Study of Texas Shrimp Populations, 1969

In spring brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) abundance was low in upper coastal bays and high in lower coastal bays. The young, in upper coastal bays, were exposed to low water temperatures in March and low salinities in April and May. Emigration, from most bays, began in late May or early June. Apparently the Gulfward movement in Laguna Madre began earlier. Small juvenile white shrimp (P. setiferus) were captured in abundance in June at upstream stations of Chocloate Bayou (Galveston Bay System). They were abundant in Chocolate Bayou in summer and fall. Brown and white shrimp production, 42.1 million pounds, was the lowest since 1964. Brown shrimp landings, 30.1 million pounds, decreased 10.2 million pounds from 1968. White shrimp production, 12 million pounds, was slightly less than the 1968 catch.