Joe Sebastian, age 9, of Tacoma, Wash., for his question:,
HOW ARE SHRIMP CAUGHT?
Pouch shaped nets called trawls are.used by fishermen to catch shrimp. The trawl is dragged over the sea bottom.
A shrimp catch is frozen or canned on the boat or ashore as quickly as possible after the catch is made.
Leading the world in shrimp production is the United States. Lousiana, Texas and Florida rate as the leading shrimp producing states. Other leading shrimp producing countries include India, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Mexico.
Shrimp live in fresh and salt water in almost all parts of the world. Some types live near the shore, where they hide in the mud by day and feed at night, while others swim in groups in deep, cold water.
A shrimp has two main parts to his body: the cephalothorax, which is his head and chest, and his abdomen. The slender shellfish can bend because his shell is jointed in the abdomen.
Most shrimp have 19 pairs of jointed legs, feelers and other appendages. Two pairs on the cephalothorax serve as feelers which taste the water to locate food. Another pair of the appendages serve as jaws while five pairs handle the food and five pairs are used for walking.
Shrimp make up the most valuable catch of the United States fishermen. This shellfish, which is related to the crab and the lobster, is a very popular food.
Small shrimp eat plankton, which is made up of drifting plants and animals. Larger shrimp feed on material they find on the ocean floor.
A shrimp will molt, or shed his shell, many times during his lifetime. A new and larger shell hardens after each molt. If any appendages have been lost, new ones develop during the course of several molts.
Some shrimp live only a year but other types live to be five years old or older.
Some species of shrimp lay their eggs and swim away while others carry their eggs in their swimmerets until they hatch.
The most common type of shrimp used for food in the United States is the peneid shrimp. This shrimp comes from an egg laid in the ocean up to 100 miles offshore.
A newly hatched peneid shrimp looks like a tiny pear with legs. It changes shape about 15 times until, after two or four weeks, it looks like adult shrimp.
Young peneid shrimp move toward shore as they develop. But since a female will lay between 500,000 and 1 million eggs, it isn't surprising to hear that more than 80 percent of the young are eaten by sea animals along the way. The survivors live in bays and river mouths for five to seven months before they start back for deeper water to breed.