Mangroves are of great importance for many animal species. In these habitats, we find a large amount of decapod crustaceans, of which the most important are crabs and shrimp, which use these habitats for their development. The shrimps of the Penaeidae family are the most important to man because they provide high economic yields through artisanal and industrial fishing. Bimonthly samples were obtained from June 1996 to February 1997, using a shrimp net dragged by two boats parallel to each other in the river channel and the open sea, and a puçá dragged by two people at the edges of beaches and boreholes. Sampling lasted approximately 10 to 15 minutes. The shrimp were separated from other organisms, then sorted by species, counted, and weighed. Individuals of the Penaeidae family were measured and weighed individually, for population structure studies. A total of 2308 individuals were caught, distributed in seven families (Penaeidae, Solenoceridae, Sycionidae, Sergestidae, Palaemonidae, Hyppolitidae and Ogyrididae) and eleven species (Penaeus subtilis, P. schmitti, Xiphopenaeus kroyeri, Sycionia dorsalis, Exhyppolismata oplophoroides, Ogyrides alphaerostris, Macrobrachium surinamicum, M. jelskii, M. sp, Acetes sp and Solenocera sp). The sex ratio for the two species was approximately 1:1 during the months and in total. In October, the highest abundances of P. subtilis (1350) and X. kroyeri (892) occurred, when we also found the highest number of adult and juvenile individuals. October can be considered the month of recruitment for both species.
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