BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 141 



being made with reference to size only. According to Prof. Lewis II. 

 Gibbes, of Charleston, S. C, the larger individuals of both species are 

 termed prawns or sprawns, and the half-grown ones, shrimps. The 

 prawns appear in shallow water generally in March, or, in very open 

 springs, as early as the latter part of February, and remain in season for 

 two or three months, after which the supply diminishes, and they retire 

 for a time, apparently to spawn. Their spawning localities are not 

 known, and Professor Gibbes adds, that he has never seen an individual 

 carrying eggs. He suggests that they may ascend the rivers to spawn. 

 In June and the succeeding months of summer, the half-grown individ- 

 uals or "shrimps" are in season, and "for tenderness of flesh and deli- 

 cacy of flavor are preferred to the prawns." In the autumn, they dis- 

 appear from the coast and move into deeper water, or farther toward the 

 south. 



Peiiccus brasiliensis has been found as far north as the Croton River, at 

 Sing Sing, N. Y., and from that point ranges southward along the entire 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. It also extends to the 

 coast of Brazil, and has been doubtfully identified from the California 

 coast by Mr. Lockington. Pcnccus setiferw has not been recorded from 

 northward of Norfolk, Va., but its southern range corresponds with that 

 of the other species, at least so far as the coast of the United States is 

 concerned. Neither of these species has been found in sufficient abun- 

 dance north of North Carolina, however, to warrant a fishery for them. 



Mr. T. E. Fisher, of Fernandina, Fla., who has had much experience 

 in this fishery, furnishes the following notes on the shrimp and prawns 

 of his region, which he distinguishes from one another, as Professor 

 Gibbes lias done above. "It is my opinion," he says, "that the shrimp 

 (smaller individuals) move into deeper water at the beginning of winter, 

 and there remain until about the full moon of March or thereabouts, 

 when they return to the bays and rivers in great quantities, as prawns, 

 and ascend the rivers and creeks, I think to spawn. This is the time 

 when they are taken as food. After spawning, or about May or -luue, 

 they return to the sea. From May to August the so-called shrimp, 

 which then appear, are quite small, and used principally as fish bait. 

 From August to December they grow quite rapidly. September and 

 October are the b< -t shrimping months of the year, and May and dune 

 are the only months when shrimp are scarce, excepting during the colder 

 months of winter, when they leave the coast for a time." The shrimping 

 seasons of the South Carolina and Florida coasts, therefore, correspond 

 approximately, b< ing somewhat longer for the latter region, probably 

 because of its milder climate. 



According to Mr. Silas Stearns, of Pensacola, Fla., shrimp arc abun- 

 dant on all parts of the Gulf coast, and especially so on the coasts of 

 Louisiana and Texas. They live on the grassy and sandy flats, and 

 among the weeds on the bottoms of bayous and lagoons, in both salt 

 and biackish water. Barataria Bay, of the Louisiana coast, and Galves- 



