Life cycle
Spawning in L. setiferus occurs while the water is warm, between the increase in water temperatures in the spring and the sudden decline in temperature in the fall. [2] It generally occurs within 9 km (5.6 mi) of the shoreline, in water less than 9 metres (30 ft) deep in the Atlantic, or 8–31 metres (26–102 ft) deep in the Gulf of Mexico. [2] Males attach a spermatophore to the females, which is then used to fertilize the eggs as they are released. [2] Each female releases 500,000–1,000,000 purplish eggs, each 0.2–0.3 mm (0.008–0.012 in) across, which sink to the bottom of the water column. [2]
After 10–12 hours, the eggs hatch into nauplius larvae, which are 0.3 mm (0.012 in) long, planktonic and unable to feed. [2] They molt five times to reach the protozoa stage, 1 mm (0.039 in) long. These grow to 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long over two molts, before passing through three molts as a mysis larva. [2] About 15–20 days after hatching, the animals reaches the postlarva stage; in the second postlarval stage, at a length of 7 mm (0.28 in), they begin to enter estuaries and drop down to the substrate. [2]
Spring rains flush the shrimp out into the ocean. In the Eastern United States, shrimp then migrate south towards warmer waters. [5]
Dendrobranchiata is a suborder of decapods, commonly known as prawns. There are 540 extant species in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian. They differ from related animals, such as Caridea and Stenopodidea, by the branching form of the gills and by the fact that they do not brood their eggs, but release them directly into the water. They may reach a length of over 330 millimetres (13 in) and a mass of 450 grams (1.0 lb), and are widely fished and farmed for human consumption.
Callinectes sapidus, the blue crab, Atlantic blue crab, or regionally as the Chesapeake blue crab, is a species of crab native to the waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, and introduced internationally.
Whiteleg shrimp, also known as Pacific white shrimp or King prawn, is a variety of prawn of the eastern Pacific Ocean commonly caught or farmed for food.
Pandalus borealis is a species of caridean shrimp found in cold parts of the northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans, although the latter population now often is regarded as a separate species, P. eous. The FAO refers to them as the northern prawn. Other common names include pink shrimp, deepwater prawn, deep-sea prawn, Nordic shrimp, great northern prawn, northern shrimp, coldwater prawn and Maine shrimp.
The loggerhead sea turtle, is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when fully grown. The adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs approximately 135 kg (298 lb), with the largest specimens weighing in at more than 450 kg (1,000 lb). The skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish brown. No external differences in sex are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, the most obvious difference being the adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons than the females.
The shrimp fishery is a major global industry, with more than 3.4 million tons caught per year, chiefly in Asia. Rates of bycatch are unusually high for shrimp fishing, with the capture of sea turtles being especially contentious.
Necrotising hepatopancreatitis (NHP), is also known as Texas necrotizing hepatopancreatitis (TNHP), Texas Pond Mortality Syndrome (TPMS) and Peru necrotizing hepatopancreatitis (PNHP), is a lethal epizootic disease of farmed shrimp. It is not very well researched yet, but generally assumed to be caused by a bacterial infection.
Penaeus is a genus of prawns, including the giant tiger prawn, the most important species of farmed crustacean worldwide. The genus has been reorganised following a proposition of Pérez Farfante and Kensley based on morphological differences, in particular the genital characteristics of these animals, although this revision has not been universally accepted. Following the revision, many species formerly in the genus Penaeus have been reassigned to new genera in the family Penaeidae: Farfantepenaeus, Fenneropenaeus, Litopenaeus and Marsupenaeus. The following table gives an overview:
Penaeus monodon, commonly known as the giant tiger prawn,Asian tiger shrimp, black tiger shrimp, and other names, is a marine crustacean that is widely reared for food.
