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Through First Half of 2021, NOAA Reports Shrimp Landings Low, Prices High

This morning, the Fishery Monitoring Branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center released shrimp landings data from the Gulf of Mexico for June.

Following significant downward revisions to the landings data made by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to its earlier reporting, NOAA indicates that through June, landings of shrimp in the Gulf of 2021 are the lowest they have been over the first half of a year in the last twenty years. With the revisions, shrimp landings in 2021 are reported to have been 25.6 million pounds, down from 26.5 million pounds last year and 38.6 percent below the prior nineteen-year historical average of 41.7 million pounds.

For the first half of 2021, shrimp landings in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and the west coast of Florida were all reported to be higher than landings reported over the first six months of 2020. However, a significant reduction in shrimp landings reported in Texas led to revised numbers for that state showing the lowest level of landings since 2015, at 7.3 million pounds. Last year, 10.6 million pounds of shrimp had been landed in Texas by June.

For the month of June, 9.7 million pounds of shrimp were landed in the Gulf of Mexico, up slightly from the 9.5 million pounds in June of 2020. Louisiana led the way among states, accounting for more than half of all June landings with 5.2 million pounds, up from 3.7 million pounds in June of 2020. Nevertheless, landings in Louisiana last month were reported to be 45.1 percent below the prior nineteen-year historical average of 9.4 million pounds – a circumstance that may result from difficulties in collecting data rather than actual declines in landing volumes.

Ex-vessel prices for shrimp landed in June in the western Gulf for all count sizes were reported by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, while ex-vessel prices were reported by NOAA for just two count sizes in the eastern Gulf (Florida west coast) (15/20 and 21/25) but not for any count sizes in the northern Gulf (Alabama, Louisiana, & Mississippi). For the western Gulf, the ex-vessel prices reported for every count size were substantially above the ex-vessel prices reported in June 2020 and for all count sizes smaller than U15, were the highest reported for any June since 2014.

Importantly, NOAA’s monthly reporting of shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico includes the following disclaimer:

“BE ADVISED THAT FL, AL & LA SUMMARIES IN THIS REPORT ARE COLLECTED OR ESTIMATED BY THE FEDERAL PORT AGENTS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE LANDINGS FROM THE STATES”

The landing numbers reported – and the ex-vessel prices that have not been reported – throughout the last couple of years by NOAA appear to indicate that port agents may have been unable to collect information in the same manner as they have done historically.

Please click the following link to view SSA’s compilation and summary of June 2002-2021 Shrimp Landings and Ex-Vessel Prices for June 2001-2021 in the Gulf of Mexico: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/June-2021-Landings.pdf

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