NOAA released data today regarding shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico through May of 2015.
NOAA reported that shrimpers landed 10.2 million pounds of shrimp in the Gulf last month. Although that figure is considerably more than the volume of shrimp landed in May of last year (5.7 million pounds), it represents the third lowest volume of shrimp landed in the month of May over the last fourteen years. Besides last year, the only other May where less shrimp was landed in the month was in 2010. All told, landings last month were 29.1% below the prior thirteen-year historical average.
Landings in the month of May are driven by Louisiana. 7.4 million pounds of shrimp were reported landed in that state last month, nearly double the 3.9 million pounds of shrimp reported landed in May of 2014. Yet overall, besides May 2014 and May 2010, landings last month were the lowest recorded in Louisiana over the last fourteen years and were 31.7% below the prior thirteen-year historical average.
For the year, shrimp landings in the Gulf (20.1 million pounds) are 22.8% below the prior thirteen-year historical average (26.0 million pounds). Nevertheless, landings this year are significantly greater than the volume reported for last year (15.0 million pounds).
The ex-vessel prices reported by NOAA for May 2015 were substantially lower than ex-vessel prices reported in May of last year. Ex-vessel prices for smaller shrimp have deteriorated to a far greater extent than larger shrimp, with U15 count shrimp remaining near recorded highs (without adjusting for inflation). The ex-vessel prices for 26-30 count and smaller size shrimp, however, have largely reversed price gains achieved over the last two years.
Please click the following link to view SSA’s compilation and summary of May 2015 Shrimp Landings and Ex-Vessel Prices:
https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/May-2015-Landings.pdf