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MISSISSIPPI COMMERCIAL BLUE CRAB FISHERY IMPACTS OF THE EXTENDED OPENING OF THE BONNET CARRE SPILLWAY

July 23, 2019

I would like to provide estimates of the potential direct losses associated with the prolonged and twice opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway since February 2019 to the blue crab fishery in Mississippi. The commercial fishery impacts consist of losses of wild blue crab harvests by commercial Mississippi crabbers due to the prolonged freshwater intrusion. One approach to estimate the direct losses of this man-made disaster is by comparing the 2019 and later years’ landings and dockside values to previous years benchmarks.

COMMERCIAL FISHERY IMPACTS

The commercial blue crab fishery impacts consist of losses of wild blue crab harvests by commercial Mississippi crabbers due to the prolonged freshwater intrusion. Recent state reports indicate that commercial blue crab landings between March and June 2019 declined by about 25 percent as compared to the previous five-year average.

The chart below shows the monthly CUMULATIVE dockside values of blue crab landings in Mississippi in two recent periods. With the 2014-16 averages as benchmarks, the cumulative dockside values start at $207,000 in March and end at $1,033,000 in December. The average dockside values during the 2012-16 benchmark period start at $178,000 in March and end at $848,000 in December.

blu-crab-impacts
Source of raw data: NOAA Fisheries (2019).

SEAFOOD PROCESSING IMPACTS

The estimates of direct losses described above cover only blue crab harvesting. There are other significant post-harvest economic activities. Blue crab meat picking is a major economic activity in the state. There are also significant wholesale and retail activities of blue crab products performed by local seafood dealers and restaurants. The damage of the blue crab fishery will seriously hamper the processing and distribution activities of these seafood establishments. Inclusion of the direct losses to post-harvest economic activities is necessary for the estimation of the economic impacts of the man-made disaster.

TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACTS

Finally, economic impacts include direct, indirect, and induced effects. The direct losses represent the direct impact of the commercial fisheries affected by the prolonged freshwater intrusion. There are also backward and forward interactions of the commercial harvesting sector with other economic sectors.