Vcrsel size and power to a certain extent are related to 

 areas fished, dejith of water fished, and size of the net and doors used. 

 The smaller vessels (under IjO feet in length) generally restrict their 

 ox>eration5 to the bays and shallow inshore areas and their operations 

 ai"e seasonal in nature. For example, the smaller South Carolina vessels 

 fish from Hay until December. 



The liiedium sized vessels (Uo to 60 feet in length) shrimp 

 outside waters off North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, the east 

 and west coasts of Florida, and in the Gulf as far west as Brownsville, 

 Texas, Thece vessels are limited in their range by fuel and ice 

 capacities and by the crevr comfort provided by the vessel. In many 

 instances they move from area to area along the coast to participate 

 in the fishing seasons for the various species of shrimp. 



The larger vessels (60 feet or larger) may operate in the 

 same areas as medium sized vessels but they can also fish the Campeche 

 banks off Mexico, These vessels have big fuel and ice capacities (or 

 freezer equipment) and may remain at sea for periods up to three 

 months , 



Harvfell, Knowles, and Associates attempted to assess the 

 significance of oviner-operation of vessels on productivity. The data 

 (see Chapter II, page 106) appeared to indicate that owner-operated 

 vessels, as a rule, fished more days per year, had lower maintenance 

 costs because of proper handling and care of equipment, and, in general, 

 caught more shrimp than vessels opei-ated by hired crews. 



STATISTICS ON PRODUCTION 



This section contains a brief discussion of production trends 

 in the shrimp fishery. Interspersed in the text are bar charts depict- 

 ing particulars for selected prewar and postwar years as well as a few 

 tables supplementing the data cited in the discussion. 



Landings by State and Region 



In 1930 Louisiana ranked first among shrimp-producing states 

 with a catch of 38.6 million pounds, Louisiazia, table III - 12 shows, 

 continued to hold its leadership in shrimp production until 19^h when 

 it was displaced for the first time by Texas. Next to Louisiana and 

 Texas, shrimping operations conducted out of ports in the States of 



161 



