The distribution of brown shrimp is widely known and found along the coast of the Western Atlantic, from Massachusetts to Texas, and from the east coast of Mexico; Tamaulipas to Campeche (Polonio et al., 2016).

The population structure of the species is not clear but there are indications that the Northern Gulf of Mexico and NW Atlantic distributions may constitute a single contiguous population (McMillen-Jackson & Bert, 2003) that are currently assessed and managed independently in the US region: NW Atlantic (Scott-Denton, 2012) and in Northern Gulf of Mexico (Hart, 2012). A distinct assessment unit is considered to exist in the SW Gulf of Mexico (SAGARPA 2012).

The Northern Brown Shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus) can be found in depths of 4 to 160 meters on preferred substrates of muddy, sandy and clay bottoms or among broken shells. Juveniles are often found in estuaries, whereas adults can be found offshore in high-salinity marine areas (Polonio et al., 2016).