of when brown shrimp will reach a mean size of 112 mm, and when maximum duration ebb tides will occur. NOAA Fisheries will re-open federal waters off Texas when Texas re-opens its state waters. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:10
South Carolina shrimp harvest opens fully
After a cool spring in South Carolina, the majority of white shrimp in coastal waters have reproduced — and officials at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources have given the go-ahead for shrimp season to open in full. Commercial shrimp trawling opened in all legal South Carolina waters at 8 a.m. June 1. The trawling season in Georgia waters was scheduled to open at the same time. Shrimping season in South Carolina typically starts in spring with the opening of a small subset of waters, called provisional areas, that allow shrimpers to take advantage of the harvest offshore while still protecting the majority of shrimp that have yet to spawn. >click to read< 08:05
Mississippi shrimp season in state of uncertainty thanks to storms, heavy rains
At Forte Seafood in Pass Christian, they say ever since Hurricane Ida came through, the white shrimp have been pretty big and plentiful. That makes up for an awful brown shrimp season, as those shrimp never got a chance to grow due to low salinity from heavy rains. “Starting out, the brown shrimp never really grew. They were all around 50-60 to 60-70 count for the majority of the summer,” said Jeremy Forte. “Once the storm came through, it actually made them bigger. I don’t know if it’s different shrimp from somewhere else or what,,, Video, >click to read< 14:50
Opening of 2021 Mississippi Sound shrimp season could be delayed
Coast shrimpers will have to be a little more patient before they can drop their nets in the Mississippi Sound this summer. Rainy weather during the last two months has caused salinity levels and lower water temperatures in our local waters, meaning it could push the start of the 2021 shrimp season back a few weeks. “With brown shrimp, two of the factors that influence growth are water temperature and salinity,,, “Once these rains stop – if they stop and the salinity starts to rise,,, video, >click to read< 19:17
Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries: report of loss linked to Bonnet Carre Spillway opening
“This is the worst I’ve ever seen it in my life,” Shrimper Charles Robin said. Robin is a shrimper in Yscloskey. He said his catch dropped by more than half this year compared to last. “Last year on average I’d catch a thousand or 1,200 pounds a day on a slow day. Now, you can’t even catch 500 pounds,” Robin said. According to Wildlife and Fisheries, brown shrimp landings are down 34 to 44 percent compared to the five year average. St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis said he’s actively pushing for an Emergency Fisheries Declaration in Washington, D.C. Video, >click to read<16:33
Tropical Storm Barry Brings Shrimp Fishing to Halt in U.S. Gulf
Shrimp fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico were docking ships and tying down equipment as Tropical Storm Barry strengthened while heading to the Louisiana coast. The storm is likely to disrupt fresh catches of shrimp for a day or more, C. David Veal, executive director of the American Shrimp Processors Association in Biloxi, Mississippi, said on Friday.,,, Many processors, retailers and restaurants have ample supplies of shrimp and other seafood in freezers. Those supplies would be threatened by a sustained power outage. >click to read< 19:15
Freshwater in the Mississippi Sound Causing Concern for Shrimp Season
The Department of Marine Resources typically opens our state’s shrimp season during the first week of June every year. What’s different this season? There’s freshwater flushing out into the Mississippi Sound because of the twice-opened Bonnet Carre Spillway to alleviate flooding. Now, local fishermen are concerned over how the reduced salinity will impact Mississippi’s shrimp harvest. >click to read<10:39
Shrimp season comes with fears of uncertainty – Most of the people we spoke with were worried that the freshwater incursion from the Bonnet Carré Spillway would hurt the Mississippi shrimp season. >Video, click to read<
Fishing for White, Brown, and Pink Shrimp is Now Open Off South Carolina in Federal Waters
Federal waters adjacent to South Carolina state waters are open to fishing for white, brown, and pink shrimp as of 4:15 p.m., local time, June 13, 2018. South Carolina state waters remain closed until the state determines an appropriate reopening date. South Carolina closed its state waters to all shrimping on January 10, 2018, due to a prolonged period of water temperatures at or below 9°C in the region. South Carolina requested NOAA Fisheries close federal waters off South Carolina to shrimping. The federal closure was effective January 17, 2018. >click to read<18:17
