Pink shrimps (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) are found in the western Atlantic from the Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Keys, and throughout the northern Gulf to the Yucatan in Mexico. They’re most abundant off southwestern Florida and the southeastern Gulf of Campeche. Young pink shrimp live in estuarine areas with marsh grasses that provide food and shelter. As they grow, they migrate seaward to deeper, saltier water. They travel primarily at night and bury themselves in the bottom substrate during the day. Adult pink shrimp are commonly found on sand, sand-shell, or coral-mud bottoms (Gulf FINFO, http://gulffishinfo.org/).

Figure 1. Pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum). Source: Gulf FINFO (http://gulffishinfo.org/).

Pink Shrimp Commercial Landings

Figure 2 shows the commercial landings of pink shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico Region. During the last five years, the Gulf States supplied 91.2 % of the entire pink shrimp domestic landings averaging 8.2 million pounds and valued at $21.7 million annually. Florida West Coast is the largest producing state in the Gulf of Mexico, supplying more than 81.7% of all domestically-caught pink shrimp, and 89.5% of all the pink shrimp harvested in the Gulf of Mexico region.  

Figure 2. Annual pink shrimp commercial landings in the Gulf of Mexico Region. Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries (http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/).

Figure 3. Monthly distribution of pink shrimp commercial landings in the Gulf of Mexico Region in 2015. Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries (http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/).

Shrimp Businesses Registered in MarketMaker

In 2015, the Gulf-wide commercial landings of pink shrimp reached 13.2 million pounds. This shellfish species was caught year-round with most of the landings occurring during the fall-winter months (Figure 3).

There are more than 1,000 fishing businesses, seafood processing plants, seafood and fish markets, and seafood restaurants registered in MarketMaker nationwide which harvest, process, sell, and serve pink shrimp in the United States. Click this LINK to view the search results online. The online database of shrimp businesses can be sorted by relevance, distance and alphabetically. You can also limit online searches by state, county, city or number of miles from a specified location, and type of business. 

Economic Contributions of Pink Shrimp Commercial Fishing

The economic contribution an industry makes locally, region-wide, nation-wide, or globally is a crucial information in making private investment decisions, formulating government policy, and developing research and extension programs for the industry. The IMPLAN (http://implan.com/) software and the 2013 input-output data for the five Gulf States were used to estimate the economic contribution of commercial fishing to the Gulf of Mexico regional economy in 2015. The economic analysis used sector 17 or commercial fishing of the 2013 IMPLAN input-output data.

The IMPLAN economic model estimates of the economic contributions regarding output or sales, employment or jobs, labor income, value added and tax revenues. The income, value-added, and output contributions are expressed in dollars for the year specified by the user. Output or sales are the gross sales by businesses within the economic region affected by an activity. Labor income includes personal income including wages and salaries and proprietors’ income or income from self-employment. Employment contributions are expressed in terms of a mix of both full-time and part-time jobs. Value-added is the contribution made to the value of seafood products at each stage of harvesting, processing, and distribution.

The total economic contribution is the sum of direct, indirect and induced effects. The direct effects express the economic impacts in the sector in which the expenditure was initially made. Indirect effects result from changes in the economic activity of other industrial sectors which supply goods or services to the commercial fishing industry. Induced effects are the product of personal consumption expenditures by industry employees.

The annual commercial dockside values of pink shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico Region in 2015 reached $34.6 million, which was about 59.8% more than the average annual dockside values during the last five years (Figure 4). The total economic contribution of commercial pink shrimp fishing in 2015 amounted to $65.7 million (Figure 5). The pink shrimp commercial fishing created 927 jobs and generated labor income amounting to $23.4 million in the Gulf regional economy.

Figure 4. Annual pink shrimp commercial landing values in the Gulf of Mexico Region. Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries (http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/).
 

Figure 5. Total economic contribution includes direct, indirect and induced effects estimated by using 2015 annual landing values and 2013 IMPLAN data. The local purchases percentage was set to 100%. The number of jobs is rounded off.

The pink shrimp commercial fishing industry generates annual tax revenues for the Gulf States and the U.S. federal government. About $4.0 million were estimated to have been paid by households and businesses in 2015 to the federal government as social insurance tax, tax on production and imports, corporate profit tax, and personal income tax. The Gulf States were expected to have collected taxes from households and businesses in 2015 amounting to $2.0 million as social insurance tax, tax on production and imports, corporate profits tax, and personal tax.
 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is MarketMaker?
MarketMaker is the largest and most in-depth database of its kind featuring a diverse community of food-related businesses: buyers, farmers/ranchers, fisheries, farmers markets, processors/packers, wineries, restaurants and more. MarketMaker provides simple yet powerful search tools to connect with others across the production and distribution chain (http://ms.foodmarketmaker.com/).

Where can you find Mississippi MarketMaker?

MarketMaker is located at http://ms.foodmarketmaker.com/.   
Ask Siri or Cortana to search for “Mississippi MarketMaker” on your smart phone.

How do you register your food business in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Click Register and type your email address and a password in the spaces under Register. Be prepared to enter information (and pictures) about your business.

What are the benefits in registering your food business in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Producers register their businesses in MarketMaker because food buyers of all types access our database to find products and services to meet their specific needs. Through MarketMaker, producers can reach more buyers and more efficiently form profitable business alliances.

How do you search for your business profile in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Click Search and type the name of your business in the space under Search MarketMaker.

How do you update your business profile in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Click Register and then click UPDATE YOUR PROFILE. Type your email address and password in the spaces under Account Login.  Be prepared to enter updated information (and pictures) about your business.

MarketMaker Training Workshops
This training workshop is available upon request by a group of 6-12 producers, extension agents, state regulatory agencies staff and teachers. Each workshop will best fit the needs of the participants. Email Dr. Ben Posadas for details at ben.posadas@msstate.edu.

How do you search for local food businesses in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Click Search and type a keyword in the space under Search MarketMaker.

What is the Market Research tool of MarketMaker?

The MarketMaker research tool is an interactive mapping resource for identifying target markets, developing customized census profiles, and mapping food related businesses over demographic maps.

Where do you find the Market Research tool in MarketMaker?
Look for the Market Research section in MarketMaker and click Research your market now or Use previous version.