August 5, 2019

Gulf shrimp landings higher in June, lower in 1st half

Shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico in June were slightly higher at 11.1 million pounds than in June 2018 and June 2017 (10.9 million pounds). However, commercial shrimp landings last month were 33.6% below the prior 17-year historic average of 16.7 million pounds for June.

Although landing volumes appear to have recovered somewhat in June, the commercial shrimp harvest in the first half remains substantially below previous years.

From January to June, 28.6 million pounds of shrimp were landed in the Gulf of Mexico, down 34% compared with the prior 17-year historic average of 43.4 million pounds and is the second-lowest amount reported for a January-to-June period since 2002.

The ninth-largest body of water in the world, the Gulf of Mexico's eastern, northern and northwestern shores lie along the US states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. The Gulf's southwestern and southern shores lie along six Mexican states, and on the southeast it is bordered by Cuba. It supports major American, Mexican and Cuban fishing industries.

Meanwhile, the Southern Shrimp Alliance—whose members are shrimp fishermen, shrimp processors and other stakeholders in the domestic industry in the eight warmwater shrimp-producing states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas—marked World Day against Trafficking in Persons on July 30 by promoting resources to help shrimp purchasers avoid sourcing from supply chains that use forced labor, child labor, and forced child labor.

"Consumers play a large role in stopping human trafficking. We can use the Sweat & Toil app developed by the Department of Labor when making purchasing decisions on a variety of products, including shrimp, to avoid supporting businesses that profit from these inhumane practices," stated John Williams, the executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. "Many times, the cheapest product costs a lot more than consumers know."

The Sweat & Toil app fits the information of the International Labor Affairs Bureau's three flagship reports into one easy-to-use app.

The SSA also advocates meaningful enforcement of US laws prohibiting shrimp produced through slave, forced or child labor from entering the US market.