October 29, 2004

 

 

Low Prices Dampen Record Shrimp Season in US State

 

The possibility of bringing in a record-breaking catch of white shrimp in Louisiana, US this fall is dampened by the all-time low dockside prices.

 

A bumper harvest was last seen in 2000 when Louisiana's shrimp fleet landed 47.3 million pounds of shrimp, weighed with their heads off, between August and year's end.

 

"We're on the order to rival that figure," said Martin Bourgeois, the state shrimp program manager. "I'm optimistic that if it's not the highest white shrimp landing on record, it will be extremely close."

 

Fishermen pulled in 11.5 million pounds of shrimp this August, which was better than August 2000 when 11 million pounds were caught to kick off that record-breaking year.

 

"That is a tremendous August," Bourgeois said about this year's haul. "August is a telltale month."

 

October is typically the best month as shrimp leave their feeding grounds in the interior marshes and move out of the Gulf of Mexico with the first cold spells. During the migration, shrimpers are able to catch the shrimp in skimmers and trawl nets.

 

However, shrimpers may see the big migration only in November, with warm conditions lasting into the end of October, Bourgeois said. The good thing is that the longer shrimp stay inshore, the longer they have to feed and fatten up.

 

While unseasonably warm weather is making for a great year, fishermen are still struggling to make ends meet because of low prices.

 

The price of shrimp has dropped by half since 2001. Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic blamed the drop in prices on cheap, pond-raised imports. They filed an antidumping petition against six of the largest exporters in Asia and South America, hoping that stemming the flow of cheap imports would bolster the price of US shrimp.

 

This year, the US Department of Commerce gave preliminary approval to tariffs on shrimp imports. Final rulings are expected by early next year.

 

Despite the trade win, prices remain low this year.

 

"The prices have not really moved in the last several years," Bourgeois said.

 

But the bountiful season won't hurt shrimpers, he said.

 

"Nowadays with the prices as low as they are, and the range in prices as narrow as they are, it's important for these guys to make money by loading the boat; they have to work on volume."

 

It's not clear what continues to keep prices down in light of the Commerce Department rulings that shrimp was unlawfully dumped by the six countries.

 

Bourgeois said there might still be a lot of shrimp on the market that was shipped in before the tariffs rulings.

 

The rulings have put a dent in imports, according to figures from the National Marine Fisheries Service. In July, shrimp imports dropped overall by about 30 percent and by about 60 percent from the 6 countries in question. The antidumping suit was directed at China, Brazil, Vietnam, Ecuador, Thailand and India.

 

"We're starting to see some turn in the (domestic) prices," said Eddie Gordon, the president of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, the group that organized the antidumping petition.