Shrimp: Warmwater

Rock, Red, Royal red, White, Pacific white, Vanna White, Atlantic white, Brown, Pink penaeid, Black tiget, Tiger prawn, Australian tiger prawn, Chinese white, Fleshy prawn

The warmwater or tropical shrimps (most valuable from the genus Peneus) supply about 80% of the world’s wild-caught shrimp. These shrimps are short-lived and very prolific, making them inherently invulnerable to fishing pressure. Wherever these shrimps occur, they are exploited at or near their maximum sustainable yield.
The international shrimp trade is largely based on these species, especially the Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus1 vannamei), the brown shrimp (P.1 aztecus), the Atlantic white shrimp (P.1 setiferus), the pink penaeid shrimp (P. duorarum), the black tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) and the Australian tiger prawns (P. esculentes and P. semisculatus). All of these are members of the infraorder Penaeidea, the prawns or “primitive shrimp”. Subject to capture fisheries wherever they occur, several popular penaeids, notably P. vannamei, are also being farm-raised.

The life history of penaeid shrimps makes them inherently resilient to fishing pressure. Penaeid shrimps are short lived and quick to mature. Young penaeids are sensitive to changes in water salinity and can be affected by runoff into to estuarine nursery habitat. However, overall concern regarding their vulnerability to fishing pressure ranks “low”.

Everywhere warmwater shrimp are found, they are heavily fished. While most species show no clear signs of overfishing, most are believed to be exploited at or near their maximum sustainable yield. The current status of the Penaid shrimp stock status is considered a “low” conservation concern.

Most tropical shrimps are captured by bottom trawling methods which take high levels of bycatch, including finfish, other commercially important fishes, and significant numbers of endangered and threatened sea turtles. While technological innovations such as the Turtle-Excluder Device (TED) have reduced bycatch in recent years, not all countries that operate shrimp fisheries require or enforce the use of TEDs. In addition, shrimp trawl fisheries take the world’s highest levels of non-endangered bycatch (finfishes, sharks, invertebrates, etc.). Because of the severe and continuing threat to endangered and threatened sea turtles from trawling gear, and the heavy bycatch of finfish and other creatures associated with tropical shrimp trawling, international shrimp trawl fisheries rank of “critical” conservation concern.

Bottom trawling for shrimp can have a severe impact on the marine habitat. If the area trawled is coral reef or other rocky substrate, the habitat can be damage beyond repair by bottom trawling. If, on the other hand, the habitat trawled is sandy or muddy bottom, the impact to the benthic habitat may be minimal. Since penaids occur over both of these habitat-types, the effects on habitats and ecosystems from bottom trawling are ranked as “moderate”.

The management and enforcement of shrimp fishery regulations and Turtle-Excluder Device (TED) requirements is the responsibility of each nation that operates a shrimp fishery; there is no international management agreement regarding shrimp. Many countries do not sufficiently enforce TED use. Due the lack of sufficient management in international fisheries, the effectiveness of the management regime is considered of “high” conservation concern.

Are these shrimp warmwater or coldwater shrimp?
Coldwater shrimp caught in Oregon are the “best choice”, other western states are of some concern, and warmwater shrimp should be avoided.

Contaminant levels do not warrant a consumption advisory.