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Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory

Galveston, Texas

Penaeid Shrimp Life Cvcle

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Bureau of Commercial Fisheries

Circular 307

The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, Gaheston, Tex. 77550, was established in 1*)50 on the site of the U.S. Army's deactivated Fort Crockett. There are 59 employees, of whom 33 are professionals. The Marine Laboratory of Texas A&M Uni\-ersity is adjacent to this Laboratory, and there is a free exchange of knowledge between staff members of the two installations.

I'acilities at the BCF Laborator\ include a library, recirculating and constant-ffow sea-water systems, four large controlled-temperature rooms, culture rooms, a small greenhouse for the culture of algae, outdoor arti- ficial ponds for shrimp culture, a sedimentology labor- atory, a chemical laboratory, and small boats for estu- arine work. A large sea-water station is at East Lagoon, 4 miles from the Laboratory, and a field station is maintained at Miami, Fla.

The major research of the Laboratory is directed at commercially important species of shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico through four research programs: (1) Shrimp Dynamics; (2) Shrimp Aquaculture; (3) Estuarine Studies; and (4) Gulf Oceanography. The programs are designed to: determine growth, survival, and movements of shrimp stocks; determine the maxi- mum yield of the stocks of shrimp by deciding what size the shrimp should be when they are harvested; refine the methods dexeloped for predicting the abundance of

Shrimp that arc caught, stained or tagged, and released on the fishing grounds by biologists provide information on migration, growth, and mortality when recaptured by fisherman and re- turned to the biologist. These men are staining shrimp aboard a shrimp trawler.

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The BCF Biological Laboratory, Galveston, established in 1950, is today the center of Federal research on Gulf of Mexico shrimp

shrimp crops; develop methods for rearino shrimp com- mercially; understand the physiological requirements of larval, juvenile, and adult shrimp; e\'aluate natural and altered shrimp nursery grounds in estuaries; and determine the oceanographic and bottom factors that affect the survival of shrimp. Eggs of the commercially important brown, white, and pink shrimp have been successfully hatched at the Galveston Laboratory and thousands of young reared through the larval stages. Although the initial purpose for rearing shrimp was to identify the young, the techniques that are being de- veloped can be applied toward commercial shrimp farming in the United States.

From studies on the early life history of penaeid shrimp in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and off Florida, information has been obtained on the abun-

stocks, landings of which, in 1967, were worth more than $100 million to the fisherman.

dance and on the seasonal, areal, and \ertical distribu- tions of planktonic stage shrimp.

The abundance of the \er\ young stages of brown shrimp has been measured and used to predict the mag- nitude of the popuhition of commercial-size brown shrimp.

The most profitable marketing size for pink shrimp was established from growth and mortality estimates obtained by mark-recapture experiments.

Studies of estuaries ha\e shown that the edges and grass beds of bays and lagoons are important as nurs- ery areas for many commercial species of fish and shell- fish. Specific .studies haxe shown how alteiation or destruction of nursery areas by bulkheading destroys the value of the estuary as a habitat for the commer- cially important shrimp.

Oceanographic surveys of the Gulf of Mexico have furnished important information on currents, circula- tion, temperature, salinity, plankton, and bottom sedi- ments, all of which affect directly or indirectly the spawning and distribution of shrimp and finfishcs. In cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Navy, and the Geological Survey, BCF is studying how spacecraft oceanography may be applied to commercial fisheries. With such advanced techniques, it may be possible to detect oceanic phe- nomena that concentrate fishes and to pinpoint the location of fish schools for the benefit of the commer- cial fishing fleets.

Laborators' and office space are available for a limited number of visiting scientists. Arrangements for space should be made by writing to the Laboratory director.

Biologists raised white shrimp in experimental ponds from about yi inch in total length to about 4/2 inches in 5 weeks. When placed in the pond, the shrimp were so tiny that more than 43,000 were needed to weigh 1 pound. They grew so rapidh that in 5 weeks it took onh' 79 shrimp to weigh 1 pound. These shrimp had been reared through the lar\al stages from eggs spawned and hatclied in tlie BCF Biological Laboratory, Galveston.

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Sampling shrimp with specially designed net in one of many tidal marshlands or nursery grounds along the Texas coast pro- vides marine biologist with valuable information.

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A shrimp trawler used by fishermen to exploit stocks of white, brown, and pink shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico. This vessel was chartered to assist biologists in their research on shrimp.

SOMETHING ABOUT BCF

The Bureau was first known as the United States Fish Commission and functioned as an independent agency from 1871 to 1903. In 1903, it was placed in the newly established Department of Commerce and Labor and was renamed the Bureau of Fisheries. In 1913, the Department of Labor was separated from Commerce, and the Bureau of Fisheries remained in the Department of Commerce until 1939. At that time the Bureau of Fisheries and the Department of Agricul- ture's Bureau of Biological Survey were transferred to the Department of the Interior. A year later, on June 30, 1940, the two Bureaus were merged to form the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 created the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. BCF has six regional offices and one area office; the head- quarters office is in Washington, D.C.

Ponds in which biologists at the BCF Biological Laboratoiy, Galveston, are experimenting to determine the feasibility of farming .shrimp.

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As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has basic responsibilities for water, fish, wildlife, mineral, land, park, and recreational resources. Indian and Territorial affairs are other major concerns of America's "Department of Natural Resources."

The Department works to assure the wisest choice in managing all our resources so each will make its full con- tribution to a better United States — now and in the future.

Washington, D.C. November 1968

-^ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1968— 0-32 1-027

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