146 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



the season lasting from March until the middle of May. The demand 

 for this shrimp in Fulton Market appears to be increasing, and many 

 more were sold there in the spring of 1882 than in the same season of 

 1880. In the latter year, Bay Ridge supplied New York with about 

 3,000 gallons of shrimp, valued at about $1.50 per gallon. During 

 July and August of every year, about 1,000 gallons of fresh shrimp are 

 used in the vicinity of Bay Ridge, as bait for hook-and-line fishing. 



The fishery for Grangon vulgaris is conducted mainly by means of 

 dip or scoop nets. At Bay Ridge the nets are hauled every morning. 

 Before being shipped to market the shrimp are boiled in brine and 

 then dried. The average sales per day in New York during the season 

 are about 50 gallons. 



A very small quantity of shrimp are sent to New York from the 

 New Jersey coast, where they are reported to be very abundant. They 

 are also said to be extensively employed in the same region as bait for 

 hook-and-line fishing, and for that purpose are regarded by many as 

 superior to any other kind of bait. The shrimping season extends 

 from May until about November. 



THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



The shrimp fishery has already attained considerable development 

 in some sections of the Southern coast, but there is still ample material 

 for greatly enlarging this industry. In Delaware a few shrimp are 

 used as bait by the fishermen, but the yearly catch is comparatively 

 small. Shrimp are very abundant on the Virginia coast, but, as in Dela- 

 ware, they are taken only in small quantities for bait, or are captured 

 incidentally in seines while hauling for fish. At Norfolk and Hampton 

 they are occasionally eaten, and at the former place they are especially 

 esteemed as bait for the " rock." The season extends through the spring, 

 summer, and fall, but the shrimp are said to be most abundant in the 

 latter part of the year. Prices vary greatly, and range from ten cents 

 a quart, when very abundant, to twenty-five cents a dozen, in times of 

 scarcity. The shrimp of Virginia probably includes both the Crangon 

 vulgaris and one or both species of Pcncetis, but we have not been able 

 to determine from observation which species is most utilized. 



North Carolina appears to be the northernmost of the Southern States 

 which offers especial inducements for shrimp-fishing, but no regular 

 fishery has as yet been established there, except a small one at Wil- 

 mington. It can be safely asserted that the commercial shrimp of the 

 Carolinas and succeeding Southern States consists of one or both of 

 the species of Penceus. While the Crangon probably occurs there its 

 small size, in comparison with the other species, renders it very incon- 

 spicuous to the fishermen. 



Shrimp are very plentiful in Pamlico Sound; but in Croatan, Roanoke, 

 and Albemarle Sounds they have never been observed in great abun- 

 dance. They are also abundant about Beaufort and MoreheadCity. At 



