Statewide Pacific ocean shrimp, Pandalus jordani, landings 

totaled 13,163,243 lb, down about 2.5 million lb from the 1977 record catch of 15,639,584 lb. However, the 1978 landings were still the second highest on record. Area A (Eureka-Crescent City) landings were the second

highest in history with landings of 11,101,895 lb. Landings of 2,061,348 lb in Area B-1 (Fort Bragg) broke all existing records for the bed. The previous record was 799,722 lb landed in 1961.  No landings were reported for Areas B-2 (Bodega Bay) and C (Avila-Morro Bay).  In Area A the average catch per hour for the season for single-rig vessels was 581 lb and 862 lb for double-rig vessels. Area B-1 average

catch per hour was 819 lb and 1,069 lb per hour for single-rig and double-rig vessels, respectively. Two-year-old (1976 year class) shrimp dominated the catches during the first three months in Area A and throughout the season in Area B-1. One-year-old (1977 year class)

shrimp dominated the catches in Area A from July to the end of the season. Catches during the first part of October in Area A fell below the established criteria for keeping the season open. This necessitated closing the season two weeks early. (16pp.

Collier, Patrick C.

Dahlstrom, Walter A.

Schultz, Steven A.

English

Aquatic Commons


OCEAN SHRIMP REPORT 
1978 SEASON - 11 
P a t r i c k  C. C o l l i e r  21 
Steven A. Schul tz  - 
and 
Walter A. Dahlstrom 41 
- 
TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL SHRIMP REPORT 
ABSTRACT 
Statewide P a c i f i c  ocean shrimp, PandaZus jordani, l and ings  t o t a l e d  
13,163,243 l b ,  dotm about  2.5 m i l l i o n  l b  from t h e  1977 record  ca t ch  of 
15,639,584 l b .  However, t h e  1978 l and ings  were s t i l l  t h e  second high- 
est on record .  Area A (Eureka-Crescent C i ty )  l and ings  were t h e  second 
h i g h e s t  i n  h i s t o r y  wi th  l and ings  of 11,101,895 l b .  Landings of 
2,061,348 l b  i n  Area B-1 (For t  Bragg) broke a l l  e x i s t i n g  r e c o r d s  f o r  
t h e  bed. The previous  r eco rd  w a s  799,722 l b  landed i n  1961, No land- 
i n g s  were r epo r t ed  f o r  Areas B-2 (Bodega Bay) and C (Avila-Morro Bay). 
I n  k r e a  A t h e  average ca t ch  pe r  hour  f o r  t h e  season f o r  s i n g l e - r i g  ves- 
s e l s  was 581 l b  and 862 l b  f o r  double-r ig  ves se l s .  Area B-1 average 
c a t c h  pe r  hour w a s  819 l b  and 1 ,069  l b  p e r  hour f o r  s i n g l e - r i g  and 
double-r ig  v e s s e l s ,  r e spec t ive ly .  Two-year-old (1976 y e a r  c l a s s )  
shrimp dominated t h e  ca t ches  dur ing  the f i r s t  t h r e e  months i n  Area A 
and throughout t h e  season  i n  Area B-1. One-year-old (1977 yea r  c l a s s )  
shrimp dominated t h e  ca t ches  i n  Area A from J u l y  t o  t h e  end of t h e  
season.  Catches dur ing  t h e  f i r s t  p a r t  of October i n  Area A f e l l  be- 
low t h e  e s t a b l i s h e d  c r i t e r i a  fo r .keep ing  t h e  season open. Th i s  neces- 
s i t a t e d  c l o s i n g  t h e  season two weeks e a r l y .  
1/ Marine Resources Adminis t ra t ive  Report No. 79-13 
- 
