Conversion of whole and headless weights in commercial Gulf of Mexico shrimps.
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Abstract
Shrimp landing statistics provided by the Gulf coast fishing industry are now published by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in terms of headless (or heads-off) weight units. Reliable factors are needed by statistical agents to convert landings of whole (or heads-on) shrimp to headless units, and by biologists and others to reconvert the published statistics to whole-shrimp units. Measurements of whole and corresponding headless weights permitted estimation of weight conversion factors for five of the most common Gulf of Mexico Penaeidae. Factor variation due to area, season, and sex proved negligible from a practical standpoint. Differences between species were generally significant while all factors departed significantly from the single factor heretofore employed for converting weights in all species. Equations and factors for predicting whole or headless weights are given for the brown, white, pink, and rock shrimps, and the seabob. Weight conversion nomographs for the brown, pink, and white shrimps are also provided.