Shrimping

Marine Fisheries

The annual Blessing of the Fleet	Shrimp Boat	Shrimp Zones

Shrimp Hotline (1-866-WE TRAWL)

So you want to be a shrimper?  Well, you've come to the right place.  Mississippi is an ideal location for shrimp production.  Dynamic environments called wetlands provide rich nursery grounds necessary for the developing shrimp.

Most recreational shrimpers use a single trawl towed behind their outboard powered boats.  If you are shrimping on a smaller scale, you might want to toss a cast net from a dock or boat.  Cast nets run from 4 to 12 feet.  You can purchase these nets wherever bait and tackle are sold.  For those big shrimping excursions, "double-rigged" trawling systems are a popular net arrangement.

Brown, white and pink shrimp are the three major types of shrimp harvested on the coast.  Approximately 85 percent of Mississippi's harvest is brown shrimp.  Mississippi's nutrient-enriched estuaries provide the ideal habitat for juvenile shrimp to develop.  As they reach maturity, the brown shrimp swim into the open Gulf where they spawn. 

Brown shrimp are most abundant from June to October and can be found in inshore and offshore waters.  White shrimp, found in more shallow waters with mud bottoms, are caught mostly during daylight hours during the Fall months.  Pink shrimp are usually found in higher salinity waters and are generally caught at night.  These shrimp are most abundant in winter and early spring.  Water temperatures, salinity, available food and habitat area affect the size of shrimp harvest.  Best seasons occur when water conditions in the spring are warm and brackish.

Because of demands placed on the shrimp resources and the variety of environmental conditions affecting shrimp, Mississippi has found it necessary to regulate shrimping.   The Commission on Marine Resources establishes season opening and closing dates and regulates the size and number of trawls pulled by boats.  The Department of Marine Resources will take shrimp samples to aid in determining the time to open shrimp season. Licenses for shrimping are available at the DMR.

The shrimp industry has been a vital part of Mississippi's coastal development.   The future of this industry relies on the environment which continues to sustain the habitat of the shrimp we catch.  Dockside value of Mississippi's annual shrimp harvest, according to National Marine Fisheries Service statistics for 2002, averages approximately $29.8 million. Mississippi's annual commercial shrimp landings average approximately 16.7 million pounds. 

Through wetlands conservation and seafood regulation, the harvest from the shrimp fishery will be maintained for the benefit of all.  The Department of Marine Resources wishes you calm seas, fair skies and a bountiful shrimp harvest. 

Check here for shrimp season dates.

~ Shrimp Life Cycle ~

Many different species of shrimp are found in Mississippi coastal waters but only three are important commercially, the brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus), the pink shrimp (Penaeus duorarum), and the white shrimp (Penaeus setiferus).  These three species are all members of the family Penaeidae.  Shrimp  belong to a larger group of animals known as decapod crustaceans (ten walking legs).  Most of the commercially exploited invertebrate species belong to the order Decapoda. 

 The life history of the three species of penaeid shrimps is generally similar, although the time of  spawning varies with each species (Figure 1).  Mating takes place in shallow offshore waters and involves the transfer of spermatophores from the male to the female shrimp.  Actual spawning takes place in deeper offshore waters.  The eggs are released and fertilized externally in the water.  A female may lay between one half to one million eggs at a single spawning.  Within 24 hours, the tiny eggs hatch into a microscopic larva known as a nauplius.  The nauplius stage is followed by the protozoeal, mysis, and postlarval stages (Figure 1).  Passage from the nauplius to the postlarval stage takes several weeks.  All of the developmental stages are found in the offshore plankton.  The larvae are capable of  little horizontal, directional movement and are unable to swim independently of the water currents.  They are totally reliant upon favorable currents to transport them to inshore waters. The migration from offshore waters to coastal bays occurs during the last planktonic stage and shrimp enter estuarine nursery grounds as postlarvae.  Once they move into brackish waters, the postlarvae abandon their planktonic way of life and become part of the benthic community.
 

Figure 1.  Life cycle of shrimp of the genus Penaeus (taken from FAO Species Identification Sheets for Fishery Purposes, Western Central Atlantic, edited by W. Fischer, 1978).

Postlarval and juvenile shrimp occupy the shallow, brackish waters of the Sound where they feed and grow.  Growth of the young is rapid when waters are warm (above 20C).  Young shrimp remain in the estuary until they approach maturity.  Adult shrimp migrate offshore to spawn, and the cycle is repeated.  There are seasonal variations in the spawning times of pink, brown, and white shrimp.  Brown postlarvae enter Mississippi Sound in large numbers during the spring (March, April, May), with a smaller wave of immigration in the fall.  Brown shrimp postlarvae that arrive on the nursery grounds in early spring will be of harvestable size by early summer.  White and pink shrimp postlarvae arrive during the summer and fall, with white postlarvae being more abundant.  Pink shrimp provide the smallest part of Mississippi's shrimp catch.  Of the three species, white shrimp spawn closest to inshore waters with brown shrimp spawning the greatest distance from shore.  Estuarine nursery areas are essential to shrimp survival, and their maintenance in a condition suitable for growth is crucial.

Excerpted from Chapter 11, Book 2, Marine Resources and History of the Gulf Coast
By Harriet M. Perry