Results of long-term, seasonal sampling for Penaeus postlarvae at Breach Inlet, South Carolina

Recruitment of postlarvae of commercially important penaeid shrimp has been studied in several areas in the southeastern United States, e.g. on the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Findings from these studies indicate that postlarvae are generally concentrated near oceanic inlets, different species are abundant at different times of the year, ingress through inlets into estuarine nursery areas is often influenced by factors such as tide and time of day, and correlations between number of postlarvae and subsequent commercial landings is often poor. In South Carolina most published studies have examined postlarval recruitment over a one- to two-year period. Long-term sampling was conducted by Lunz at several coastal sites in South Carolina in an effort to predict subsequent commercial harvest. As an extension of this work, long-term, seasonal sampling was conducted at a single site near Charleston, South Carolina, to determine relative abundance and timing of recruitment of Penaeus postlarvae. This study is part of a continuing effort to relate postlarval abundance to subsequent landings and to evaluate spawning success of parental stocks.