By José Antonio Pérez
Puerto Peñasco’s shrimping fleet, made up of some 120 boats, is pretty much ready to begin the 2018-2019 season on Sept. 19th.
Mateo Lopez Leon, President for the National Chamber of the Fishing Industry (Canainpesca), reported just weeks before the season begins, 90% of the shrimping fleet had already undergone maintenance and repairs.
Based on experiences from the past three seasons, Mateo Lopez believed about 60% of the fleet would be heading out early along the coast so they could begin the season further south. The remaining boats will depart from Puerto Peñasco on September 19th. He added a departure ceremony for the shrimp fleet has not been ruled out.
As in previous years, Mateo Lopez explained, the fishing sector is in full disposition to meet environmental norms, which includes the use of fish and turtle excluder devices. These devices have been mandatory on every fishing ship since the ’16-’17 season.
Given the current situation and end of the off-season, it is estimated the 2018-2019 season could yield between 200 and 500 thousand tons of “pink gold”, which is the average yield generally recorded for the Puerto Peñasco Area.
Shrimp season traditionally runs from mid-September through early to mid-March.