George Wexler, age 14, of Rock Island, I11., or his question:
HOW DO FISHERMEN CATCH SHRIMP?
Fishermen use pouch shaped nets called tr is to catch shrimp. They drag the trawls over the sea bottom. Th catch is frozen or canned as quickly as possible on the boat or ashor .
The United States leads the world in s rimp production. Louisiana, Texas and Florida rank as the leading shr mp producing states, in that order.
Shrimp make up the most valuable c ch of United States fishermen.
Fishermen from India, Japan, Thai nd, Korea, Mexico and many other countries also catch large amo is of shrimp. More than half of the world's catch comes from Asi .
Some Japanese raise shrimp in large tanks and ponds, so the fishermen there don't have too much of an effort in bringing in a catch. Florida has a number of such shrimp "farms" but they have not become profitable as yet, according to reports.
The most common kinds of United States food shrimp, peneid shrimp, hatch from eggs laid in the ocean 100 miles offshore. A newly hatched peneid shrimp looks like a t ny pear with legs. It changes shape about 15 times until, after two t four weeks, it looks like an adult shrimp.
Young peneid shrimp mo a toward shore as they develop, but about 80 percent or more may be eaten by sea animals along the way. The survivors settle in bays and river mouths.
After about five to seven months near the shore, the adult shrimp start a two month trip back to deeper water. They breed in deep water, and each female lays 100,000 to 1 million eggs. Most of the adults die soon after these are laid.
Small shrimp eat plankton, which is made up of small drifting plants and animals. Large shrimp feed on material on the sea floor.
Shrimp, in turn, serve as an important food for fish and other water animals.
Water pollution has reduced the number of shrimp living near some East Coast areas.
One type o shrimp, called the pandalids, all start life as males. At about two y ars of age, they all change to females.
Shrimp mo t or shed their shells many times during their lives. A new and la ger shell hardens after each molt. If any appendages have been to t, new ones develop during the course of several molts.
Shrimp re related to crabs and lobsters. Some live in fresh water while other live only in salt water. You'll find them in nearly all parts of the world.
The s llest kinds of shrimp measure less than one inch long. Some gianf fresh water species grow to be more than one foot long. Large shrimp are sometimes called prawns.
Most, shrimp have 19 pairs of joined legs, feelers and other _appendages.
Some shrimp have claws on their two front pairs of walks and they use the claws to fight.