Figure 2. — Liberian woman lifting traps placed near rock outcrop by fishermen lower St. Paul River, Liberia, 



downstream from the William V. S. Tubman bridge. 



the fisherman's consumption and either selling 

 the large ones immediately or holding them for 

 the customary Saturday market. When shrimp 

 were kept in holding traps in the river, the 

 large chelipeds were removed to prevent can- 

 nibalism. At the peak of the season, a fish- 

 erman's catch was often as high as 120 dozen 

 large shrimp per week. 



The fishermen's catch depended upon the 

 stage of the river. During periods of heavy 

 precipitation, the river flooded and the fish- 

 ermen were unable to retrieve their traps. 



In the lower St. Paul River the fishery was 

 directly correlated with the rainy season, May 

 to November (Orton, 1954) and the runoff lag 

 of the river to January (table 1). The estu- 

 arine water during the rainy season was turbid 



and fresh. During the dry season, February 

 to May, the estuarine water was clear, highly 

 saline, and the shrimp fishery was nonexistent. 



Table 1. — Comparison of salinities (parts per thou- 

 sand) in the lower St. Paul and Mesurado Rivers, 

 Liberia estuaries, November-December 1953 



Date 

 1953 



St. Paul River 



Mesurado River 





P.p. t. 



P.p.t. 



Nov. 2 



0.0 



18.0 



Nov. 9 



0.7 



9.2 



Nov. 16 



0.8 



16.3 



Nov. 23 



0.5 



31.0 



Nov. 30 



0.9 



20.0 



Dec. 7 



1.8 



34.4 



Dec. 14 



1.2 



23.0 



