Shrimpers demand action on turtle conservation standards
Published onThe Port Arthur Area Shrimpers Association (PAASA) and the Southern Shrimp Alliance jointly requested that the U.S. Department of State (State Department) re-visit and suspend the certifications granted to Peru and Guatemala under Section 609 of Public Law 101-162. Based on a law enacted in 1989, the Section 609 program is intended to ensure that shrimp harvested in a manner that harms endangered sea turtles is not imported into the United States.Under the program, the State Department, working with officials from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, certifies countries and/or individual fisheries as being in compliance with Section 609s requirements and therefore eligible to supply the U.S. market with shrimp. Despite its thirty-five year history, enforcement of the Section 609 program has been lax, with large volumes of wild-caught shrimp from nations without certifications imported into the United States each year ...
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2023 Oregon fishing: Record crab harvest among other results
Published onOregons fishing scene in 2023 was a bit of a mixed bag. While the states commercial fishing industry landed 301 million pounds of seafood, up from the previous year, the total revenue didn't quite hit the high notes of the past few years. The amount of crab harvested nearly doubled compared to 2022, but low prices kept the revenue from making this season something special for the fishermen. Salmon landings took a hit, and the pink shrimp market saw a price drop despite better landings. Overall, it was a year of contrasts, with some fisheries thriving and others struggling. The report shared by the State of Oregon Employment Department examined individual fisheries and employment in each state county. The industry landed a total of 301 million pounds, which was worth $178 million in 2023. Though it was more pounds than in 2022, it was below the average landings and ...
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St. Mary’s Parish shrimpers retail catch to survive
Published onST. MARY PARISH If youre in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway of St. Mary Parish, you may notice fewer shrimp boats out this year during Shrimp Season. Read more
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Community offers support to skipper of grounded shrimper
Published onPORT ARANSAS, Texas For just over a week, it has been a sight for the curious: a mysterious shrimp boatthat washed up along the beach in Port Aransas. For Phillip Lara, Captain of the Second Chance boat, it has been one crashing wave after another. Read more
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Three nominated for ‘Best Certified MSC Fishery’
Published onThe Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Belgium has nominated the Dutch shrimp fishery for the prestigious Best MSC-Certified Fishery award. Read more
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Texas port confers grants to local shrimpers
Published onThe Port Isabel Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has given a grant to shrimp boat owners that dock in Port Isabel. Read more
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Mount Pleasant invests in shrimp industry future
Published onA town in South Carolina is working to keep the local shrimp fishery alive. Mount Pleasant is known for its natural and cultural heritage, waterfront views, and shrimp. Within the town is the frequently visited Shem Creek, a tidal tributary with a rich history of being a traditional harbor for residents for over 300 years. It was a lively waterway in the eighteenth century, and the shrimp industry became a big part of the creek's identity back in the 1930s. Last Monday, the start of a year-long construction project of a new shrimp processing facility and dock began for the town. Town officials state that this project has been planned for five years and costs nearly $3 million, according to ABC 4 News. Mount Pleasant bought the Shem Creek shrimp docks back in 2019 to renovate and keep the industry alive. Shrimping is a big part of Mount ...
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Shrimp boats from U.S. restored and headed to Nigeria
Published onWhile the U.S. shrimp fishery struggles through low prices and a glut of farmed shrimp entering the country, a number of West African nations are investing in expanding their wild shrimp harvests in order to feed a growing population and tap lucrative markets in Europe. Nigerias President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a new ministerial portfolio in August 2023, Marine and Blue Economy, and the country is buying refurbished U.S. shrimp boats by the dozen. Ive sent 17 boats over there this year, says Joe Gazzier of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Ive got 18 more ready to go. The 56-year-old Gazzier has spent a lifetime in the shrimp business and has been scouring the coast for vesselsmostly around 80 feetthat fit the needs of the Nigerians investing in the shrimping side of their countrys entry into the blue economy. Ive bought boats from around here, Mississippi, and ...
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Ice-capable trawler is ready for shrimp, crab
Published onNorwegian fishing company Ervik Havfiske recently took delivery of a new shrimp trawler built to a design by naval architecture firm Marin Teknikk. The steel-hulled Fryanes is outfitted as a triple-rig trawler that can also be utilised for catching snow crab in the Norwegian and Barents Seas. Read more
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Commentary: Fort Myers shrimpers worthy of aid package
Published onI first moved the Florida in the early 1980s, a young mother from the Mid-Atlantic (Delaware). If you asked me before I moved here if I liked shrimp, I would have told you sure theyre good but they werent a top ten on my favorite food list. But that changed not long after I moved to Florida. Read more
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Ala. shrimper will be remembered as hero for saving deckhand
Published onFAIRHOPE, Ala. (WALA) - FOX10 News is learning more about the heroic actions of several fishermen after a boat capsized in Mobile Bay. Boat captain and shrimper, Mike Bishop, was killed when a waterspout Saturday flipped over his boat, trapping him inside. Local fisherman killed during powerful storm, deckhand recovering in hospital His deckhand Mark Henderson survived the horror after floating in the water for seven hours. Read more
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2024 shrimp season kicks off in Mississippi Sound
Published onBILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - Quality, not quantity. Thats the theme for day one of the 2024 Shrimp Season on the Mississippi Sound. As the 2024 season kicked off at 6 a.m. this morning, a total of 46 boats made their way out on the water. While there werent many boats, those who did drop their nets found some decent-sized shrimp to sell back at the docks. Read more
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Louisiana 2024 Spring Shrimp Season to Open
Published onThe Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission has announced that the spring inshore shrimp season will open today Thursday, May 16, at 6 a.m., encompassing all state waters from the Mississippi/Louisiana state line to the Louisiana/Texas state line. This decision follows thorough evaluations by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) biologists and public feedback. LDWF biologists have been monitoring hydrological conditions and performing weekly trawl samples across Louisiana's estuarine and nearshore waters since early spring. This extensive data collection effort is essential for determining the optimal timing for the season's start. The collected sampling data is analyzed to establish a "crossover" date. This date marks the point when at least 50% of the inshore brown shrimp population attains a size of 100-count per pound or larger, ensuring that the shrimp are mature enough for harvesting. Shrimp seasons by area are: Inside waters: Open ...
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Alabama Legislature passes seafood labeling bill
Published onMOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The seafood industry that put this small city on the map says it is in crisis, buffeted by foreign imports that have driven down the price of shrimp to as little as a dollar per pound. Those prices are comparable to what shrimp fetched in the early 1980s too low, Steve Sprinkle said, for many operators even to take their boats out. Read more
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New Yorkers eating wild-caught, local shrimp
Published onAmericans eat more than 1.5 billion pounds of shrimp a year, making it by far our most popular seafood. Most of the shrimp we buy at the fish market, grocery store, or at a restaurant comes from abroad, which carries with it a multitude of issues, from forced labor to the high carbon footprint caused by shrimp farming. Read more
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S.C. shrimpers 'cautiously optimistic' as season starts
Published onMOUNT PLEASANT Fresh shrimp soon will be hitting the docks as the first stage of shrimp season gets underway the morning of April 19. Read more
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