The Shrimping Page

Shrimping Nets

15 June 2006
The River Walks TV company with Charlie Dimmick filmed  on Lancing beach (at the Shoreham end near Widewater), referred to as Shoreham-by-Sea, featured shrimping with Peter Talbot-Elsden (British Marine Life Study Society).

Filming was in the early morning at low tide under overcast conditions. 

The documentary focuses on the River Adur and will be broadcast on 22 February 2007.

River Walks 

Series that sees Charlie Dimmock walk the waterways of Southern England. In the last of the series West Sussex is her destination. The country around the River Adur offers up its secrets, including the secret film-making tradition of Shoreham to Charlie. On her walk from the sea to the South Downs she visits the birthplace of Sussex aviation and tries her hand at shrimping.


Is it a Prawn or a Shrimp?

Alas, there is no absolutely correct answer. In common usage the names are interchangeable, and there are lots of prawn-like or shrimp-like animals to confuse the novice rockpooler. Marine biologists will use the scientific names.

However, the casual rockpooler wanting to put a name to what he finds can follow the terms used for British species only:

The Prawn is transparent with long legs and is found amongst the weed in rock pools on the shore. There are several different species. In the south and west the species in the pools are called by the scientific name of Palaemon.

The Shrimp is the sandy coloured crustacean that lives in the sandy shallows. It has short legs and buries itself in the sand. It is called by the scientific name of Crangon and is found all around the British coast.


12 May 2008
Even more perfect conditions, a bit cooler and no breeze and only the occasional rogue swell from a passing ship, my Brown Shrimp, Crangon crangon, haul at Southwick Beach was about two pints.Other captures in the shrimp nets were a few shrimp length Lesser Weever, Echiichthys vipera, a few small to full sized Solenettes (Slipper Soles), Buglossidium luteum, one large fully grown 5-Bearded Rockling, Ciliata mustela, (which looked very much like a 3-Bearded Rockling, Gaidropsarus vulgaris, until the beards were counted), one juvenile Dragonet, Callionymus lyra, a few Vernal Crabs, Liocarcinus vernalis, one damaged (missing a claw) Masked Crab, Corystes cassivelaunus, about a dozen Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas, with a few netted eating shrimps, a few very small swimming crabs Portumnus latipes, oneSouth-clawed Hermit Crab, Diogenes pugilator, in a Sting Winkle shell, and a colourful Little Cuttle Sepiola
BMLSS Crabs of the Seashore

11 May 2008

 
Lesser Weever John Wright and Peter Talbot-Elsden
Perfect shrimping conditions were encountered on the morning low tide at Southwick Beach (1.2 metres at 10:40 am) on a sunny hazy day with an air temperature of 22.1 °C and a gentle swell. The haul included plentiful Brown Shrimps, Crangon crangon, with all three shrimpers getting more than enough for a meal each in under an hour, one fully grown Lesser Weever, Echiichthys vipera, and a few small ones, a few small Solenettes (Slipper Soles), Buglossidium luteum, a few Vernal Crabs, Liocarcinus vernalis, one damaged (missing a claw) Masked Crab, Corystes cassivelaunus,and two green Shore Crabs, Carcinus maenas.

5 May 2008
On Bank Holiday Monday, it felt warm for the first time this year as the temperature reached 20.0 °C at midday. The wind was from the south-east at 13 mph (Force 2) on the low tide in the late afternoon
Shoreham Weather

My first shrimping expedition of the year at Lancing produced a moderate amount of Brown Shrimps, Crangon crangon, plus one Lesser Weever, Echiichthys vipera, one small Solenette (Slipper Sole), Buglossidium luteum, two Vernal Crabs, Liocarcinus vernalis, and South-clawed Hermit Crabs, Diogenes pugilator, amongst more weed than is usual at the beginning of May. The Force 2  produced an occasional wave with a breaking whitecap. The main problem (east of Lancing Sailing Club) was a patch of soft sand (almost certainly caused by bait digging). 
Sussex Marine Life

