Oh-we love 'em. Shrimp. Sautéed, fried, in a salad. Other than that, what do we know about them? I really didn't know much until I did some research for this article. Here's what I found out. About one half of the shrimp we eat comes from shrimp "farms" in Asia and South America. The other half comes from shrimp caught by fishermen in the southeastern United States and the Gulf of Mexico, or from Latin America or the countries along the Caribbean. There are many types of shrimp, some say there are thousands. Of those types, there are four basic categories: warm water or tropical, cold water, fresh water, and sand. The types of shrimp we'll talk about here are the white shrimp, brown shrimp, and pink shrimp. Those are the three types that end up on your dinner plate. Here are the differences:
White shrimp are pale with bright yellow or green along the edges of the tail. There is no groove along the head or rostrum. Brown shrimp have a brownish tint with red, dark green, or light blue on the tail, and a groove along the head and rostrum. Pink shrimp have an azure tint on the tail and a dark red spot on the side of the abdomen. They have grooves along the head and rostrum and the last part of the tail, but the grooves aren't as deep as the brown shrimp. While we're at it, what is the difference between a prawn and a shrimp? Prawns have their second abdominal flap overlapping the first and third flaps. That's about it. People will say that prawns and shrimp are the same, but now you know the truth! Exciting, huh?
Now, for more excitement: the life of a shrimp. Let's begin with mating. There are some differences among the white, pink, and brown shrimp, but here are the basics: for brown and pink shrimp, the male transfers a sperm packet, called a spermatophore, to the female. The female keeps these between two "plates" and holds them until she is ready to spawn. That could happen in a few days. For white shrimp, the male and female mate before molting. In this case, the male will glue the spermatophore to the underside of the female and she will spawn then.
The fertilized eggs fall to the bottom and go through different stages of development. The first is nauplius, where the shrimp are limited in their swimming ability. Next, they become protozoea, developing mouth parts and an abdomen. Stage three is mysis, and the shrimp are called mysid shrimp. These 1/8 inch shrimp are plankton, drifting in the ocean. They now have legs and antennae. In the postlarval stage, walking and swimming legs are developed and they look like miniature shrimp. At this stage, they are about ½ inch long. Now it's teen time for the shrimp-their juvenile stage. The shrimp will grow about 2 and a half inches a month. The next stage is the sub-adult. There is slower growth, and they are not yet sexually mature. The last stage is adult, then the cycle starts again. The average adult shrimp is 5 to 8 inches long. Most shrimp die before they are 8 or 9 months old. A ten inch white shrimp was caught off Seabrook Island in July 1979. That shrimp was thought to have been 14 months old.
Go To Page: 1 2
