Exotic shrimp species poses a serious threat

As commercial shrimpers in Louisiana battle unparalleled economic challenges that led to a strike this summer and a special state task force, reports are surfacing about catches including a non-native species that could potentially harm stocks in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials with the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries say native shrimp species could be inflicted with a variety of diseases if Giant Tiger Prawns, or penaeus monodon, somehow establish a population in Louisiana’s waterways. Marine Fisheries Biologist Martin Bourgeois says his office has been fielding reports and actually collecting specimens. “So far, they’ve been taken in waters near Lafitte, Grand Isle and Venice,” Bourgeois says. “Several weeks ago we had two documented captures a week apart in Vermilion Bay. All were mature adults.” There have also been a “number of unconfirmed reports from shrimpers,” he adds, and the department is circulating a new poster at shrimp docks in south Louisiana. To read the full story and see a photograph of the exotic shrimp, click here. For the rest of 10/12 Corridor Weekly, click here.—Jeremy Alford