JANUARY TO APRIL DISTRIBUTION 

 OF THE COMMON SHRIMP ON 

 THE SOUTH ATLANTIC CONTINENTAL SHELF 



From January to April 1940 the U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service conducted explora- 

 tory fishing on the Continental SMelf a^ong the 

 South Atlantic Coast of the United States from 

 Cape Hatteras, N.C., to Fort Pierce. Fla. 

 The purpose of the work was to define the dis- 

 tributional limits of the common or white shrimp, 

 Penaeus setiferus (Linn.), and other species of 

 peneid shrimp of possible commercial value. 

 Milton J. Lindner, Edgar M. Smith, and Edgar 

 L. Raymond, Master of the Pelican, contributed 

 much in the accomplishment of this work. 



The results of this study have previously 

 been made available through informal channels 

 to anyone interested. Lindner and Anderson 

 (1956) make reference to some general results 

 but give no details. Increased interest in the 

 possibility of locating shrimp in commercial 

 quantities in new areas on the Continental 

 Shelf beyond the conventional limits of the 

 present fishery along the South Atlantic Coast 

 makes the publication of these records from the 

 earlier survey desirable ev^n though the results 

 are negative . 



Vessel and gear 



Work was conducted from the Service's 

 M/V Pelican , a 75 -foot vessel equipped with a 

 level -winding trawling winch and 5, 000 feet of 

 1/2 -inch steel cable operated over a roller on 

 the center stern of the vessel. Trawling was 

 possible in depths up to 200 fathoms, but few 

 hauls were made in depths greater than 100 

 fathoms. A small winch on the vessel's bow 

 was employed for handling Nansen bottles, 

 bottom grabs and sounding gear . Since the 

 activities were exploratory, a lO-foot try-net, 

 in reality a small otter trawl, was used ex- 

 clusively. 



The try-net is commonly used by 

 commercial fishermen to locate concen- 

 trations of shrimp before setting the larger 

 nets. It operates in the same manner as 

 commercial trawls and proved to be an 

 effective device for sampling an area in 

 previous surveys of the Gulf Coast con- 

 ducted by the same vessel and crew. Fail- 

 ure to catch shrimp is therefore interpreted 

 with confidence as indicating the absence 

 of shrimp. 



Operations 



Operations consisted of a series 

 of 30 -minute hauls with the try-net usually 

 on a zig-zag course between the shore and 

 the 100-fathom line, but sometimes along 

 a depth contour. In working these trawl 

 lines the vessel was not stopped while the 

 trawl was being hauled in, emptied, and 

 put over again, but continued on course 

 at slow speed. This system of trawling 

 resulted in a continuous series of trawl 

 hauls, with breaks usually representing 

 the time required for taking up the trawl 

 and setting it out again. In waters of 10 to 

 12 fathoms, the entire process of hauling 

 up, emptying, and putting the trawl into 

 operation again was accomplished in about 

 7 to 10 minutes. In deeper water the time 

 required was in proportion to the depth. 

 A trawl was dragged 3 to 3.5 miles during 

 the 30-minute haul period, depending on 

 weather and currents . 



In addition to data on shrimp, a 

 record of fish captured was maintained. 

 Collections of the shrimp and fish, and a 

 large collection of invertebrates, including 

 material taken by the Pelican in the north- 



