Seasons offer mixed reviews, expectations

The results of a special white shrimp season that ended April 23, and expectations for the regular season, of which the opening date is expected to be announced Thursday, are mixed and offer little evidence of change from the previous year’s catch.

According to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries marine biologist Martin Bourgeois, the early season results, which involved areas near the intersection of Bayou Grand Caillou and the Houma Navigational Canal, as well as an area from Caillou Boca and Freshwater Bayou Canal might not be available for as many as five weeks.

“We do collect statistics on landings, but the turnaround time is … it takes awhile,” Bourgeois said.

The LDWF official said that catch data collected by dock owners is submitted to the state department and is due in by the 10th day of the month following a given catch. “It takes our data management section time to review these. Sometimes there’s follow-up calls that have to be made,” Bourgeois said.

While documented catch data for the special five-day season will probably not be available until a new season opens, Bourgeois said that what he has heard was positive. “From a general sense, the reports that we have received and interviews we’ve done with docks and fishermen, it was very successful,” he said.

Some shrimpers disagree with Bourgeois’ preliminary and antidotal findings. “It’s kind of like this every year … nothing much in particular,” said Mariah Jade Shrimp Co. owner Kim Chauvin. “There was nothing spectacular. If that’s all they have [for the coming season], we’re in trouble.”

Chauvin said the short spring season is an annual event, but added that she is not sure of a reason for it.

A separate shrimp business owner, who did not want to be named, said it was his understanding that the motivation of the pre-season shrimping is to clear out water channels.

Bourgeois countered that claim and said shrimp are too mobile to be predictable as being available in a given area for that to be the case.

“I have no rhyme or reason as to how biologists figure out that they need to do that,” Chauvin said. “The only thing we worry about is that, when you catch some of these bigger [white shrimp], you are killing off the brown shrimp. But since last year and [with] the five day special season, from what we unloaded it was nothing spectacular.”

According to the LDWF, trip ticket reports for all shrimp seasons in 2010 totaled approximately 110 million pounds and carried a dockside value of more than $117 million.