Survey of the Commercial Shrimp and Associated Organisms of Gulf Area 20 - Biological Survey of Commercial Shrimp Area 20 in the Gulf of Mexico

Information in this report is based on data from 90 trawl samples producing a total of 13,201 brown shrimp, 9,181 white shrimp, 297 pink shrimp, 1,883 sea bobs, 3,424 specimens of non-commercial shrimp comprising eight species, 3.275 specimens of other invertebrates comprising 27 species, and over 19,500 fish comprising 86 species. Over 590 pounds of heads-on commercial shrimp were taken; the total weight of scrap fish was over 3,900 pounds. Brown shrimp were most abundant in the summer; whites were most abundant from October through January. The catch of pink shrimp was negligible. Sea bobs were in sufficient quantity in January and Octover to support a small fishery. The bumper was the single most abundant fish by numbers; however, sand trout and croaker formed the bulk of the scrap fish poundage. In the inshore Gulf in depths shallower than 15 fathoms brown shrimp did not attain a size practical for harvest during the period of their abundance. White shrimp were of legal size during most of the year in these waters.