Pink shrimp, continued 



Table 5.07. Relative abundance of pink shrimp in 

 Gulf of Mexico estuaries (from Volume !). 



31 



Relative abundance: 



O Highly abundant 



® Abundant 



O Common 



V Rare 



blank Not present 



Life stage: 



A - Adults 



S - Spawning 



J - Juveniles 



L - Larvae/postlarvae 



E - Eggs 



highest during the fall (Christmas and Etzold 1977) 

 when pink shrimp are moving from the estuaries into 

 deeper waters (Costello and Allen 1970). 



Indicator of Environmental Stress : Penaeid shrimps 

 are known to be very sensitive to certain classes of 

 chemical pollutants (Couch 1978). Pesticides and 

 other organic chemicals have been found to cause 

 mortality in pink shrimp (Christmas and Etzold 1977, 

 Couch 1978). Heavy metals have also been found to 

 be detrimental. All of these compounds can enter 

 estuarine systems as surface runoff, point source 

 discharges, or atmospheric deposition. This species 

 has been used by National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration (NOAA), Technology Resources, Inc. 

 and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to 

 study the effects of bioaccumulation of heavy metals, 

 chlorinated hydrocarbons, and toxic substances from 

 bottom sediments and dredge materials (Heitmuller 

 and Clark 1 989, Parrish et al. 1 989, Long et al. 1 991 ). 



Ecological : Pink shrimp distribution seems to be corre- 

 lated with seagrasses in general and shoalgrass 

 {Halodule wrightt) in particular, and postlarvae may 

 actively select this habitat (Costello et al. 1 986, Sheridan 

 pers. comm.). Large populations of juvenile penaeid 

 shrimp appear to be important in supporting large 

 populations of certain juvenile fish species (Hettler 

 1989). Penaeid shrimp also provide an important link 

 in the estuarine food web by converting detritus into 

 available biomass for fishes, birds, and other predators 

 many of which are commercially or recreationally im- 

 portant (Bielsa et al. 1983, Robblee et al. 1991). 



Range 



Overall : The pink shrimp ranges from lower Chesa- 

 peake Bay to southern Florida, through the Gulf of 

 Mexico to Cape Catoche and the Isla Mujeres at the 

 tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Maximum densities in 

 the Gulf of Mexico occur along the coast of southwest- 

 ern Florida and in the Gulf of Campeche (Perez- 

 Farfante 1969). 



Within Study Area : The primary nursery ground is the 

 Florida Bay region within Everglades National Park. 

 This area is known as the "Tortugas Shrimp Sanctu- 

 ary", and is closed to most commercial shrimping 

 (Steele pers. comm.). However, it supports the fish- 

 eries of the Tortugas fishing grounds (Beardsley 1970, 

 Bielsa et al. 1983, Robblee et al. 1991). Highly 

 productive fishery areas also occur at the Sanibel 

 grounds, supported by the Charlotte Harbor-Pine 

 Island Sound and Tampa Bay nurseries, and the Big 

 Bend grounds which receives stockf rom Apalachicola 

 Bay and nearby estuarine areas (Bielsa et al. 1983). 

 Other areas of high abundance are in the Laguna 

 Madre, Texas, and offshore from Brownsville and 



65 



