Barrett, B., and M.C. Gillespie. 1973. Primary factors which influence 

 shrimp production in coastal Louisiana. Louisiana Wildlife and 

 Fisheries Commission Technical Bulletin 9. 28 pp. 



Louisiana leads the nation in shrimp production, with an average 

 heads-off yield between 1967 and 1972 of 57 million pounds annually. 



Evidence indicates that a critical factor in brown shrimp population 

 survival may be the number of hours water temperatures are below 

 20°C. 



Salinity appears to be a critical factor in distribution and population 

 success. Brown shrimp require salinities over 10 ppt for a successful 

 season. Evidence indicates that a salinity of 19 ppt may be close 

 to the optimum salinity requirements for brown shrimp. 



Coastal salinities are directly influenced by rainfall and river 

 water intrusion. After the month of April the combined cause-effect 

 relationships of rainfall and river discharge become dominant in 

 population success and subsequent production. A correlation is 

 noted between river discharge and shrimp production. The spring 

 river discharges were considerably lower during good brown shrimp 

 production years than they were during poor production years. The 

 best white shrimp production years occurred during the lowest summer 

 river discharges, while the poorest years occurred during the highest 

 summer river discharges. 



The May brown shrimp catch in the Barataria-Caminada bay area can 

 be used as an index for predicting the subsequent annual total brown 

 shrimp production in Louisiana. 



The number of inshore surface water acres utilized as shrimp fishing 

 grounds in coastal Louisiana varies from 2 to 2.85 million acres 

 depending on salinity regimes. Between 1967 and 1972 the annual average 

 inshore total production was 9.2 pounds of shrimp per acre based on 

 the maximum fishing grounds of 2.85 million acres. (A. A.) 



Keywords: shrimp production, brown shrimp, salinity, Louisiana 



IV-E-6 



Gaidry, W.J., and C.J. White. 1973. Investigations of commercially important 



penaeid shrimp in Louisiana estuaries. Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries 



Commission Technical Bulletin 12. 154 pp. 



Graphic and tabular data are presented on penaeid shrimp recruitment, 

 growth, and movement. These parameters are related to hydrological 

 conditions existing in the estuarine systems of coastal Louisiana. 



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