2/ Marine Resources Region, 619 2nd St., Eureka, CA 95501 
- 
3/ Marine Resources Region, c / o  Dept. Parks  and Recrea t ion ,  
- 
'S tar  Route, Mendocino, CA 95460 
4/ Marine Resources Region, 411 Burgess Drive,  Menlo Park ,  CA 
- 
94025 
INTRODUCTION 
C a l i f o r n i a ' s  1978 P a c i f i c  ocean shrimp, PandaZus jordani, l and ings  
t o t a l e d  13,163,243 l b .  Although no t  a s  h igh  a s  last y e a r ' s  record  c a t c h  
of 15,639,584 l b ,  t h e  l and ings  a r e  t h e  second h i g h e s t  i n  h i s t o r y .  
Eureka-Crescent Ci ty  landings  of 11,101,895 l b  r ep re sen ted  t h e  
second l a r g e s t  ca t ch  ever  recorded i n  t h i s  a rea .  Landings of 2,061,348 l b  
a t  F o r t  Braggbroke  a l l  e x i s t i n g  records  f o r  t h e  bed. The previous  
record  was 799,722 l b  landed i n  1961. Two-year-old (1976 yea r  c l a s s )  
shrimp dominated t h e  ca t ches  du r ing  t h e  f i r s t  t h r e e  months of t h e  sea-  
son i n  t h e  Eureka-Crescent C i t y  a r ea .  One-year-old shrimp (1977 yea r  
c l a s s )  dominated t h e  ca t ches  from t h e  middle t o  t h e  l a s t  of t h e  season.  
Two-year-old shrimp dominated t h e  ca t ches  i n  t h e  F o r t  Bragg a r e a  through- 
o u t  t h e  season. 
P r i c e  t o  t h e  fishermen began a t  2 6 ~  pe r  l b  i n  A p r i l ,  t hen  increased  
t o  2 8 ~  on August 28, f o r  t h e  remainder of t h e  season.  
AREA A 
Area A l andings  from t h e  p o r t s  of Crescent C i t y  and Eureka t o t a l e d  
11,101,895 l b  f o r  1978. Th i s  was t h e  second l a r g e s t  c a t c h  e v e r  recorded 
f o r  Area A, exceeded only by 1977's 13,061,191 l b .  Shrimpers landed 
1,371,000 l b  i n  Crescent  C i ty ,  which had been caught i n  Oregonls  Areas 19 
and 20 (Cape Blanco t o  t h e  C a l i f o r n i a  border ) .  
F ish ing  commenced on A p r i l  16 w i t h  most of t h e  e f f o r t  concent ra ted  
o f f  Po in t  S a i n t  George through mid-June, s h i f t i n g  t o  t h e  Redding Rock- 
Klamath River  a r e a  i n  50 t o  90 fm dur ing  Ju ly .  The b o a t s  a l t e r n a t e d  
between these  two a r e a s  throughout t h e  remainder of  t h e  season  (Figure 1 ) .  
By t h e  end of t h e  season a t o t a l  of 66 v e s s e l s ,  36 s ing le - r igged  and 30 
double-rigged, had engaged i n  t h e  f i s h e r y  (Table l ) ,  a record number f o r  
t h i s  area.  
The average catch per  hour i n  l a t e  August and September dropped 
d r a s t i c a l l y  from t h e  preceding month. Catches during t h e  f i r s t  p a r t  of 
October f e l l  below t h e  es tab l i shed  c r i t e r i a  f o r  keeping t h e  season open. 
This necess i t a t ed  c los ing t h e  season two weeks ea r ly .  The season's  aver- 
age catch r a t e  was 713 l b  per  hour with 'the single-rigged vesse l s  aver- 
aging 581 l b  per  hour and double-riggers averaging 862 l b  per  hour 
(Table 1). 
Two-year-old, 1976 year c l a s s  shrimp dominated t h e  f i s h e r y  i n  per- 
cent  by number and percent  by weight during Apri l ,  May, and June. From 
