Louisiana shrimpers started heading out to sea Monday as the fall inshore shrimp season kicked off. But with restaurants closed due to coronavirus, opening day arrived at a time when fewer people are buying shrimp, and prices remain low.
"It's all about supply and demand," said Acy Cooper Jr., president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. Most shrimpers sell their catch to processors, who sell the shrimp to restaurants. But processors haven't been able to move shrimp out of inventory because of restaurant closures. "It’s just not moving," Cooper said.
The 2020 summer low-oxygen "dead zone" along the Louisiana Gulf coastline covered only 2,117 square miles, an area just a bit larger than the …
The more shrimp that sits in inventory, the less processors are willing to pay fishers for shrimp at the dock, he said. The federal economic relief package passed in March included $300 million for fisheries, of which nearly $15 million was allocated for Louisiana. But fishers still haven't seen any of that money.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries submitted a plan to the federal government for spending the money and is awaiting approval, said department fisheries biologist Richard Williams. The department identified about 12,300 fishers and industry workers who could qualify for assistance.
Before the economic impact of coronavirus hit Louisiana shrimpers, the industry was already reeling from an onslaught of freshwater flushed into Gulf of Mexico bays by storms in the Midwest. Too much freshwater can devastate shrimp populations. In May, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi would receive $88 million in fishery disaster funding because of the 2019 floods and unprecedented openings of the Bonnet Carre Spillway. More than $50 million of that total was allocated for Louisiana.
Imported shrimp has also driven market prices down. A state bill passed last year requires Louisiana restaurants to identify whether the shrimp and crawfish they serve is imported or domestic.
But shrimpers remain hopeful that a good season can be salvaged. In April, U.S. Congressman Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, sent a letter to Gov. John Bel Edwards and the Federal Emergency Management Agency highlighting the precedent for using federal funds to purchase supplies for food banks in emergencies. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it would purchase up to 20 million pounds from Gulf Coast shrimpers and processors.
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That's about 25% of what was harvested in 2019 in Louisiana, and 11% of the 2019 harvest in the Gulf of Mexico.
"This will really help the industry out," Cooper said. "Hopefully we’ll have a better season than last year."
Graves said the move would provide a healthy protein source to families in need through food banks and schools, while supporting the shrimp industry in the state. While the aid cannot replace the loss of demand from restaurants, it could help steady the market, Graves said.
"This will help to increase demand," he said. "It will help to put a sustainable rate on Gulf shrimp."
The Link LonkAugust 11, 2020 at 10:00AM
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Louisiana inshore shrimp season opens today, with shrimpers hoping for a better season - NOLA.com
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