Considerable time wag spent during the past 

 year examining data on the spawning seasons of 

 white, brown, and pink shrimp; the seasonal 

 distribution and abundance of Penaeus spp. 

 larvae; the seasonal distribution and abundance 

 of finfish occurring on the shrimp fishing 

 grounds; and surface currents over the Con- 

 tinental Shelf of the northwestern Gulf of 

 Mexico. Analysis of these data will contribute 

 significantly to a better understainding of the 

 offshore life-history phases of the commer- 

 cially important shrimp and of the environment 

 in which they live. 



Apart from our offshore work, but by no 

 means of less importance, are the accom- 

 plishments of the members of our staff engaged 

 in rearing larval shrimp, describing their 

 larval stages, and developing mass rearing 

 techniques. This past year both the seabob, 

 Xiphopeneus kr^yeri , and the white shrimp 

 were successfully reared from eggs spawned 

 in the laboratory. This marks the first time 

 that these two species have been spawned and 

 reared to postlarval stages under laboratory 

 conditions. Additionally, techniques were de- 

 veloped which should permit mass cultures of 

 larvae to be grown for either experimental 

 studies or stocking of enclosed brackish-water 

 ponds for future harvesting. 



To investigate the possibility of growing 

 shrimp in enclosed ponds, we completed 1 year 

 of study on shrimp held in ponds constructed 

 specifically for that purpose. Brown shrimp, 

 stocked at an average size of about 12.0 mm. 

 total length, grew to about 1 30 count, heads -on, 

 over a period of 120 days; white shrimp. 



stocked inadvertently with these brown shrimp, 

 grew to an average of 31 count, heads-on. 

 Although inconclusive, these results suggest 

 that the white shrimp may be more adaptive 

 for pond culture. 



Bureau of Connmercial Fisheries employees 

 at our Miami Field Station and members of the 

 staff at the University of Miami Marine 

 Laboratory are studying the pink shrimp in 

 Florida waters. During the past year, shrimp 

 movements into and out of the estuaries were 

 observed in Florida Bay aind at specific sites 

 in the Everglades National Park. Systematic 

 sampling gave a better understainding of those 

 factors affecting shrimp movement and yielded 

 data on seasonal abundance trends of post- 

 larval shrimp entering, and juvenile shrimp 

 leaving, the estuaries. Efforts continue to 

 develop an abundance index from which the 

 future offshore harvest of pink shrimp on the 

 Tortugas fishing grounds can be predicted. In 

 addition. Bureau employees are continuing 

 their research to determine which types of 

 estuarine habitats in Florida Bay the juvenile 

 pink shrimp prefer. 



Robert F. Temple, Program Leader 



LARVAL DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE 



The monthly synoptic survey in the offshore 

 waters along the Texas smd Louisiana coasts 

 was discontinued December 1965. Sampling 

 in these waters with Gulf-V plankton nets 

 covered the period January 1962 to December 

 1965. The examination of plankton samples 



M H Ui M -prU MT-r t=tT=t-H 



^n^-l[-l^^^-l|-luu (-I'u u(-ii-innHM|-ii-i ki[-iui-i|-iui-i (-i uH|-i'-'i-'H'-''-'H'-''-'|-''-'"H '-"-'|-''-"-'|-'"''' ijt* "< 



98* 97* 96* 95* 94» 9i* 92* 91* 90* •9* 



Figure 1. — Distribution of planktonlc stages of Penaeus spp. In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, July- 

 September 1964. Stations occupied are shown as open circles. 



