CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Shrimp is a seaside snack we may often take for granted, due to our coastal location, but some fisherman said they've seen noticeable declines this time of year when it comes to shrimp and say it's not the first time they've seen it happen.
"January, February, March has been really tough on shrimp," said Jeff Wright, who owns two bait shops in Ingleside and Rockport.
Wright said that he's noticed a pattern over the years when it comes to catching shrimp in our coastal waters.
"The last couple of years things have been a little bit earlier decline on shrimping, and it starts picking up later and what controls that and why that happens I don't know," he said.
Joe Routh is the owner of Captain Joe's Seafood Market. with over 40 years of shrimping experience. He said that this time of year couldn't be better to find shellfish.
"We are catching shrimp and they're pretty plentiful right now," he said.
Just like with real estate, Routh said that when it comes to shrimp, location plays a huge factor.
"Last year they worked the west side of the bay, this year they're on the east side of the bay. It depends on which way those shrimp go out, they have their own mind," he said.
3NEWS also reached out the the Texas Parks and Wildlife Coastal Fisheries division for more context regarding shrimp population. They provided 3NEWS with one response that reads:
We have two main species of shrimp (white and brown shrimp) with similar life histories. They only differ in timing—brown shrimp are most abundant in May/June, while white shrimp are most abundant in October/November. January/February and August are the periods with very low abundance.
In the meantime, Wright said he is staying hopeful. He said that while he does have annual dry spouts, things are starting to pick back up.
"Shrimping at night and shrimping in the day," he said "Shrimping has been good right now. I mean it's booming right now."