J u l y  on, one-year-old shrimp dominated t h e  f i s h e r y  i n  percent  by num- 
b e r  and was only s l i g h t l y  less than t h a t  f o r  two-year-old shrimp i n  
percent  by weight (Table 2) .  One-year-old male shrimp i n  t h e  ca tch  
increased from 2.6% i n  Apr i l  t o  a high of 57.1% i n  September (Table 3 ) .  
The average s i z e  of a l l  age c l a s s e s  of shrimp caught during t h e  
1978 season were l a r g e r  than t h e  corresponding age c lasses  during t h e  
1977 season (Table 4). 
5 m i l e s  
-
l a m a t h  R i v e r  
nidad Head 
b 
Figure 1. Area A Pacific ocean shrimp, PandaZus jordani, catch locations, 
1978. 
J 
TABLE 1. Area A Monthly Catch and Effort: Data,  1978 season 
b Pounds a E f f o r t  Pounds 
Month landed . (hours)  pe r  hour Vessels  T r i p s  
S ingle- r ig  Vessels  
A p r i l  200,698 375.9 534 19 67 
June 1,100,649 1,893.2 574 2 7 218 
J u l y  1,661,848 2,284.4 727 28 . 241 
August 1,394,259 2,643.2 520 28 340 
September 366,731 964.7 35 6 2 6 10 8 
October 147,501 383.1 314 1 3  4 2 
- - - 
T o t a l s  5,796,356 9,812.3 581' 36d 1,220 
Double-rig Vessels 
Apr i l  142,492 61.7 2,310 2 7 
June 531,720 503.9 976 10  3 3 
J u l y  989,284 812.5 1,214 1 5  56 
August 1,677,910 1,927.7 845 2 3  122 
September 971,801 1,379.5 5 8 1  23 8 3 
October 528,140 844.3 541 24 5 6 
- - 
T o t a l s  5,305,539 5,764.0 862' 3od 382 
A l l  Vesse ls  
Season T o t a l s  11,101,895 15,576.5 713' 66d 1,602 
a Pounds landed a r e  t o t a l  pounds 
- 
b E f f o r t  and Pounds p e r  hour based upon boat  l o g s  
- 
c Mean 
- 
d T o t a l  v e s s e l s  t h a t  made l and ings  
- 
TABLE 2. Area A Count Pe r  Pound and Year C la s s  Composition of Shrimp, 
1978 Season 
Age class Age c l a s s  
Count p e r c e n t  by number p e r c e n t  by weight  
Month p e r  l b  0 I I1 111 0 . 1  I1 I11 
- 
A p r i l  9 5 - 3.7 89.5 6.8 - 1 . 5  89.1 9.4 
June  110 - 40.2 54.0 5.8 - 23.8 66.2 10.0 
J u l y  114 - 56.9 40.3 2.8 - 40.0 54.4  5.6 
August 105 - 60.3 37.6 2.1 - 43.8 52.0 4.2 
September 111 0.1 78.7 20.3 1.0 .01  65.7 32.0 2.3 
October 8 7 0.8 52.4 44.8 2.0 .ll 39.8 56.9 3.2 
TABLE 3. Year Class  and Sex Composition of Area A Shrimp by Month, 1978 
Season (Percentages)  
Males ' T r a n s i t i o n a l s  Females 
Month 0 I I1 I I1 I11 I I1 I11 
A p r i l  - 2.6 3.4 0.9 30.8 - 0.1  55.3 6.8 
May ' - 21.4 0.6 4.4 24.6 - 0.1  41.2 7.7 
June  - 33.2 1.9 6 .3  19.4 - .7 32.7 5.8 
Ju ly  - 45.8 . 2.0 1 0 . 1  14.1 - 1.0 24.2 2.8 
August - 43.9 0.4 14.0 12.2 .06 2.3 25.0 2.1 
September .1 57.1 0.1 11.9 2.5 - 9.7 17.7 1 . 0  
October .8 33.1 - 6.0 1.5 - 13.3 43.3 2.0 
TABLE 4. Average Carapace Length (mm) of  Area A Sl~r imp,  1977 and 1978 
Seasons 
I .  I I I11 
Season 1977 1978 1977 1978 1977 1978 
(Year Class) (1976) (1977) (1975) (1976) (1974) (1975) 
A p r i l  13.4 15 .1  17.7 20.1 22.0 22.9 
May 13.8  15.5 18.0 20.4 21.9 22.8 
June  14 .2  16.0  18 .1  20.7 21.9 23.5 
J u l y  15 .2  16.6 18.8 20.9 22 .'6 23.6 
August 15 .7  17.2  19 .1  21.3 22.8 23.9 
September 16 .3  17.6 19.5 21.9 22.8 24.5 
October  16 .8  18.4 20.3 22.3 23.4 24.2 
OUTLOOK 
A t  t h e  end of  t h e  1978 season  t h e  catcb-per-unit-of-effort and the 