The crevalle jack, also known as the common jack, black-tailed trevally, couvalli jack, black cavalli, jack crevale, or yellow cavalli is a common species of large marine fish classified within the jack family, Carangidae. The crevalle jack is distributed across the tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from Nova Scotia, Canada to Uruguay in the west Atlantic and Portugal to Angola in the east Atlantic, including the Mediterranean Sea. It is distinguishable from similar species by its deep body, fin colouration and a host of more detailed anatomical features, including fin ray and lateral line scale counts. It is one of the largest fish in the genus Caranx, growing to a maximum known length of 124 cm and a weight of 32 kg, although is rare at lengths greater than 60 cm. The crevalle jack inhabits both inshore and offshore waters to depths of around 350 m, predominantly over reefs, bays, lagoons and occasionally estuaries. Young fish dispersed north by currents in the eastern Atlantic are known to migrate back to more tropical waters before the onset of winter; however, if the fish fail to migrate, mass mortalities occur as the temperature falls below the species' tolerance.
The gafftopsail catfish is found in the waters of the western central Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. It has long poisonous spines which can cause painful wounds. It feeds on crustaceans and other fish. The male of the species fertilizes the eggs of the female, and broods them in his mouth until they hatch. The gafftopsail feeds throughout the water column. This fish is a common catch in the Southeastern US, although it may be found as far north as New York. They are considered strong fighters by anglers. They are taken from piers, jetties, reefs, and the surf, as well as bottom fishing or flats fishing. They are caught with hard lures as well as soft plastics, cut bait, and live or dead shrimp. Some fishermen use traps for catfish, a method regulated by some states.
Panulirus argus, the Caribbean spiny lobster, is a species of spiny lobster that lives on reefs and in mangrove swamps in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Paralichthys lethostigma, the southern flounder, is a species of large-tooth flounders native to the eastern and gulf coasts of the United States. It is a popular sports fish and is the largest and most commercially valuable flounder in the western North Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It is a "left-eyed flounder", meaning the left side is pigmented and is the "up side".
Sicyonia brevirostris, the brown rock shrimp, is a species of prawn. It is found along the coasts of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico from Norfolk, Virginia to Yucatán, including Cuba and the Bahamas. It is used in cooking and has a taste and texture similar to lobster. They get their name from their hard outer shell which is "hard as a rock".
Shrimp are decapod crustaceans with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata. More narrow definitions may be restricted to Caridea, to smaller species of either group or to only the marine species. Under a broader definition, shrimp may be synonymous with prawn, covering stalk-eyed swimming crustaceans with long narrow muscular tails (abdomens), long whiskers (antennae), and slender legs. Any small crustacean which resembles a shrimp tends to be called one. They swim forward by paddling with swimmerets on the underside of their abdomens, although their escape response is typically repeated flicks with the tail driving them backwards very quickly. Crabs and lobsters have strong walking legs, whereas shrimp have thin, fragile legs which they use primarily for perching.
Farfantepenaeus aztecus is a species of marine penaeid shrimps found around the east coast of the US and Mexico. They are an important commercial species in the US. The FAO refers to them as the northern brown shrimp; other common names, used in the US, are brown shrimp, golden shrimp, red shrimp or redtail shrimp.
Farfantepenaeus duorarum is a species of marine penaeid shrimp found around Bermuda, along the east coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico. They are a significant commercial species in the United States and Cuba.
Sicyonia ingentis is a species of prawn in the family Sicyoniidae known by the common name ridgeback prawn. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, where it occurs along the coast of California and Baja California, its distribution extending from Monterey Bay to Isla María Madre off Nayarit. It also lives in the Gulf of California. Other common names include Pacific rock shrimp and Japanese shrimp. In Spanish it is called camarón de piedra del Pacífico and cacahuete.
The world's oceans are warming due to climate change. Climate change is caused by three major factors which are the greenhouse effect, variation in the sun's energy that reaches Earth, and changes in reflectivity within Earth's atmosphere and its surface. The greenhouse effect is caused by greenhouse gases that absorb sunlight. Energy from the sun that reaches Earth is either retained or sent into space. Greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor absorb energy which cause a blanketing effect that warms the earth. Aerosols such as black carbon also catalyze the warming effect as they are unreflective and absorb energy from the sun supplementing greenhouse gases in the warming effect.
Melicertus kerathurus, the striped prawn or caramote prawn is a species of tiger prawn from the family Penaeidae which occurs in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea which is an important species in commercial fisheries. It is the type species for the genus Melicertus.
