Closure dates for the 1985 Texas Gulf shrimping season

Brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) were collected with bag seines along shorelines and with trawls in deeper (> 1m) bay waters, bay to Gulf passes and Texas gulf waters to determine closing and opening dates of the 1985 shrimping season in the Texas Territorial Sea. The purpose of the closed season was to protect small shrimp from fishing pressure until they reached a larger, more valuable size and to minimize waste caused by discarding smaller shrimp during harvest. The closed season date was set for 30 minutes after sunset 20 May to 30 minutes after sunset 15 July 1985 based on biological sampling along shorelines in April. Bay and Gulf samples collected in June indicated that substantial numbers of shrimp would be >112 mm before 15 July; therefore the closed season was shortened to 8 July. Pass sampling verified that closure dates and the mean length (90 mm) used to predict size at emigration were appropriate to accomplish the purpose of the closure.