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Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide
Shrimp
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Freshwater Prawn
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Giant River Prawn, Malaysian Prawn
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U.S.
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Farmed
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Northern Shrimp
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Salad Shrimp, Cocktail Shrimp, Ebi
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U.S., Canadian Atlantic
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Wild-caught
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Pink Shrimp
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Ocean Shrimp, Salad Shrimp, Cocktail Shrimp, Ebi
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Oregon
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Wild-caught
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Rock Shrimp
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Rock Shrimp
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U.S.
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Wild-caught
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Shrimp
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Pacific White Shrimp, West Coast White Shrimp, Ebi
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U.S.
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Closed systems, Inland ponds
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Shrimp
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Pacific White Shrimp, West Coast White Shrimp, Ebi
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U.S.
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Open systems
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Shrimp
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White Shrimp, Brown Shrimp, Pink Shrimp, Rock Shrimp, Ebi
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U.S. Gulf of Mexico, U.S. South Atlantic
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Wild-caught
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Shrimp
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Black Tiger Shrimp, Tiger Prawn, White Shrimp, Ebi
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Imported
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Farmed
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Shrimp
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Black Tiger Shrimp, Tiger Prawn, White Shrimp, Ebi
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Imported
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Wild-caught
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Spot Prawn
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Prawn, Spot Shrimp, Amaebi
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British Columbia
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Wild-caught
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Spot Prawn
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Prawn, Spot Shrimp, Amaebi
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U.S. Pacific
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Wild-caught
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Shrimp, U.S. Wild-caught
U.S. shrimp trawlers are required to use devices that allow sea turtles and other unwanted marine life to escape from their nets. Despite this, the discarded catch of small fishes remains quite high.
Consumer Note
The terms "shrimp" and "prawn" are often used interchangeably. Shrimp is known as ebi when prepared for sushi.
Summary
Shrimp is the world’s most valuable seafood and one of the top seafood choices of U.S. consumers. U.S. shrimp trawlers must adhere to stricter environmental standards than those in other countries and this makes U.S. wild-caught shrimp a "Good Alternative" and imported shrimp is on the "Avoid" list.
Most U.S. shrimp is caught in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. These shrimp species are short-lived and reproduce at high rates, and therefore they are somewhat resistant to intense fishing. These shrimp populations are healthy and abundant and the fisheries are well-managed.
Wild shrimp are usually caught in trawl nets. These nets catch everything in their path, including endangered sea turtles, juvenile fish and other marine life. This unintended catch, called bycatch, is thrown overboard, dead or dying.
U.S. shrimp trawlers are required by law to use bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) to limit the amount of unwanted catch, and must carry a turtle excluder device (TED) to release sea turtles. However, juvenile fishes, such as red snapper are frequently caught in U.S. warm-water shrimp trawls, as are crabs, seahorses, shellfish and other invertebrates.
Due to the remaining bycatch issues, we recommend U.S. wild-caught shrimp as a "Good Alternative", with the exception of Oregon pink shrimp and British Columbia spot prawn. These fisheries have lesser environmental impacts and are therefore "Best Choices." At this time we recommend avoiding all imported wild-caught shrimp due to higher bycatch levels in warm water shrimp fisheries and trawl-related habitat damage.
Scientific Reports About Our Ratings
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