Federal waters off Georgia, South Carolina closed to fishing for brown, pink, white shrimp
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced on Jan. 24 that NOAA Fisheries have closed federal waters off Georgia to all fishing for brown, pink, and white shrimp. During the closure, no person may trawl for brown, pink, or white shrimp in federal waters off Georgia effective at 8:45 a.m. on Jan. 24Georgia, South Carolina NOAA Fisheries will issue a new Fishery Bulletin announcing the re-opening to shrimp harvest in federal waters off Georgia once the date is determined.. >click here to read< and in South Carolina >click here to read<17:55
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
Mississippi 2016 shrimp season began with small shrimp, low prices
“Shrimp season opened June 6, and about 200,000 pounds of brown shrimp were landed during the first week,” Burrage said. “The bad news is they were running about 50-60 or 60-70 shrimp per pound, which is even smaller than the shrimp were last year at opening.” In addition to brown shrimp, another 50,000 pounds of larger white shrimp were landed the first week of the season. These shrimp escaped harvest last year and now are sized at 16-20 per pound. “They were either jumbo or gumbo,” Burrage said, referring to extra-large shrimp or a smaller size suited only for use in stew. Burrage said prices have been terrible. Brown shrimp are selling at the factories for 55 to 75 cents a pound. The big, white shrimp are bringing $2.50 to $4.50, depending on whether they are sold to factories or used to fill orders for restaurant customers. Read the rest here 21:07
Louisiana: Shrimp season’s start isn’t a happy one – Low prices and fewer shrimp
Shrimp season opened Monday. Observers say fishermen are caught between small catches and low prices. There are two shrimping seasons, spring and fall. Spring is considered the brown shrimp season, which opened Monday. “The season opened today, and the catch is way off from what it usually is,” commercial fisherman Rodney Olander said. “The grade is way smaller than what we usually open with and, as usual, the price is down on us.” Olander has worked as a commercial fisherman for 37 years. He docks his boat at Cypremort Point State Park and shrimps in Vermillion and Cote Blanche bays. That area usually produces more white shrimp than brown. “We’ve been sitting idle for the last six months, waiting for the season to open,” Olander said. “The season opens — there is not a lot of shrimp. The shrimp are small. And they plan on cutting the prices on us.” Read the story here 18:32
Texas shrimp industry battles hostile trends as season closes for two months
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Fisheries Division decided May 15 was a good time to close the state’s shrimp season because, according to its sampling, the average size and number of brown shrimp in Texas coastal waters is higher than the 20-year average. Texas closes its waters to shrimping from the coast to nine nautical miles out for roughly two months each year to give little shrimp time to grow before being harvested. The National Marine Fisheries Service typically imposes a closure out to 200 nautical miles at the same time. More, bigger shrimp is potentially good news for the state’s struggling shrimp industry, since big shrimp fetch higher prices, according to Andrea Hance, shrimp fleet owner and executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association. Read the rest here 19:27
Hey! Who knew?!! NOAA predicts below-average season for commercial harvest of brown shrimp in western Gulf of Mexico
The harvest of brown shrimp in the western Gulf of Mexico is expected to be 53.2 million pounds, which is slightly below the historical 52-year average of 56.5 million pounds, according to NOAA’s annual forecast. The prediction covers the period from July 2014 through June 2015 for state and federal waters off Louisiana and federal waters off Texas. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes, yeah yeah yeah. Read more here 14:29
Federal fisheries officials are predicting below-average brown shrimp season for the next year in waters off Louisiana and federal waters off Louisiana and Texas.
The juvenile brown shrimp population and growth estimates are obtained by monitoring the inshore commercial shrimp fisheries in Texas and Louisiana. Data is obtained from multiple state and federal offices and the commercial shrimp industry. continued@dailycomet
Louisiana Shrimpers optimistic over new season
Shrimp season opened Monday morning, and fishermen headed into state waters with a certain amount of optimism following years of dismal catches. “Fishermen are always optimistic,” said Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. “Between hurricanes, flooding, losing our boats and our homes, we have to be. It would be really easy just to quit and leave. But this is what we do. This is our culture.” continued
