The objectives of present study were (i) to identify catch composition, (ii) to determine the CPUE, and (iii) to determine the percentage of penaeid shrimps in the total economic catch. Surveys were conducted between March 2002 and February 2003 in ?skenderun Bay (NE Mediterranean Sea). The sampling area was divided into two strata by depth and then the stratified random sampling technique was applied to collect data. During the study, Penaeus semisulcatus (de-Hann, 1844), Marsupenaeus (Penaeus) japonicus (Bate, 1888), Merlicertus (Penaeus) kerathurus (Forskal, 1775), Metapenaeus stebbingi (Nobii, 1904), and Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricus, 1798) were observed in the catch composition. Among these species, M. stebbingi had the highest average catch rate (76.9%) among all total shrimp. A similar trend was observed in the total economic catch (5.1%). The mean catch per unit effort (CPUE ± SD) of the M. stebbingi (73.43±76.9 kg/km2) was significantly higher than those of the other species. M. stebbingi was caught in both strata, while CPUE was the same in both stratum I and stratum II. However, the variability in stratum I was higher than in stratum II. Hyperstability or density-dependent catchability was not observed in either of the strata for any of the species (P > 0.05).

The objectives of present study were (i) to identify catch composition, (ii) to determine the CPUE, and (iii) to determine the percentage of penaeid shrimps in the total economic catch. Surveys were conducted between March 2002 and February 2003 in ?skenderun Bay (NE Mediterranean Sea). The sampling area was divided into two strata by depth and then the stratified random sampling technique was applied to collect data. During the study, Penaeus semisulcatus (de-Hann, 1844), Marsupenaeus (Penaeus) japonicus (Bate, 1888), Merlicertus (Penaeus) kerathurus (Forskal, 1775), Metapenaeus stebbingi (Nobii, 1904), and Metapenaeus monoceros (Fabricus, 1798) were observed in the catch composition. Among these species, M. stebbingi had the highest average catch rate (76.9%) among all total shrimp. A similar trend was observed in the total economic catch (5.1%). The mean catch per unit effort (CPUE ± SD) of the M. stebbingi (73.43±76.9 kg/km2) was significantly higher than those of the other species. M. stebbingi was caught in both strata, while CPUE was the same in both stratum I and stratum II. However, the variability in stratum I was higher than in stratum II. Hyperstability or density-dependent catchability was not observed in either of the strata for any of the species (P > 0.05).