Uncertainty Over Brown Shrimp Abundance Worries Texas Shrimp Boat Owners
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Houston Chronicle] By Harvey West - July 21, 2015 -
GALVESTON, NOAA is predicting a brown shrimp harvest of 42.8 million pounds, well below the 54-year average of 56.5 million pounds in the western Gulf of Mexico. The prediction comes after rain soaked the Texas Gulf Coast, pushing freshwater into saltwater estuaries and forcing shrimp from where they mature safe from deep-sea predators.
After several years of high prices, the price of shrimp dropped steeply this year, causing concern among shrimp boat owners about covering their costs.
White shrimp, which were unaffected by the spring rains, and brown shrimp captured in the Gulf make up 68 percent of the domestic harvest, according to NOAA, with most of the catch coming from Texas and Louisiana.
NOAA predicts the Texas brown-shrimp catch will drop to 18 million pounds this season...
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