PROGRESS IN BIOI-OGICAL INQUIRIES, 193 2 99 



ton J. Lindner. This investigation, started in 1931, covers practically 

 the entire rantje of the coniniercial fishery and has been supported by 

 the States of Louisiana, Texas, and Georp;ia. Hea(l(|uarters arc 

 maintained in New Orleans, the center of the slirinip inchistry, in 

 quarters kindly furnished by the Louisiana Department of Conser- 

 vation, and field stations are located at Beaufort, N.C., Brunswick, 

 Ga., and Aransas Pass, Tex. Intensive hfe history and oceanographic 

 studies are being carried on in Louisiana, with the excellent coopera- 

 tion of tlie Louisiana Department of Conservation, through its 

 bureau of research and statistics. This department, besides suppl5ang 

 quarters for the Bureau's investigators, also furnishes the crew and 

 operating expenses of Fisheries launch Black Mallard. Through the 

 generous support of the Texas Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission 

 and the Georgia Department of Game and Fish, the Bureau of Fish- 

 eries was enabled to place an observer at Aransas Pass, Tex., to 

 sample the commercial shrimp catch, and another at Brunswick, Ga., 

 with Fisheries launch No. 58 and crew, to study the habits of the 

 shrimp in that area. 



As stated in the last annual report, the Bureau's investigators con- 

 fined tliemselves chiefly to the problems concerning (a) life histories 

 of the principal commercial species, including spawning, embryology 

 and larval history, post-larval growth, longevity, and migrations; (6) 

 abundance analyses; (c) biometrical studies of the principal species in 

 respect to racial determinations and migrations; and {d)_ effect of 

 fishing in relation to gear, localities, and time on composition of the 

 shrimp catch and on the other species of economic importance. 

 The investigators of the Louisiana Department of Conservation were 

 to direct their activities toward the solution of the problems in respect 

 to (a) habits and reactions of the young and adult shrimp in relation 

 to food and food getting, migration, molting, spawning, and the effects 

 of temperature and salinity; (6) the anatomy of the principal species 

 of shrimp in relation to spawning and feeding; and (c) diseases and 

 parasites affecting the shrimp. 



In an attempt to attain these objectives, during 1932, in the region 

 near Beaufort, N. C, 13 beam trawl and 76 otter trawl hauls were 

 made for shrimp in both the inside and outside waters; 14 seine hauls 

 were made for smaller post-larval shrimp in the muddy creeks and a 

 number of plankton tows were taken in the waters adjacent to 

 Beaufort, for the larval stages. Along the entire Georgia coast, 

 launch No. 58 made 362 hauls for shrimp with a regular 50-foot com- 

 mercial otter trawl. Besides the otter trawl collections, a number 

 of plankton tows and seine hauls were made. At Aransas Pass, Tex., 

 262 trawl boat catches were sampled. In Louisiana 188 otter trawl 

 hauls, 106 plankton tows, and 27 seine hauls were made. With each 

 otter trawl haul an accompanying hydrographic station was made. 

 From the above operations, during 1932, over 85,000 shrimp were 

 measured, sexed, and the gonad development recorded. 



The operations in Louisiana are centered around 3 stations in 

 Barataria Bay and 3 stations in the Gulf adjacent to the bay with 

 occasional investigative trips to stations in other parts of the State. 

 Barataria Bay is the focus of one of the most productive shrimping 

 grounds in Louisiana and was selected as the base for intensive study 

 because of its commercial importance and accessibihty to New Orleans 



