Recruitment patterns of the pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum in the southern Gulf of Mexico

Analysis of monthly recruitment of pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum (Burkenroad, 1939), to the Campeche Sound in the southern Gulf of Mexico from 1969 to 1994 shows high recruitment from July to November and lower recruitment from December to June. Recruitment has declined since the late 1970s, plummeting since the mid-1980s and reaching particularly low values from 1991 to 1994. From 1970 to 1985, the recruitment pattern showed lower than average values from October to February and higher than average values during April to September. From 1986 to 1994, the opposite pattern was the norm. The results suggest that long-term environmental change is related to seasonal changes in the recruitment pattern of juveniles and to a long-term decline in recruitment and catch.