APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
practices. Fishery managers and scientists have identified 
opportunities for better management. For example, higher 
yields could be obtained by increasing the age at capture 
in some areas. 
In the Gulf of Mexico, opinions among NMFS personnel 
vary as to resource availability. Some say that sufficient 
data do not exist to estimate the biomass, establish an MSY, 
or formulate a management program. Other NMFS personnel con- 
tend that -the gulf fishery ds “operating at’ or néartthe MSvaq 
i.e., fully exploited under present fishing.practices. 
Commercial development 
Some Gulf and South Atlantic species are harvested in 
limited quantities; none constitute a major commercial en- 
terprise. These species include rock shrimp, caught mainly 
in shallow waters along the Florida coast, and royal red 
shrimp, caught in deep water (150 to 250 fathoms). 
In the future, a potential for major commercial activ- 
ity may develop for these species and offer an alternative 
to fishermen who may become displaced from the present 
shrimp fishery or other fisheries. 
On the Pacific coast, some opportunities exist in 
Alaska for developing underutilized shrimp resources, but 
development depends on harvesting being economically viable. 
Harvesting capability 
New harvesting techniques may allow more shrimp to be 
caught for each unit of effort expended by the fishermen; 
that is, more efficiency, not greater aggregate catch. 
These increases in catch per unit effort may result from the 
use of twin-trawls, metal traps, onboard headers, electric 
trawls, and separator trawls. 
Some shrimpers are now using twin-trawling techniques-- 
towing two trawls on a single pair of otter doors--on an 
experimental basis. Advantages of this gear over the con- 
ventional double rig include: 
--Increased fishing efficiency (an increase of 8.6 
percent has been demonstrated). 
--Ease of handling and the light weight of two 35-foot 
trawls as opposed to a single 70-foot trawl. 
--Slower towing of nets and sharper vessel turning with 
fewer incidents of tangling. 
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