A long read on future of shrimping in the US.
Super short summary: the industry is having a difficult time due to multiple factors.
I rarely eat Asian/S. American farmed prawns. When I do I have to check the label most voraciously. The ones you see in my photos are mostly North Sea brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) which are from around here, and the other one I also eat is pink shrimp (Pandalus borealis - what a cool name) from the cold waters of northern Atlantic.
My shrimp/prawn eating is pretty much as Presunto’s. The small brown shrimp (that the French call “grey”) - perfect on sandwich or as my region’s delicacy, potted shrimps. And we usually have a bag of cooked prawns in the freezer, for salads, etc. I’ve never looked at their origin before but checked the supermarket website just now and confirmed they are of North Atlantic origin (and prepared in Iceland).
Can you describe potted shrimp?
Shrimps topped with a seasoned butter, in a pot. Mace is the usual herb in the seasoning. The butter seals in the shrimps preserving them for a bit longer. Very much a speciality of Northwest England - for example, this supplier - http://www.baxterspottedshrimps.co.uk/
I make potted shrimp sometimes. Just made some again recently, but with rendered Iberico fat for a change. (Photos below are not taken recently, only used them to show you.)
The top layer is setting in this photo:
In the spring and autumn they are full of roe. The flavour is a lot more intense with the shell intact and the flesh is also darker with brown stripes. Peeled ones have lost all of that considerably. It’s a result of how they are processed. The shrimp are cooked and froze on the ship, sent to Morocco to be peeled and processed then shipped back all the way to the North where they are caught.
Slurp all the roe, peel, save the shells for a fantastic stock. These shrimps have an intense flavour which comes from high iodine and mineral contents.
Makes a nice, if light, pasta sauce. Needs a good squeeze of lemon.
A few years ago we were visiting friends in Alabama who lived 10 miles from the coast. They could buy fresh local shrimp. We had some. They were wonderful.
In the UK, no-one lives more than 75 miles from the coast - yes, it really is a small island off the coast of Europe. It always surprises me that we don’t make more of the food almost on our doorstep.
I live near one of the larger shrimp ports on the Florida Gulf Coast. I never ever buy imported shrimp…when I have time I go and buy them right off the boat.
So far the fleet here seems to be staying the course.
I’m one of the strange folks who’s only meh on shrimp, but I do like using it in dumpling or wonton filling mixtures. Creates a lighter filling that I much prefer over leaden, super-meaty fillings.
I have Mexcian Blue Shrimp in my fridge now but haven’t tried it - supposedly sustainably harvested.
The best shrimp I’ve had outside of a restaurant is probably gulf shrimp that I bought from a seafood retailer (can’t even remember the brand). While not huge, these shrimp were firm and sweet. Most other kinds I’ve had are quite bland and lack any shrimp-taste; I’ve thankfully never encountered texture issues.
