ern Gulf of Mexico, are deposited in the U.S. 

 National Museum. 



Starting in January 1940, near Fort 

 Pierce, Fla., a series of zig-zag trawl lines, 

 extending from just off the beaches to the 100- 

 fathom line, was made up the coast to Cape 

 Hatteras, N.C. A second series was made 

 from Cape Hatteras south to about Cape 

 Canaveral, Fla., over areas not covered by 

 the first run. From January to April, 431 

 trawl hauls were made, representing about 

 1, 300 miles of actual trawling. Approximate 

 locations of the individual hauls are shown in 

 figure 1 . 



Results 



Although hundred of hauls were made 

 over bottom lying between the outer limits of 

 'lie shrimp fishery (at 5 to 10 fathoms) and the 

 100 -fathom contour, not a single specimen of 

 the common shrimp (P. setiferus) was taken 

 outside the limits of the fishery. Only one 

 specimen of the grooved or brown shrimps (P_. 

 aztecus Ives and_P. duorarum Burkenroad), 

 which are commercially important in the area, 

 was taken in water deeper than 10 fathoms (and 

 this at 13 fathoms). 



Several other species of peneid shrimps, 

 not utilized commercially, were taken between 

 the outer limits of the fishery and the 100- 

 fathom line. Among them were species of the 

 genera Eusicyonia, Trachypeneus, Solenocera, 

 Penaeopsis. and Parapenaeus . The rock shrimp, 

 Eusicyonia b revirostris (Stimpson), was taken 

 most frequently, but not in great numbers . The 

 general areas in which rock shrimp were taken 

 are shown in figure 1 as shaded areas between 

 about 10 and 40 fathoms. A complete record 

 of the trawl hauls and shrimp captured is shown 

 j-^ table 1 . The few specimens of Solenocera, 

 Penaeopsis, and Parapenaeus captured are not 

 included in the table. 



shrimps occur on the middle and outer 

 Continental Shelf between Cape Lookout, 

 N. C., and Fort Pierce, Fla., during 

 the spring months. It seems likely that 

 this limitation of offshore range is due pri- 

 marily to lack of suitable bottoms in these 

 areas of the Shelf. The bottom outside 

 the limits ^f the shrimp fishery to the 100- 

 fathom line from Cape Lookout to Fort 

 Pierce was found to consist mainly of sand, 

 shell, and coral, over that part of the 

 Shelf covered by the study. These bottom 

 types are unsuitable for the common shrimp 

 which prefers miad bottoms. In the north- 

 ern Gulf of Mexico the common shrimp was 

 taken at a maximum depth of 35 fathoms 

 and the grooved shrimps down to 90 fathoms, 

 usually on muddy bottom. 



References 



Anderson, William W., and Milton J. 

 Lindner. 

 1943 . A provisional key to the 

 shrimps of the family Penaeidae 

 with especial reference to American 

 forms. Trans, of the Am. Fish. 

 Soc. 73:284-319. 



Anderson, W. W., M. J. Lindner, and 

 J. E. King. 

 1949. The shrimp fishery of the 

 Southern United States. Comm. 

 Fish. Rev. 11(2):1-17. 



Lindner, Milton J., and William W . 

 Anderson. 

 1956. Growth, migrations, spawning, 

 and size distribution of the shrimp 

 Penaeus setiferus . U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Fishery 

 Bulletin, No. 106, p. 555 . 

 (In press ) 



From these data it appears unlikely that 

 concentratioiis of the common or the grooved 



