The white shrimp Litopenaeus schimitti is the main way of living for artisanal fishermen who use the gerival for their capture in one of the main estuaries off south Brazil: Babitonga Bay. The abundance of the species is regulated by closed fishing seasons to protect spawning and recruitment, which may not in accordance with species’ life cycle. The present study evaluated the size structure, maturation, and abundance of white shrimp, to verify the effectiveness of these measures for the region. The highest abundances of the L. schmitti occurred between February and May, both in the inner bay and the adjacent marine area. Spawning occurred in the marine environment around 15 m depth, mainly in October and November, with the subsequent entry of post-larvae into the estuary around December, being available for artisanal fishing in January in the inner bay area. In February and March, juveniles migrated to the adjacent marine area, defining the main recruitment peak. Some lagging shrimp remained within the bay until September and October, with a complete disappearance in December. The first size of maturation for the white shrimp females was estimated at 15.16 cm. The results hereby obtained showed that the current closed season partially protects white shrimp spawning and recruitment in Babitonga Bay and the adjacent marine area suggesting that fishing restrictions during the months of February and March may benefit juvenile specimen’s migration from the estuary, however, the protection of the spawning females in October/November could also be taken into account as a way of maintaining stocks of white shrimp in the region.

白虾Litopenaeus schimitti是手工渔民的主要生活方式，他们在巴西南部的主要河口之一巴比通加湾使用白虾进行捕捞。该物种的丰度受到封闭捕捞季节的调节，以保护产卵和补充，这可能与物种的生命周期不符。本研究评估了白虾的大小结构、成熟度和丰度，以验证这些措施对该地区的有效性。L. schmitti的最高丰度发生在 2 月和 5 月之间，发生在内湾和邻近海域。产卵发生在约 15 m 深的海洋环境中，主要在 10 月和 11 月，随后后期幼体在 12 月左右进入河口，1 月可在内湾区进行手工捕捞。2 月和 3 月，幼鱼迁徙到邻近海域，确定了主要的补充高峰。9 月和 10 月，一些落后的虾一直留在海湾内，12 月完全消失。雌性白虾的第一个成熟尺寸估计为 15.16 厘米。