The Fishery Conservation Zone (FCZ) off the coast of Texas has been closed to shrimping since 1981 (from mid-May to mid-July) to coincide with the closure of the Texas territorial sea. These areas were closed to increase the size of commercially harvested brown shrimp. The econometric analysis of brown shrimp supply-demand relationships for three shrimp sizes (small - more than 67 tails per pound~ medium - 31 to 67 tails per pound~ and large - less than 31 tails per pound) estimated the changes in ex-vessel prices asso- ciated with simulated changes in landings. The estimated 0.4 million pound increase in landings due to the FCZ closure resulted in an increase in revenue of

Technical Memorandum

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)