t o t a l  c a t c h  were v e r y  low. Zecausc of  t h i s ,  the ou t look  f o r  1979 does  
n o t  l ook  v e r y  b r i g h t  - even though a h igh  pe r cen t age  of t h e  c a t c h  was 
composed of  one-year-old shrimp d u r i n g  t h e  l as t  p a r t  of  t h e  season.  
AREA B-1 
Area B-1 (Fo r t  Bragg) landings  of 2,061,348 l b  broke a l l  e x i s t i n g  
r eco rds  f o r  t h e  bed. The previous  r eco rd  was 799,722 l b  landed i n  1961 
under t h e  quota  system. 
F i sh ing  began on A p r i l  23 wi th  t h e  primary f i s h i n g  e f f o r t  focused 
o f f  Usal i n  75 t o  80 fm. Four tows no r th  of t h i s  product ive  a r e a  and 
12 tows s c a t t e r e d  south  t o  K i b e s i l l a h  produced no ca t ch ,  I n  May, s ing le -  
r i g  v e s s e l s  concent ra ted  e f f o r t  between Cape Vizcaino and Abalone P o i n t  
i n  69 t o  75 fm, wh i l e  double-rig v e s s e l s  cont inued t o  f i s h  a t  a consid- 
e r a b l y  h ighe r  c a t c h  r a t e  o f f  Usal t o  Cape Vizcaino i n  64 t o  75 fm. Tows 
i n  sha l lower  and deeper water  produced no ca tch .  T o t a l  f i s h i n g  e f f o r t  
i n  June was s p l i t  i n t o  two a r e a s :  o f f  Usal i n  55 t o  70 fm e a r l y  i n  t h e  
month and o f f  Cape Vizcaino i n  70 t o  90 fm l a t e r  i n  t h e  month. Again, 
tows were made sou th  of t h e  product ive  f i s h i n g  a r e a s  w i th  no success .  
The whole f i s h e r y  s h i f t e d  n o r t h  t o  t h e  East-West tows o f f  J ackass  Gulch 
t o  Usal i n  J u l y  through September, d iv ided  i n  depths  between 48 t o  65 fm 
and 70 t o  85 fm. Tows were made i n  t h e  p rev ious ly  product ive  a r e a s  o f f  
Cape Vizcaino wi th  no success .  F i sh ing  i n  October was dominated by 
double-r ig  t r a w l e r s  f i s h i n g  from  ist take Po in t  t o  Cape Vizcaino wi th  b e s t  
ca t ches  occu r r ing  i n  t h e  a r e a  f i s h e d  J u l y  through September. Eight tows, 
s c a t t e r e d  south  t o  Bruhel Poin t ,  were unproductive. 
It appeared cons ide rab le  movement of t he  shrimp popula t ion  occurred 
and seemed t o  c o r r e l a t e  we l l  wi th  upwell ing and c u r r e n t  p a t t e r n s .  A l -  
though t h e  a r e a s  producing shrimp throughout t h e  season c o l l e c t i v e l y  
formed a bed 5.5 m i l e s  wide by 15.5 m i l e s  long (Figure 2 ) ,  no more than  
32% (G = 24%) of t h a t  a r e a  produced commercial q u a n t i t i e s  of shrimp i n  
any one month. 
q u a n t i t i e s  of shrimp i n  any one month. 
Area B-2 (Bodega 3ay) f a i l e d  t o  produce any commercial q u a n t i t i e s  
of shrimp, s h i f t i n g  t h a t  f l e e t ' s  e f f o r t  i n t o  Area B-1. Six l o c a l  
t r awle r s  entered  the  f i s h e r y ,  pr imar i ly  due t o  the  s t r i k e  f o r  higher 
bottomfish p r i ces .  Two s ing le - r ig  v e s s e l s  and f i v e  double-rig v e s s e l s  
from the  Eureka-Crescent Ci ty  a r e a  f i shed  Area B-1 and landed i n  Eureka. 
I n  a l l ,  13 s ing le - r ig  t rawlers  made 253 t r i p s ,  averaging 819 l b  
