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Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide

Shrimp, Pink

©B. Guild Gillespie/www.chartingnature.com
SEAFOODRATINGMARKET NAMESWHERE CAUGHTHOW CAUGHT
Freshwater Prawn Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Giant River Prawn, Malaysian Prawn U.S. Farmed
Northern Shrimp Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Salad Shrimp, Cocktail Shrimp, Ebi U.S., Canadian Atlantic Wild-caught
Pink Shrimp Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Ocean Shrimp, Salad Shrimp, Cocktail Shrimp, Ebi Oregon Wild-caught
Rock Shrimp Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Rock Shrimp U.S. Wild-caught
Shrimp Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Pacific White Shrimp, West Coast White Shrimp, Ebi U.S. Closed systems, Inland ponds
Shrimp Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Pacific White Shrimp, West Coast White Shrimp, Ebi U.S. Open systems
Shrimp Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. White Shrimp, Brown Shrimp, Pink Shrimp, Rock Shrimp, Ebi U.S. Gulf of Mexico, U.S. South Atlantic Wild-caught
Shrimp Avoid: Avoid these products for now. These fish come from sources that are overfished or fished or farmed in ways that harm the environment. Black Tiger Shrimp, Tiger Prawn, White Shrimp, Ebi Imported Farmed
Shrimp Avoid: Avoid these products for now. These fish come from sources that are overfished or fished or farmed in ways that harm the environment. Black Tiger Shrimp, Tiger Prawn, White Shrimp, Ebi Imported Wild-caught
Spot Prawn Best Choice: These fish are abundant, well managed and fished or farmed in environmentally friendly ways. Prawn, Spot Shrimp, Amaebi British Columbia Wild-caught
Spot Prawn Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Prawn, Spot Shrimp, Amaebi U.S. Pacific Wild-caught


Pink Shrimp

When buying small shrimp for salad or shrimp cocktail, pink shrimp from Oregon is considered a best choice and is certified as sustainable to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Consumer Note

Pink shrimp is typically sold as salad, cocktail or sandwich shrimp. Shrimp is known as ebi when prepared for sushi.

Summary

Shrimp may be divided into three categories based upon their habitat: coldwater or northern; warmwater, tropical or southern; and freshwater. Pink and northern shrimp are small coldwater shrimp species.

All shrimp are short lived, fast growers that produce many young, and so are resistant to being overfished. Smaller species of coldwater shrimp, in particular pink and northern shrimp, are typically caught by trawl.

Bycatch
reduction devices have brought trawl bycatch down to very low levels in coldwater shrimp fisheries, and catch of endangered species, such as sea turtles, is rare.

Pink shrimp is also caught off Washington, where little assessment of population size or management is carried out, instead reliance is made on the larger Oregon fishery for that information. We recommend choosing Oregon pink shrimp over Washington pink shrimp when possible.

Bottom trawls may cause damage to the seafloor. However, the trawl configuration used in the Oregon pink shrimp fishery is deemed less damaging than other bottom trawl gears used in coldwater shrimp fisheries, including the northern shrimp fishery off Atlantic Canada. Pink shrimp from Oregon is therefore a best choice.


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How fish are caught or farmed makes a difference. Fishing boat

 
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