Palaemon serratus	Crangon crangon
Palaemon elegans	Palaemon serratus

PRAWNS AND SHRIMPS
 

A long-handled prawn or pond net dipped into a rock pool at mid-tide level or below, or edged around the weedy surrounds of a pool, is likely to catch a jumping mass of prawns of different sizes. Crabs will grapple with both the inside and the outside of the net, and on many of the British shores small fish like young wrasse will almost certainly be caught, but they are likely to be far outnumbered by prawns.

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.

Crustaceans

Both prawns and shrimps are crustaceans related to lobster and crabs. This means that in order to grow they have to shed their old transparent shell in a process called 'moulting'. They feed on small animals, seaweeds and scraps of carrion.

Palaemon elegans (sexing notes)

Palaemon (photographs)

Palaemon notes

Crangon references
Crangon notes

Palaemon adspersus
Specimen photographed at Tjärnö Aquarium by Mike Noren
 

 

Discarded exoskeleton of a prawn

Galathea squamifera	Galathea intermedia
Shrimping on Southwick beach, Sussex	Unidentified prawn from off west Scotland

19 June 2003

SHRIMPING FOR FOOD AND FUN

Local shrimper Peter Talbot-Elsden, from Southwick (Sussex), has produced a small booklet called “Shrimping for Food and Fun” about catching the brown shrimp around the coasts of Britain. The shrimps are caught in nets and the book features the various methods, firstly the push-netting seen over the sand in shallow water in spring off the Sussex coast. The famous Morecambe Bay shrimps were originally captured by cart shanker shrimping with a horse and cart in deeper water off the Lancashire coast, later replaced by a tractor. At Formby, they experimented with amphibious vehicles after World War II. Nowadays, most commercial shrimping on the east coast around King’s Lynn trawls from small boats using a net off the stern. Shrimps are often cooked on board.

The 28 page book contains 40 photographs of shrimping through the ages. It is available through Bookworms of Shoreham and other booksellers and museums at £3.50.
The booklet is also available through the British Marine Life Study Society, but at £4 including postage and packing.

Peter Talbot-Elsden manned the shrimp display at Adur World Oceans Day.

BMLSS Portfolio Pages
 

Fish I	Crabs	Sea Anemones
Crustacea II: Prawns & Shrimps	Fish II	SEASHORE Slide Show