The Puerto Peñasco shrimp fleet caught approximately 275 tons of shrimp in its first trip out to sea this season, averaging 5 tons per boat. Mateo López León, Chair of the Shipowners Federation for the Upper Gulf of California, deemed this to be a good yield.
López León noted this is a good start for the 55 local boats that departed for the 2020-21 shrimping season in late September. Still, high diesel costs and a fishing embargo in the Upper Gulf point to ongoing uncertainty for fishermen. The Shipowners Federation Chair explained 45 boats have not even gone out this year given high production costs.
2020-21 Shrimp Season
As to this first shrimp capture of the 2020-21 season, López León reported it as 80% in larger sizes and 20% small. Nevertheless, a more in-depth evaluation of results from this first trip won’t be done until after November 15th, when commercialization of the product begins.
With 45% of the local shrimping fleet paralyzed this season, López León emphasized the difficulty of obtaining the 1500 ton average seasonal yield of years past.