96°W 94° 92° 90° 88 



84° 82° 



Figure 6. — Plankton volumes collected from the upper 100 meters (55 fathoms) of water 

 during February and March 1967. 



MAM JUN 

 1967 



Figure 7. — Seasonal abundance of Penaeus postlarvae at 

 Whale Harbor Bridge in upper Florida Keys, 1966-67. 

 (Average monthly catch per standard unit of effort.) 



and southern portions of the Bay, generally 

 in areas that receive large volumes of water- 

 flow from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic 

 Ocean--a demonstrated source of postlarvae. 

 Conversely, northeastern Florida Bay, which 

 receives little waterflow from these sources, 

 contains few early juveniles. At three stations 

 in the northeastern Bay, we collected no pink 

 shrimp during the first 6 months of sannpling. 



The western and southern portions of the 

 Bay are characterized by more stable salinities 

 and temperatures, lower turbidities, and more 

 extensive seagrass beds than generally occur 

 in northeastern Florida Bay. In certain parts 

 of northeastern Florida Bay, however, environ- 

 mental conditions suitable for young pink 

 shrimp apparently do existfor extended periods 

 of time. Even at these times, however, few 

 juveniles occur in northeastern Florida Bay. 



Another important aim of the field work is 

 to accumulate information needed as back- 

 ground for "estuary-seeding" experiments. If 

 production of juvenile shrimp in Florida Bay 

 depends on the availability of postlarvae, it 

 may be feasible to introduce large numbers 

 of young shrimp reared artificially to certain 

 shrimp-deficient areas of the bay and thereby 

 increase production. Sampling has established 

 the usual abundance of pink shrimp and as- 

 sociated organisms at each station. With these 

 background data, we may be able to determine 

 the effect of introducing large numbers of 

 young shrimp at a chosen location. 



Thomas J. Costello, Project Leader 

 Donald M. Allen 



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