244 Red Shrimp Area and Wanderings. 



The pink shrimp has decidedly a migratory habit. In 

 early spring great shoals make their appearance, seemingly 

 from the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts, or possibly approach 

 landwards from the deep sea. The latter supposition seems 

 the more feasible one, and receives strong support from the 

 statements of the Ramsgate deep sea trawlers and Margate 

 fishermen. The former affirm that during their winter fishing 

 it is of common occurrence to find pink shrimps in the 

 stomachs of the cod, and even at times a host of shrimps will 

 be found in the trawl net itself. The ground frequented may 

 be said to extend from the Shipwash to the Gabbards, towards 

 the Galloper Sand and North Falls, thence to the neighbourhood 

 of the Kentish Knock. At all events, in spring the shrimps 

 appear to steer from opposite Orfordness towards the Wallet 

 and make shore wards and southwards among the various 

 deeps and channels to Prince's and Queen's Ghannel, where 

 they are plentiful for weeks together. Thereafter they seem 

 to push drove after drove chiefly towards the Girdler, Gilman 

 and Red Sand. Later on more straggling bands head up the 

 Thames estuary, and, becoming more scattered, mingle with the 

 brown shrimps, to and even beyond the Nore. Later on they 

 are still found here and there, usually diminishing in numbers 

 as autumn wanes. But still a few are about up to the end of 

 November some seasons even later especially if the weather 

 keeps moderate. By mid-winter to all intents and purposes 

 they have fled back to the deep sea waters, again to return 

 the following spring season. 



The wherefore of this wandering of Pandalus, so far as we 

 can judge, seems to be search for food and procreative instinct. 

 As our East Coast shrimpers have long known, the principal 

 diet of the pink shrimp is what goes by the local name of 

 "ross." Substantially this is but the honeycomb-work and 

 sand-aggregated tubing of a species of worm, Sabellaria 

 alveolata. The worm exists in enormous numbers among the 

 sands and rough ground in certain localities within the great 

 sea-bight from Orfordness to N. Kent as aforesaid. Its 



