800 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



brasilicnsis described in the section on natural history. They are not generally found close to the 

 shore at the same time, the prawn coining first and staying into the summer, the shrimp following 

 and remaining until fall or even through the winter. At least this is the case on the Atlantic 

 coast, but we have received no information tending to confirm these statements with reference 

 to the Gulf coast. The so-called shrimp are said to range in length from 2 to 3 inches and the 

 prawns from 3 to 6 inches. Oapt. T. B. Fisher, of Pernaudina, Fla., says he has seen prawns 

 taken at that place that measured about 9 inches, but that size was very rare. On the coast of 

 Louisiana and Texas, the same species of shrimp and prawns occur in great abundance, the 

 average length of those taken ranging from 5 to 8 inches. In that region they appear to go 

 entirely under the name of shrimp. 



At New Orleans one or more additional species of shrimp are utilized; one of these is the 

 river shrimp (Palccmon ohionis), caught in the Mississippi River. The so-called lake shrimp, found 

 in the bays and lakes inside of the Louisiana coast may possibly be the young of the true Gulf 

 shrimp, but we have never had the opportunity of examining specimens. The river shrimp 

 measure in length from 2 to 3 inches, and the lake shrimp from 3 to 4 inches. 



During the shrimping season, shrimp are generally found in shallow water close along the 

 shore. Crangon vulgaris is abundant in shallow water nearly everywhere along the New 

 England coast, being easily taken with a dip-net. It also occurs in considerable depths of water 

 off shore. At the South, in the various regions where they are taken for food, the two species 

 of Penccus likewise abound in shallow water during the shrimping season, which, on the Atlantic 

 coast, generally begins early in the spring and ends in the fall or at the commencement of cold 

 weather. About Norfolk, Va., they are taken in seines, 1C to 18 feet deep; at Wilmington, N. C., 

 they are caught in slight depths, in both salt and slightly brackish water; at Fernandina, Fla., 

 they occur along the shores, in from 6 inches to 4 feet of water, principally on muddy but also, to 

 some extent, on sandy bottoms ; on the west side of Florida, they are described as inhabiting the 

 grassy and sandy bottoms along shore, in depths ranging from a few inches to 10 or 12 feet; on 

 the Louisiana and Texas coasts they are found everywhere to the west of the Mississippi River, 

 in from 2 to 18 feet of water. Barataria Bay, on the Louisiana coast, and Galveston and Mata- 

 gorda Bays, on the Texas coast, are especially noted for their shrimp fisheries. 



2. COAST REVIEW OF THE SHRIMP AND PRAWN FISHERIES. 



THE NEW ENGLAND COAST. Shrimp are seldom taken for food on the New England coast. 

 About New Bedford, Mass., they are caught from May to October, in dip nets, but only at irreg- 

 ular intervals and in small quantities, an occasional daily catch amounting to from 1 quart to 4 

 gallons. The greater part of the shrimp taken are retained in New Bedford for use as bait, 

 small quantities being sometimes shipped to Providence and New York, packed in boxes with 

 rockweed, moss, or sawdust. Some shrimp are also used at Warehaui, Mass., and along the 

 eastern shores of Buzzard's Bay, as bait for the sea bass and squeteague. In Narragansett Bay, 

 Rhode Island, shrimp are onh r taken for personal use in and about Newport. They are not gener- 

 ally abundant, the largest recorded daily catch by one man amounting to only 1 peck. This was 

 considered, however, as an unusual occurrence. They are caught in fine-mesh dip-nets. At 

 many places along the New England coast, outside of those above mentioned, small quantities of 

 shrimp are used occasionally by amateur fishermen, but the entire amount consumed every year 

 in this manner would not be worth more than a few dollars. Specimens of Pandalim are frequently 

 taken in lobster-pots set in deep water, but they are not caught in sufficient quantities for 