per  hour. Five double-rig v e s s e l s  made 39 t r i p s  (usual ly  cdns i s t ing  of 
two o r  more f i s h i n g  days) averaging 1 ,069. lb  per  hour (Table 5). The 
o v e r a l l  ca tch  per  hour of 887 l b  w a s  the  four th  h ighes t  i n  the  bed's 
h i s t o r y  and was expected t o  be h igher ,  bu t  probably was a f fec ted  by t h e  
considerable movement by t h e  shrimp population. 
Two-year-old shrimp dominated t h e  ca tch  i n  numbers (with t h e  excep- 
t i o n  of August) and i n  weight throughout t h e  season (Table 6) .  Count 
per  l b  remained unusually low throughout the  season providing a very 
d e s i r a b l e  processing product. 
\ 
\ 
\ 
1 
1 Tolo Bank 
\ 
\ 
. - - -  
Mistake Point  
---\ 
'. 
. 
. 
100 fm \ 
I 
I 
I 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
P a c i f i c  Ocean I 
\ 
I 
Figure 2. Pac i f i c  ocean shrimp, PandaZus jorduni, catch locat ions ,  1978. 
TABLE 5. Area B-1 Monthly Catch and Ef for t  Data, 1978 
Single-rig Vessels 
Pounds Effor t  Pounds 
Month landed (hours) per hour Vessels Tr ips  
A p r i l  33,796 
May 52,685 
June 233,250 
July  392,445 
August 557,500 
September 116,156 , 
October 1,130 
Totals  1,386,962 
Month 
Pounds 
landed . 
Double-rig Vessels 
Effor t  Pounds 
(hours) per hour Vessels Trips 
A p r i l  0 
May 247,591 
June 153,351 
Ju ly  49,845 
August 58,449 
September 11,432 
October 153,718 
Totals  674,386 
A l l  Vessels 
Season Totals  2,061,348 
* Mean 
+ Total  vessels  which made landings. 
TABLE 6. Area B-1 Count Per  Pound and Year Class  Composition of Shrimp, 
1978 Season. 
Age Class Age Class  
Count percent  by number pe rcen t  by weight 
Month per  l b  0 I I1 I11 0 I I1 I11 
A p r i l  9 0 - 8.6 82.3 9.1 - 4.4 83.9 11.7 
June 108 - 26.4 72.5 1.1 - 16.0 82.1 1.9 
J u l y  96 - 28.3 69.3 2.4 - 18.7 77.6 3.7 
August 106 - 52.8 45.8 1.4 - 39.4 58.0 2.6 
September 9 8 - 43.6 54.0 2.4 - 31.6 64.5 3.9 
October 88 - 41.3 55.8 3.1 - 30.2 65.3 4.5 
* 
Two-year-old females dominated t h e  ca tch  by percent  A p r i l  through J u l y  
and October, whi le  one-year-old males e n t e r i n g  t h e  f i s h e r y  i n  August and 
September dominated t h e  landings  f o r  those  months (Table 7 ) .  
TABLE 7, Year Class  and Sex Composition of Area B-1 Shrimp by Month, 
1978 Season (Percentages).  
Month 
Males T r a n s i t i o n a l s  Females 
0 I I1 I11 I I1 I11 I I1 I11 
- 
A p r i l  - 8.6 19.6 - - 19.1 - - 43.6 9 .1  
May - 18.8 12.4 - 3.1 28.1 0.02 0.3 33.9 3.4 
June - 20.9 7.9 - 5.4 29.9 - 0.08 34.7 1.1 
J u l y  - 25.4 10.4 - 3.0 26.0 1.2 - 32.8 1.1 
August - 43.7 4.1 - - 7.6 18.3 0.13 1.4 23.4 1.3 
September - 33.9 3.8 - 6.3 ,  25.0 - 3.4 25.2 2.4 
October -' 34.6 1.0 - 3.9 5.7 0.03 2.8 48.9 3.1 
Although carapace l eng ths  f o r  a l l  year  c l a s s e s  landed i n  1978 
exceeded 1976 and 1977 carapace l eng ths ,  t h e  d i f f e r e n c e  was cons iderable  
i n  one-year-olds (Table 8) .  For those  months f i s h e d  during 1976-78, the 
average carapace l eng th  of t h e  1978 one-year-olds was 1.65 mrn more than  
