Shrimp

Shrimp

        The most popular seafood in the U.S. is by far marine shrimp. They have many essential vitimans and minerals. They are also high in protein. Shrimp is usually stuffed, fried, or boiled.
        There are three kinds of shrimp. They are brown, white, and pink. Many kinds of shrimp are found in the Gulf of Mexico but only those of the Penaeidae family are large enough to eat. Shrimp are strange looking with only the tail being edible. They are tasty and they make good fishing bait.
        The life cycles of these three type are alike. They spend some of their life in the Gulf of Mexico, estuaries, and the bays. The female can release up to 1,000,000 eggs. The eggs hatch within 24 hours. They develop through larval stages. When they reach the gulf passes and get to the bays they are transparent and are 1/4 inch in size.
        This drifting or migration into the bays are necessary for protection and growth as food for them are plentiful. There they become bottom dwellers and gain their color until becoming larger to make their way to deeper waters. When shrimp get 3 to 5 inches long, they move from the bays to the gulf. Most of them will spend the rest of their life there if they can manage to avoid being caught or eaten. Shrimp can live up to 2 years. As the crawfish, they must shed their shell in order to grow.
        Shrimping is one of the largest and the most valuable seafood industries. Trawls are used to catch shrimp but other methods are used also. Trawls are net in the form of a cone-like shape, usually pulled by boats. Before trawls, shrimpers used long seines close to the shore and they were pulled by man or horse. Another shrimping method is the cast net but they are generally used by individuals.