A study of the distribution and condition of brown shrimp in the primary nursery areas of the Galveston Bay system, Texas.

The objectives of this study are: (1) to outline the general migration of brown shrimp within the Galveston Bay system and define their primary nursery areas of the system based on information obtained by previous studies, (2) to attempt to show that this general migration pattern suggests that shrimp populations within certain nursery areas of the system are isolated from each other, (3) to attemp to show, through a study of the condition (based on the length-weight relationship) of juveniles and subadults within these nursery areas, that the populations are probably separated and that the nursery areas differ ecologically, and (4) to examine the effect of population density on the condition of these shrimp by comparing their condition during the time when shrimp are abundant and during the time when only a scattering of individuals remain after the bulk of population has returned to the Gulf.