UC San Diego Library – Scripps Digital Collection

The following paper presents a study of the life histories of the two species of shrimp, Crago franciscorum (Stimpson) and Crago nigricauda (Stimpson), which make up the commercial shrimp catch of San Francisco Bay. The earliest shrimp fishing in San Francisco Bay was done about 1869 by Italian fishermen. The shrimp were taken in seines, 60 feet long by 8 feet deep, with a bag in the center. With this gear they took ample shrimp to supply the demand as well as some fish for the fresh fish market. In 1871 the Chinese began using the Chinese shrimp net which greatly increased the catch. By 1897 there were twenty-six camps operating on San Francisco Bay. For a time shrimp fishing was carried on also in Tomales Bay but was abandoned a few years prior to 1897. After the Chinese began shrimp fishing, the local market could absorb only a small part of the catch, as the consumption of fresh shrimp was always limited. A profitable export trade, however, was built up on the dried product which was shipped to the Orient. Agitation against the use of the Chinese shrimp nets soon developed, the contention being that many young fish were destroyed by them, particularly small striped bass in San Pablo Bay. In 1897 and again in 1910, N. B. Scofield investigated the Chinese shrimp fishery for the California Fish and Game Commission. In 1901, as a result of his findings, the Legislature established a closed season to shrimp fishing during the months of May, June, July and August. The Chinese hired attorneys to contest the laws restricting their operations, but in 1911 the use of the Chinese nets was prohibited entirely. In 1915 the Legislature passed a law allowing the use of the Chinese shrimp nets in south San Francisco Bay (District 13). About this time trawl fishing for shrimp started in the northern end of the bay. The trawl fishermen restrict their operations to north San Francisco Bay (District 12) so that catches from Districts 12 and 13 represent respectively the catch made with trawls and that made with the Chinese nets.