Sullivan LFEmiliani DABaxter KNFishery Bulletin2010-02-152010-02-151985http://hdl.handle.net/1969.3/23096677-681The increased demand for timely information concerning management of shrimp stocks has renewed interest in developing reliable methods of predicting brown shrimp, P. aztecus , crop size for the offshore Gulf of Mexico fishery. Advance information regarding shrimp abundance would also enable elements of the shrimp industry to prepare for a potentially good or poor harvest. Studies exploring the feasibility of predicting the annual abundance of brown shrimp off the Texas coast, initiated in 1960 (Baxter 1963), are based on the premise that post-larval and juvenile shrimp abundances are proportionally related to the subsequent commercial harvest (Berry and Baxter 1969). To examine the relationship between juvenile brown shrimp standing stock and offshore harvest, and to determine the suitability of juvenile brown shrimp abundance as a predictor, the authors conducted a mark-recapture study in Galveston Bay, Texas, during the first week of June 1983. In this report they summarize the results of the study, compare estimates obtained by mark recapture and an alternative drop sampler method, and discuss previously unreported results of 1970-71 studies (Welker and Baxter)abundanceASW,Galveston BayD 04665 CrustaceansfeasibilityFisheriesFishery managementGalveston BayGulf of MexicoharvestingmanagementPenaeus aztecuspondspopulation levelsPopulation numberPredictionQ1 01604 Stock assessment and managementShrimp fisheriesStock assessmentTexasUSAUSA,Texas CoastJournal