KEY TAKEAWAYS: Louisiana Shrimp Task Force voted to recommend opening the statewide white shrimp season at 6 a.m. Aug. 18, with Terrebonne Parish opening at 6 p.m. Supporters of the delay said waiting another week would allow shrimp to grow larger, potentially improving fishermen’s earnings. Opponents argued low shrimp prices, high diesel costs and inflation mean many fishermen cannot afford to wait longer. State data shows the industry’s decline, with the number of shrimpers falling 53% and shrimp license sales dropping 44% since 2000.   Louisiana has lost more than half of its shrimpers since 2000, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. This data and more was presented to the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force, which voted to push back the season with hopes that shrimp will grow. The task force voted Aug. 5 to recommend that the white shrimp season open at 6 a.m. Aug. 18 statewide, except in Terrebonne Parish, with a start there of 6 p.m. the same day. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Crustacean Biologist Konner Lockfield recommended that the seasons open in Terrebonne Parish on Aug. 10 and western Louisiana on Aug. 17. The task force listened to comments from the public, and task force member Rodney Olander started a motion to send the recommendation to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Commission. The commission will make the decision at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 6 at the department’s office, 2000 Quail Dr., Baton Rouge. “I’ve always been a proponent that if there’s money to be made, let the fishermen go,” Olander said. “The prices are low, diesel is high… I know what it takes to make a profit on one of these boats.” “I wanna see fishermen going to work, but honestly I think they’d be better off this time… holding off the additional week,” he said. According to Olander, this would give the shrimp time to grow larger. Lockfield said every week the shrimp grew about two sizes on average, but there were many more factors at play such as those shrimp leaving the area and new shrimp moving in. Along with presenting the sizes of shrimp from different zones, Lockfield also provided shrimp license and landing data. According to Lockfield, in 2025, 7,554 licenses were sold, and the number of unique fishermen was 1,657. This meant the average number of license sales was down 44% since 2000, and the number of fishermen had dropped 53% since 2000. His motion was met with a round of applause, but not everyone agreed with the decision. Some voices said that they wanted to see the season open earlier because inflation was hurting. Shrimp Task Force Member Acy Cooper said shrimp were going for $.50 while diesel was $5 a gallon. Shrimper Coy Verdin said they should follow the biologists recommendation, not bend to the market. “Your prices are high because you’re in a war. When the war ends, the prices will go back down,” Verdin said. He said delaying the opening was going to hurt fishermen’s bottom line. “So we get to tell our bill people they gotta wait another week for our pay,” he said. Verdin wasn’t the only one fighting for the season to open earlier. Rocky Ditcharo, owner of Ditcharo Seafood in Buras, said Texas’s season already was open and to open later meant they would be behind the ball. According to Ditcharo, shrimp peeling companies were already at work because of Texas and so the infrastructure for shrimpers to sell their harvest was up and running. “People are broke,” he said. “They gotta make money.” This article originally appeared on The Courier: Louisiana Shrimp Task Force recommends Aug. 18 shrimp season Reporting by Colin Campo, Houma Courier-Thibodaux Daily Comet / The Courier USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect ...read more read less