POSSIBLE CLUES TO IMPROVED POND CULTURE OF PENAEID SHRIMP

This study was stimulated by the variability in results of United States shrimp culture in ponds, and the need for improved methods of estimating shrimp populations in ponds prior to harvest. Brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) were cultured in six 0.1 ha earthen ponds receiving thermal effluent from a steam electric generating station near Galveston Bay, Texas, for a 70–71 day culture period between April and July 1978. Two ponds were stocked with 3,500 shrimp each and four with 2,500 shrimp. Only shrimp in two ponds stocked at the lower density did not receive supplemental food. Each pond was treated weekly with 4.5 kg of 45-0-0 fertilizer to promote plankton blooms. Survival ranged from 79 to 91%; feeding treatment seemed to correlate with survival as two of the three ponds with 79% survival contained the unfed shrimp. Size of shrimp at harvest and daily growth rates were not correlated with stocking density or feeding treatment. Growth was positively correlated with increasing pond bottom softness. Based on seine sample data, wind direction strongly affected the distribution of brown shrimp. The greatest populations were usually found near the downwind shore of ponds; this relationship was strongest in ponds containing fed shrimp. The efficiency of seine samples was also affected by the time of day. Samples completed between 1800 and 0600 h caught more shrimp and were less variable than samples taken between 0900 and 1430 h. For improved population estimation, night sampling along downwind shores of culture ponds is recommended.

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