PASCAGOULA (AP) — Marine experts are predicting a middling season for shrimp in Mississippi.

The season opened at 6 a.m. Thursday in Mississippi waters south of the Intercoastal Waterway. The opening includes about 40 percent of the state’s offshore waters.

Traci Floyd with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources say the season is ‘‘looking fair to average.’’

The shrimp season had been forecast for a mid-June opening date. The minimum legal size for shrimp is 68 per pound; the season opens when sampling finds shrimp of that size.

Commercial shrimper Steve Bosarge of Pascagoula, a member of the MDMR commission, says a 50- to 60-count is about the average size.