The 2021 off-season for shrimp in the Gulf of California will start at midnight on March 15th, including marine waters and estuaries, reported the Committee on Pacific Ocean Shrimp Regulation and Management. On March 20th, the shrimp off-season will extend along the rest of Mexico’s pacific coast to Guatemala.
This time-frame is customary, as shrimp season in this region generally encompasses from mid-September to mid-March.
Despite proposals to extend the shrimp season in certain parts of the country until April, the National Institute of Fish and Aquaculture (INAPESCA) and the National Commission on Aquaculture and Fishing (CONAPESCA) deemed the established dates would remain in effect in the interest of preserving the greatest number of reproducing shrimp for the next season.
Julio César Saucedo Barrón, chair of Fishing and Aquaculture Management, noted extending the period would impact projected shrimp production for the next season as the reproductive cycle has already begun.