t h a t  f o r  t h e  1976 one-year-olds and .93 mm more than t h a t  f o r  t h e  1977 
one-year-olds. 
TABLE 8. Average Carapace Length (mm) of Area B-1 Shrimp,1976-1978 
Seasons. 
I I I I11 
Season 1976 1977 1978 1976- 1977 1978 1976 1977 1978 
A p r i l  13.6 - 15.3 18.9 - 19.6 21.5 - ' 22.2 
June 
J u l y  
August 15.3 - 16.5 20.0 - 20.2 21.9 - 22.6 
September 15.7 16.1 17.0 20.0 20.0 20.4 22.0 22.6 22.9 
October - 16.8 17.3 - 20.5 20.7 22.6 - 22.6 
Average weight p e r  shrimp f u r t h e r  ampl i f i e s  t h e  annual  growth d i f f e r -  
ences. For shrimp landed i n  June and J u l y  1978, one-year-olds averaged 74% 
heav ie r  than 1976 one-year-olds; two-year-old shrimp averaged 22% heav ie r ,  
and 1978 three-year-olds averaged 23% heav ie r  than  those  i n  1976. Although 
average carapace l eng ths  account f o r  some of t h e  d i f f e rence ,  1978 shrimp 
were heav ie r  i n  a l l  yea r  c l a s s e s ,  making a cons iderable  con t r ibu t ion  t o  t h e  
t o t a l  biomass landed (Table 9) .  
TABLE 9. Averaae Weight ( g )  of Area B-1, Shrimp, 1979 Season. 
A p r i l  1.40 - 2.57 4.20 - 5.18 6.14 - ' 6.4 
June 1.45 2.05 2.54 3.96 3.69 4.76 . 5.41 5.82 7.00 
J u l y  1.84 2.16 3.14 4.26 4.08 5.32 5..97 6 .03 7.30 
August 1.96 - 3.19 4.63 - 5.41 5.69 - 7.58 
September - 2.87 3.34 - - 5.14 5.52 - 6.9 7.73 
October - 2.90 3.77 - 5.23 6.07 - 8.3 7.39 
For ty- f ive  pe rcen t  of t h e  females  sampled d u r i n g  week Number 2 
were ov igerous ,  dropping t o  19% by week Number 4 and t o  o n l y  one i n d i -  
v i d u a l  dur ing  week Number 6 .  lieadroe was f i r s t  noted September 1, pre-  
s e n t  i n  19% of t h e  females  and i n c r e a s i n g  t o  30% by mid-October. 
OUTLOOK 
Catch p e r  hour dropped cons ide rab ly  t h e  l a s t  two months of t h e  sea-  
son.' The 1977 yea r  c l a s s  (one-year-olds) i n  August through October  ac- 
counted f o r  53, 44, and 41% of t h e  landings , respect ive ly ,and are expected 
t o  c o n t r i b u t e  s u b s t a n t i a l l y  t o  t h e  1979 f i s h e r y  a s  two-year-olds. A good 
c a r r y  over  of t h e  1978 two-year-olds i s  expected t o  make a f a i r  con t r ibu -  
t i o n  as three-year-olds  i n  t h e  e a r l y  p a r t  of t h e  1979 season  and hopeful l -y ,  
a good 1978 year  c l a s s  as one-year-olds w i l l  c o n t r i b u t e  the l a t e r  p a r t  
of t h e  season. Excluding t h e  unusua l  1978 r eco rd  l a n d i n g s  and any unusua l  
behav io ra l  pa t t exns  i n  shrimp movement, the .1979  season  i s  expec ted  t o  
b e  good compared t o  p rev ious  yea r s .  
AREA B-2 
Area B-2 (Bodega Bay) fishermen were unable to find shrimp in com- 
mercial quantity and made no landings. A total of 44 exploratory tows, 
which encompassed 19 hours, were conducted from off Bodega Head to stewart's 
Point in 40 to 104 fm. The fishermen tried during April,.May, and August. 
AREA C 
No landings or effort was reported from this area. 


Ocean shrimp report 1978 season

http://aquaticcommons.org/71/1/Marine_Resources_Administrative_Report_No._79-13.pdf

Ocean shrimp report 1978 season

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