AUSTIN- Commercial shrimp season for both Texas and federal waters in the Gulf of America will close 30 minutes after sunset May 15, reopening on a still-to-be determined date in July.
While July 15 is the statutory opening date for the gulf season, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division will sample shrimp populations this summer to determine the optimum opening date. The Texas shrimp fishery is closed annually to allow brown shrimp to reach a larger and more valuable size prior to harvest.
“The goal of this closure is twofold,” said Robin Riechers, TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries Division Director. “Allowing shrimp to migrate into gulf waters gives them time to mature and grow before commercial fishermen begin the summer season in July. This also helps ensure Texas’ shrimp stocks are sustainable not just for the season, but for upcoming seasons as well.”
The closing date of May 15 is based on samples collected by biologists using trawl and bag seine along with information gathered from the shrimping industry. Data include bag seine catch rates of brown shrimp, mean lengths of shrimp in April 2025, percent of samples containing shrimp and periods of maximum nocturnal ebb tidal flow.
The Texas closure applies to gulf waters from the coastline out to nine nautical miles. The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced that federal waters out to 200 nautical miles will also be closed to shrimping to conform to the Texas closure.
