On the east coast of Mexico, trawl fishing is permitted at 

 sea throughout the year. During- much of the period between October 

 and April the weather serves as a deterrent to fishing. Throughout 

 the fall and winter a success;! on of strorig v/inds sweeping from the 

 north across the Gulf of Kexico keeps the boats in port many days. 

 Fishinc; with trawls is not permitted in estuarine waters anywhere in 

 Kexico, but this restriction is not always observed. 



On the west coast of Mexico, trawling at sea for the past 

 several years has been permitted from October 1 to July 31. The closed 

 August-September season did not apply to the fishery between Salina 

 Cruz and the Guatemalan border. In this region fishing was, and is, 

 permitted the year round. 



Inasmuch as the fishing seasons are determined by adminis- 

 trative action, they are changed freauently. In August 1953', the 

 closed season for trawling at sea along the coasts of Baja Cali- 

 fornia, Sonora and Nayarit was changed from August-September to 

 March 16 - April 1^, with a possible extension of the closed season 

 until May 15, depending upon the spaiming intensity of the shrimp. 

 At the same time a modification v;as made in the fishing rules which 

 permitted, as an experiment, estuarine fishing to begin on August 15 

 in southern Sonora, provided 80 percent of the shrimp vjere 12.5 cm. 

 (5 inches) or more in total length. Normally, shrimp fishing is 

 permitted in the estuarine waters in the States of Baja, California, 

 Sonora, Sinaloa, and Nayarit between September 1 and April 15. 



OUTLOOK FOR PRODUCTION 



It is unlikely that Mexico's shrimp production V7ill increase 

 greatly unJ,ess the demand for jnodium and small red and broiim shrimp 

 increases or unless management principles, not now known or practiced, 

 are introduced, or unless environmental changes cause an increase in 

 the shrimp population. ji5/ 



United States imports of fresh ajid frozen shrim.p from 

 Mexico rose from slightly ovei" 3 million pounds in IQijl to almost 

 liO million pounds in 1950. From 19l|i to 19J-i3 and from 19kh to 1950 

 imports tended to increase by about j3 percent a year, but since 

 then the imports have fluctuated but the trend has been downward. 

 (table 30) 



35 / During the 19^5-^0 season there was s large run of brown shrimp 

 in the Gulf of California and Uniteii States imports were greater than 

 during the immediately precedinr.- yeai's . 



85 



