Dr. “Skip” Lazauski

Shrimping has been part of the rhythm life here on the Gulf Coast as long as anyone alive can remember.

Whether you’re actually involved in the industry, eat them as a part of your diet or just have seen the boats working in the bay or leaving the passes, shrimp have influenced you.

There are two general types of shrimp fishing: the inshore and the offshore. The Alabama inshore fishery is composed of smaller boats which work from the I-10 freeway down the ship channel past Dog and Fowl rivers to the Intracoastal Waterway and the mouth of Mobile Bay. They work west into Mississippi Sound, east past Oyster and Wolf bays and up the Perdido system to black water. The offshore fishery ranges from the U.S.-Mexico boarder to Key West and many miles out into the Gulf.

As events over the last 30 years will attest things are changing on the Gulf Coast. Our population, especially in the coastal area, has increased greatly. The pressures on our marine environment have increased along with the population.

Not only are commercial shrimpers using the marine waters, but recreational boaters and anglers, crabbers and gill-netters are out there too.

Housing developments and condos are rapidly covering up coastal land and adding their share of pollution to the aquatic ecosystem. We tend to view our local communities on the Gulf Coast as isolated from the events taking place around the world; perhaps, years ago that was true but not anymore.

According to NFMS information, less than 25 percent of the shrimp eaten in America come from U.S. waters. Global shrimp farming, along with capture fisheries, are producing shrimp at prices on the world and local markets that the U.S. commercial shrimp industry is having a hard time competing against.

State and Federal regulations that restrict what type of gear can be used, when and where, plus Turtle Excluder Devices and By-catch Reduction Devices are impacting the catch. What kind of future is in store for the shrimp fleet?

Commercial shrimping is dependent on a product from the sea that is not predictable, never controllable and constantly argued and fought over.

With a global marketplace, intensive worldwide shrimp farming, rapid transportation of products, increasing labor and fuel costs and concerns about how the act of shrimping itself affects the Gulf’s marine environment, shrimping is looked upon as having a very challenging if not problematic future.

Due to the reduction in wholesale prices caused by imported shrimp there will probably continue to be a decline in offshore shrimping with a concomitant increase in the inshore component due to lower operating costs.

Both real and perceived conflicts with environment groups will continue to impinge on the shrimpers’ ability to make a living, especially if the inshore component of the fishery increases. No matter what happens in the future a fresh product should continue to be available locally.

The Gulf of Mexico shrimp fisheries has been part of us for more than 200 years and during that time it has met and endured many challenges. The latest challenge is how can the richest country in the world’s shrimp fishery successfully compete against pond-raised shrimp from all over the world and greatly increased operating costs?

Think global – Act local!

Dr. “Skip” Lazauski can be seen on the television show “Eco-Bites”, which airs on Mediacom’s channel 14 and Smarttel channel 4. To reach Dr. Lazauski for questions and comments, send e-mail to IchiOrca@yahoo.com. For more information, see his Web site, drskiponline.com.