The study was made to determine the species composition and relative abundance of shrimps in Manila Bay, Tayabas Bay, Lingayen Gulf, and Sorsogon Bay. The maximum sustainable yield and maximum effort to reach MSY were calculated using the catch and effort data from the Philippine Fisheries Statistics from 1957 to 1985 and fitting the Schaefer’s and Fox’s models. The biomass estimation was based on monthly data obtained from bottom trawl surveys conducted in the study areas for one year. An MSY of 9366 (Schaefer) and 7527 (Fox) tons were calculated requiring 989 and 810 trawlers fishing year round, respectively. The biomass estimates using the “swept area method” showed that densities of shrimps in Lingayen Gulf and Tayabas Bay were low among the four study areas, whereas Sorsogon Bay had highest density, followed by Manila Bay. The dominant species if shrimps found in Manila Bay, Metapenaeus ensis, was not fully exploited, having an E value of 0.436; Penaeus indicus, the second most dominant species in Manila Bay, was slightly exploited, with an E value of 0.55; Metapenaeus dalli in Sorsogon Bay is also slightly exploited with an E value of 0.525.