General Economic Considerations 



From the standpoint of the market and the future cotirse of 

 the industry the problems connected with supply are paramount. Since 

 shrimp probably will not be cultivated on a mass scale, supplies for 

 the emticipated increase in future consumption will depend on the con- 

 tinued abundance of shrin?) in waters presently fished, on the discovery 

 of new fishing grounds, and on expanded imports. The domestic market 

 situation will depend on whether or not enough shriitp to satisfy growing 

 demand can be transported economically from all sources to centers of 

 consumption. 



Total supply requirements in 1975 as estimated in Qiapter VIII 

 will be well in excess of U50 million pounds (heads-on) of shriji?). 



Production of the domestic fleet in recent years has approxi- 

 mated 250 million pounds annually. Since exploitation of currently 

 fished domestic gro\inds probably cannot be intensified without at least 

 some harmful biological or economic consequences about one-half of the 

 total market supply in 1975 will have to come from other sources. 



The discovery of the deep-water resources of Royal Red shrimp 

 ( Hymenopenaeus robustus) would indicate that additional supplies may 

 become accessible to domestic shrimp operations as the result of ex- 

 ploratory activities. Since it is unlikely that other grounds as rich 

 and as conveniently located as those off the Dry Tortugas and in the 

 Gulf of Canpeche have remained undiscovered, exploratory operations in 

 "local" waters will shortly reach a stage of diminishing returns. As 

 the supply decreases more emphasis will be placed on exploration in 

 distant waters. 



Intensified domestic exploratory activities will be paralleled 

 by a search for economical and dependable sources of imports. Shrimp 

 imports have been growing at a rapid rate in recent years. Their volume 

 rose from 5 million pounds in I9U0 to i;0.2 million pounds in 1950 and 

 85. U million pounds in 1958. In the past, Mexico has accounted for the 

 bulk of the supplies brought into this country. As pointed out in the 

 related report dealing with the shrimp fisheries of Latin America, the 

 Mexican industry today is believed to be operating near the limit of its 

 potential. A supply deficit at some future date, therefore, will have 

 to be made up from other sources. Other countries to the south may be 

 able to fill the gap in part. The long-range potential of the Latin 

 American shrimp fisheries has been estimated to be 200 to 300 million 

 pounds a year, as against a current production of about 125 million 

 pounds. There is no way of estimating whether~or-when--this potential 

 will be reached. 



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