Bait Shrimp( Penaeus duorarum ) in Tampa Bay, Florida-- 

 Biology, Fishery Economics, and Changing Habitat 



By 



CARL H. SALOMAN, Fishery Biologist (General) 



Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Station 



St. Petersburg Beach, Florida 



ABSTRACT 



A bait shrimp survey was made in Tampa Bay, Fla., from October 4, 1961, 

 through April 8, 1962. During this period, the fishery for pink shrimp, Penaeus 

 duorarum , produced 6.2 million individuals, with a retail value of more than 

 $155,000. Most of the shrimp were juveniles, taken from grass flats within Tampa 

 Bay. Females outnumbered males by a narrow margin and were of larger average 

 size than males. Shrimp taken from the two major shrimping areas of Tampa Bay 

 had different sizes. The smallest specimens were caught toward the headwaters 

 of the estuary, in water of relatively low salinity. An average of 8 boats and 12 to 

 16 men operated the bait shrimp fishery. The catch per unit of effort varied between 

 areas; about 184 more shrimp were retained per boat-hour in lower Tannpa Bay 

 than in Old Tannpa Bay. Fishing effort and production of bait shrinnp in Tampa Bay 

 are declining while the demand is steadily increasing. Dredge-and-fill operations 

 have reduced the amount of available habitat for shrimp and other estuarine- 

 dependent species measurably since 1940. 



INTRODUCTION 



An annual increase in sport fishing and a 

 demand for live shrimp by sportsmen have 

 created a sizable bait shrimp industry along 

 the Florida coast and throughout the Gulf of 

 Mexico. The importance of shrimp as a bait 

 in southeastern United States has been estab- 

 lished by a number of authors. In 1953, the 

 northeast coast of Florida produced over 

 38 million bait shrimp (de Sylva, 1954). In 1955, 

 the west coast of Florida between Cedar Key 

 and Naples produced over 58 million bait 

 shrimp (Woodburn, Eldred, Clark, Hutton, 

 and Ingle, 1957). Alabama landings exceeded 

 17,000 pounds (7,700 kg.), or about 850,000 

 shrimp, in 66 days (Loesch, 1957). Chin 

 (I960) recorded capture of 676,000 pounds 

 (307,000 kg.) of bait shrimp over a 2-year 

 period in Galveston Bay, Tex. 



Because of the importance of this industry 

 to commercial and recreational interests in 

 the Tampa Bay area, a survey was made fronn 

 October 4, 1961, through April 8, 1962, to 

 determine the magnitude of the fishery and 

 related ecological information pertaining to 

 the pink shrimp, Penaeus duorarum . 



This report is supplemental to similar bait 

 shrimp surveys in Florida waters; the nnost 

 significant include those by Tabb (1958), Hig- 

 man (1952, 1955), Higman and Ellis (1955), 

 Siebenaler (1953), and Idyll (1949, 1950). Cos- 

 tello and Allen (in press) identified the prin- 

 cipal areas where bait shrimp are caught in 

 southern Florida as Pine Island Sound, the 



vicinity of Cape Romano, Florida Keys, Florida 

 Bay, Card and Barnes Sounds, and Biscayne 

 Bay south of Miami. 



Descriptions of Area and Gear 



Tampa Bay is a shallow estuary on the 

 west-central coast of Florida. The Bay has a 

 total shoreline of 212 miles (341 km.) and en- 

 compasses an area of 346 square miles 

 (89,620 ha.) (Olson and Morrill, 1955). Some of 

 the shoreline still has mangroves, but land 

 fills and bulkheads have changed its natural 

 configuration measurably in recent years. 



Bait shrimping within Tampa Bay is con- 

 centrated in two areas (fig. 1). The principal 

 shrimping area is in lower Tampa Bay and 

 Boca Ciega Bay; a smaller fishery exists in 

 Old Tampa Bay. 



Shrimp are caught in Tampa Bay from 

 shallow-draft boats equipped with rigid- frame, 

 roller trawls. Woodburn et al. (1957) gave a 

 description of the fishing gear and boats in the 

 bait shrimp industry of the west coast of 

 Florida. Push nets and dip nets also are used 

 but are largely noncommercial. Catch records 

 of bait shrimping with push nets and dip nets 

 are not available, and the take by these meth- 

 ods is insignificant. 



In the principal shrimping areas, extensive 

 beds of sea grasses ( Thallasia testudinum , 

 Diplanthera wrightii, and Syringodiunn fili- 

 forme ) were found with numerous species of 

 algae (Phillips, 1960a). 



