Theshrimp fishery is a major global industry, with more than 3.4 million tons caught per year, chiefly in Asia. Rates ofbycatch are unusually high for shrimp fishing, with the capture ofsea turtles being especially contentious.

Ashrimper is a fishing vessel rigged for shrimp fishing.

The termshrimp, as used by theFood and Agriculture Organization (FAO), covers allshrimp (Caridea) andprawns (Dendrobranchiata, comprisingPenaeoidea andSergestoidea) – a group formerly known as "Natantia".^[1] This nomenclature often differs from local use, in which the same species may be known by different names, or where different species may be known by the same name.^[2]

Small-scale local fishery for shrimp and prawns has existed for centuries and continues to form a large proportion of the world's shrimp fisheries.^[3] Trawling increased in scale with the introduction ofotter boards, which use the flow of water to hold the trawling net open, and the introduction of steam-powered vessels, replacing the earlier sail-powered boats.^[3] Both of these developments took off in the 1880s, and were soon applied to shrimp fisheries, especially following the research effort of the Norwegian marine biologistJohan Hjort.^[3] Over time, the original openskiffs, 5–8 metres (16–26 ft) long, were replaced by decked boats, to whichdiesel engines were added, allowing the boats to reach an average of 18 m (59 ft).^[4]

In the United States, shrimp and prawn fisheries are second only tocrab fishing in terms of importance. In the northern parts of the country, cold-water shrimp are targeted, while warm-water species are targeted along the south-eastern Atlantic coast, and in theGulf of Mexico.^[5] Most of the production is of warm-water species, but this is dwarfed by the imports of shrimp, mostly fromaquaculture.^[5] This has led to international controversies, with some United States fishermen accusing countries such asBrazil,China,Ecuador,India,Thailand andVietnam ofdumping shrimp on the US market, while some of the producing nations protested to theWorld Trade Organization about duties levied by the US in response to the inferred dumping.^[6]

Shrimp fisheries produce unusually high levels ofbycatch. Before the introduction ofbycatch reduction devices in the 1980s, shrimp fishery had a bycatch ratio (ratio of the amount of non-target species caught to the amount of the target species caught) of 4.5–5.3:1.^[7] Since BRDs were introduced, the bycatch ratios may have been reduced by as much as 30%.^[7] Shrimp fisheries tend to "capture moresea turtles than any other commercial fishery".^[8]

Shrimps are from all different types of bodies of water in the world. Fewer than 300 species ofshrimp andprawns are of commercial importance, out of a total of 3000 species. The catch is dominated by six "species items",^{[Note 1]} which collectively account for 82% of the global catch.^[10] These are given in the table below:

Shrimp and prawn fisheries can be divided into cold-water, warm-water and paste shrimp fisheries, broadly corresponding to the three taxonomic categoriesPenaeoidea,Caridea andSergestoidea, respectively.^[2]

Although the various species of the genusAcetes are not always distinguished by fishermen, collectively they form the world's largest shrimp fishery.^{[11][Note 3]} There are fisheries forAcetes inKorea,Japan andSoutheast Asia, but the vast majority of the catch is inChina.^[11] The total catch is likely to be grossly under-recorded, but was estimated at 664,716 t in 2005.^[11] Within theAsia–Pacific region, theAcetes fishery is the fourth largest fishery by weight, afterhairtails,anchovies andscads.^[11]

Warm-water shrimp and prawn fisheries usually target several species,^[12] and are typically monitored in terms of thecatch per unit effort (CPUE), rather than the complex models used for cold-water shrimp.^[13] Warm-water species (mainlyLitopenaeus setiferus,Farfantepenaeus aztecus, andFarfantepenaeus duorarum) provide more than 85% of the shrimp fishery in the United States, and are caught in theGulf of Mexico and adjacent parts of the Atlantic Ocean.^[14] Bycatch is a serious problem for warm-water shrimp fisheries, with inadvertent catches ofsea turtles being among the most contentious issues.^[15]

The most important cold-water species is the "northern prawn",Pandalus borealis,^[11] which accounts for 12% of the total shrimp and prawn catch.^[16] Up to 70% of the catch is landed inCanada andGreenland.^[11] The price of cold-water shrimp has been in decline since the 1990s, as a result of increasedshrimp farming.^[17]

Bycatch is typically managed in cold-water shrimp trawling, and rates of bycatch are accordingly low,^[7] and the capture of sea turtles is rare in cold temperate waters.^[18] Bycatch is mostly reduced by the use of Nordmøre grids,^[19] which reduce the numbers ofcod,haddock,Greenland halibut andredfish caught during shrimp trawls.^[20] TheNordmøre grid was invented by the Norwegian fisherman Paul Brattøy, primarily as a means of excludingjellyfish from shrimp catches, and introduced in 1989.^[19] This innovation causes a minimal reduction in the quantity of shrimp caught, but can reduce the amounts of bycatch by around 97%.^[19]

Fisheries for cold-water shrimp using pots, the bycatch is mostly of invertebrates, includingsquat lobsters,crabs,molluscs andechinoderms.^[21]

Shrimp fishing on horseback inOostduinkerke, Belgium, is a unique local method. This traditional practice has been passed down through generations of fishermen in this coastal town. It's a truly remarkable sight to see these sturdyBrabant horses wading into the shallow waters, pulling heavy nets behind them as the fishermen guide them.

This unique method has even been recognized byUNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, highlighting its cultural significance.

• List of harvested aquatic animals by weight

• "Shrimp Fisheries and Aquaculture Factsheet". Waitt Institute. Retrieved2015-06-08.

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