As long ar;o as 1931> concern ijas expressed ovor thc5 possibility 

 of doplotioTi of slirimp supplinrs. In r^isponne to rerjucsta from tho industry 

 and State conservation fi[^oncict;, the United States Biireau of Fisheries 

 established the Shrimp Invastigations (later on called Gulf Investigations) 

 whose prajicipal taislc iras tho onalysis of tho siirinip supply. Several times 

 since the start of these invostipationo people familiar with the Industry 

 hav« expressed fears tliat production was at or po.st its peak. Each tine 

 the.'je pesj;imists have been wong, Oaly throe yoara before tho opening up 

 of the Dry Tortagas and Cojiipeche i^rounds one authority in the field ques- 

 tioned tho probability of the discovery of new grounds accessible to the 

 domestic fleet. The experiences of recent years tend to discoura^je tho 

 makins of any catej;oric predictions reg:irding the liiJcelihood of discovering 

 new grounds. Tho consensus of the people in the fishery is that it would 

 bo impractical to increase pi-oduction of the fishery on grounds novr fished. 



From the standpoint of the domestic fishcnnan the best solution 

 to the supply problem consists in adding to currently utilized resources 

 through discovei-y of net; grounds accessible to the fleet or through ex- 

 ploitation of already discovered grounds which heretofore have not yet 

 been fished. The discovery of new grounds D-jithin tho operating range of 

 tho domestic fleet is still within the realm of possibility as the success 

 of the recent explorations for Royal Red shrimp indicates. Future exploi- 

 tation of the Royal Red shrimp resources may not only supplement existing 

 supplies of shrimp btit give the fishing fleet emploiTnent during the off- 

 season. Potentially, however, the Ini'gest increase in the supply available 

 for domestic consumption may come from foreign sources* 



Some of the fishing groiuids off the Central and South American 

 shores may become accessible to the nevj big, long-range tra\;lers of tho 

 domestic fleet. The major part of the supply from these grounds, however, 

 will come into this country in the form of imports. Shi'imp prodviction in 

 gome of the countries south of the border has increased considerably in 

 recent years. In the last fifteen years, the Mexican shrimp industry has 

 risen from modest proportions to a thriving multi-million dollar business. 

 In the same period, there has been a more than tenfold increase in United 

 States imports of fresh and frozen sl'irimp from Mexico. As pointed out by 

 Lindner (19^7), the Mexican shrimp fishery may cui'rently be operating 

 close to the liidits of its potential. Other countries south of the border 

 may be able in the future to increase their shrimp production, and exports 

 to this country. 



The countries of i-atin America are not the only sources of shrimp 

 Imports, Recently, shipments of modest size have been received from Green- 

 land, Argentina, and India. It is significant that foreign countries ex- 

 porting shrimp to this country increased from ten in I9I4O to over thirty in 

 1957. 



There is some question of v;hat will be the attitude of tho fish- 

 erman and prlraary wholesaler concerning the rising tide of imports » As 

 long as demand remains high, the fisherman has little reason to be alarmed 

 over the trend in imports* To the extent that imports contribute to a 

 stabilization of prices and prevent the precipitous influx of casual 



hi 



