Background:

The Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano (PNSAV) is in the southern Gulf of Mexico and supports an important shrimp fishery based on three species of Dendrobranchiata: the brown shrimp, Penaeus aztecus, the white shrimp, P. setiferus and the pink shrimp, P. duorarum.

Objective:

Analyze the distribution and abundance of P. aztecus during the mysis stage and determine its relationship with environmental factors in the PNSAV.

Methods:

We measured temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen in situ. The planktonic samples from four transects were collected during cold fronts and rainy weather conditions from 2011 to 2013.

Results:

In rainy conditions the temperature varied from 27.49 ± 0.46 to 29.98 ± 0.02°C, salinity from 32.18 ± 0.06 to 35.40 ± 0.52, and dissolved oxygen from 3.64 ± 0.13 to 6.18 ± 0.64 mgL-1; during cold fronts the temperature varied from 23.21 ± 0.05 to 25.74 ± 0.37 °C, salinity from 34.59 ± 0.39 to 35.84 ± 0.17, and dissolved oxygen from 4.04 ± 0.06 to 6.02 ± mgL-1. The highest average density with 6,938 ± 326 mysis 100 m−3, was found during rainy season in 2011 in the southern transect nearshore, followed by 3,321 ± 339 mysis 100 m−3 in the offshoresouth-central transect during cold fronts weather conditions in 2013, and 3,056 ± 236 mysis 100 m−3 in the south-central foreshore transect during cold fronts weather condition in 2011.

Conclusions:

The highest density of P. aztecus during mysis stage was recorded in southward foreshore area from PNSAV, during rainy conditions and related to large values of dissolved oxygen concentrations.