27 April 2008
Early morning shrimping was poor with just 20 Brown Shrimps, Crangon crangon.

Report by Peter Talbot-Elsden


8 June 2007
Whilst shrimping off Southwick, I caught two Thornback Rays, Raja clavata, in the large push-net. The largest of the rays was estimated at over 20 cm across the wings. 
Report by Peter Talbot-Elsden


4 June 2007
Shrimping at Southwick produced one Sole. Solea solea, six small Solenettes (Slipper Soles), two types of Hermit Crabs, and sandy coloured crabs as well.

Report by Peter Talbot-Elsden
BMLSS Hermit Crabs

24 May 2007
A shrimping expedition to Lancing Beach (just to the west of Lancing Sailing Club) on a low neap 1.9 metre tide revealed the sandy shallows and a clear sea on a calm day and the haul in 40 minutes or so using my small 60 cm push-net was about 100 Brown Shrimps Crangon crangon, small flatfish fry, one small Plaice, occasional small Solenettes (Slipper Soles) and one second year Sole. Solea solea, a handful of South-clawed Hermit Crabs, Diogenes pugilator, a few very small Common Hermit Crabs, Pagurus bernhardus  in Grey Topshells, one Vernal Crab, Liocarcinus vernalis, and a few of the swimming crabs Portumnus latipes.
BMLSS Crabs

16 March 2007
 
Vernal Crab with a Brown Shrimp

My first shrimping (using my 2 foot wide folding net) expedition of 2007 took me to a breezy (Force 4) Shoreham Beach (just west of Weald Dyke) and half an hour push-netting brought me about twenty Brown Shrimps, one Shore Prawn, a small Plaice and three Vernal Crabs, Liocarcinus vernalis.
BMLSS Crabs of the Seashore


16 June 2006
The shrimp haul at Southwick included a Little Cuttle and a 5-Bearded Rockling, Ciliata mustela.

Report by Peter Talbot-Elsden


31 May 2006
One day later, the junior shrimp net was repaired with a bolt and wing-nut and there were over a hundred Brown Shrimps off Lancing beach (east Widewater), a handful of South-clawed Hermit Crabs, Diogenes pugilator and a colourful Little Cuttle Sepiola, a small Solenette and flatfish fry.
Intertidal 2006
BMLSS Prawns & Shrimps

Brown Shrimp

30 May 2006
My junior (metre wide) shrimp net broke under the weight of loose mixed seaweed off Lancing beach (east Widewater) and there were just two Brown Shrimps  and a South-clawed Hermit Crab, Diogenes pugilator, in a Netted Dogwhelk shell.
 

5 March 2006

A shrimping expedition (push-net) to the sandy shallows of Southwick beach produced four small Sand-eels, Ammodytes tobianus, but these were so small that most of these elongate fish would have escaped through the netting. Small fish fry were caught in the net as well. 
Report by Peter Talbot-Elsden

 

Tim Hoy with a home made shrimp-net in Ireland 2004

2 May 2005
A Solenette, Buglossidium luteum, and a Plaice in the shrimp push-net off Southwick, but there were only ten Brown Shrimps on the low neaps. This is a very poor shrimping return for April or May. However, these two fish have not been knowing caught before whilst shrimping or rockpooling, so this was a successful outing.

The calm sea was deceptive, the rolling waves were being enjoyed by apprentice surfers

Loaded Shrimping Bikes at Southwick beach
Pashley and a Gundle
 
 

INTEREXTRADING 
FOR SHRIMP NETS AND OTHER FISHING EQUIPMENT



Shorewatch Project EMail Glaucus@hotmail.com 
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Shorewatch Project

 

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FIVE KINGDOMS TAXONOMIC INDEX TO BRITISH MARINE WILDLIFE
Use these links if your are familiar with the scientific classifications of marine life