Shrimpers go back to work inshore on Monday

Louisiana’s inshore shrimp season is set to open Monday after state biologists determined the majority of the brown shrimp population has reached sizes greater than 100-count per pound, Wildlife and Fisheries Spokesman Rene LeBreton said.
The 2015 Louisiana inshore shrimp season will open statewide at 6 a.m. Monday along with the portion of state outside waters extending three nautical miles seaward from the shoreline from the Atchafalaya River Ship Channel at Eugene Island as marked by the channel red buoy line westward to the western shore of Freshwater Bayou Canal, according to the Wildlife and Fisheries’ website.
The Wildlife and Fisheries commission sets the season based on the Wildlife and Fisheries presentation and public comment, LeBreton said. The brown shrimp season typically runs May to July while the white shrimp season goes from mid-August to md-December, but some waters may remain open into January, according to the website.
In 2013, shrimp landings in Louisiana recorded roughly 39.4 million pounds of brown shrimp caught with a value of about $49.6 million, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration statistics. White shrimp reported at Louisiana landings totaled 56.9 million pounds worth about $127 million in 2013, the statistics show.
In 2012, the Louisiana brown shrimp catch totaled 29.2 million pounds worth $33.4 million. That same year the white shrimp catch brought in 71.2 million pounds valued at $112 million, according to the NOAA data.
From 2005 to 2013, the brown shrimp catch reported at Louisiana landings averaged 35 million per year worth $34.6 million, according to the NOAA data. For the same period, the white shrimp catch averaged 66.3 million pounds per year valued at about $102 million, the data showed.
According to a presentation from Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Martin Bourgeois, the projected date when at least 50 percent of shrimp would reach 100 count per pound or larger was May 11 for Timbalier Bay in the Terrebonne Basin, May 16 for Calliou Bay in the Terrebonne Basin, May 13 for the Barataria Basin, May 13 for Black Bay in the Pontchartrain Basin, May 10 for Lake Borgne in the Pontchartrain Basin, and May 27 for Mermentau-Calcasieu-Sabine basins.
Shrimp season for coastal and nearshore waters are open year-round, except from mid or late December to April or May in certain areas to protect small white shrimp and allow them to grow to market size, according to the website. The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission can close these waters at other times of the year, if necessary, the website stated.
Shrimp season in federal waters off Louisiana is also open year-round, according to the website.