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Seafood Information

By daybreak
Published: February 4, 2007
Updated: August 24, 2008
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While casual seafood lovers tend to think of shrimp as a single food item, there are actually many types of shrimp sold today. Shrimp can be fresh or frozen, head-on or head-off, cooked or uncooked and plain or battered. Shrimp are harvested commercially from US waters and farm raised shrimp are produced in parts of the USA. In addition to American shrimp, US markets also offer shrimp imported from a multitude of countries.

Wild American shrimp from the Southern USA include white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus), brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), pink shrimp (Penaeus duorarum) and royal red shrimp (Pleoticus robustus or Hymenopenaeus robustus) and rock shrimp (Sicyonia brevirostris).

Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) are another American shrimp. A fishery in the Gulf of Maine exists with annual landings valued around $6,000,000 annually. Northern Shrimp are landed in States of Maine and New Hampshire.

The USA shrimp catch consists of about 55% being brown, 35% being white, and the rest made up of the other American species.

Shrimp are sized by "count", the value being the average number of shrimp specimens per pound. This applies to both whole and heads-off shrimp. For example, headless shrimp of 16/20 count means there are 16 to 20 headless shrimp per pound. Counts for headless shrimp typically range from 16/20 (the largest shrimp) to 60/70 (the smallest).

Uncooked shrimp can be frozen and stored for later use. To freeze shrimp, place 1 pound of shrimp in a 1-quart freezer bag. Add water and seal the bag, pushing out all the air as you seal. Place freezer bags flat on a freezer rack until they are completely frozen. A 1 pound package of shrimp will take about 18 hours to completely thaw.

Shrimp contain low levels of fat and calories and have no carbohydrates or trans fatty acids. Shrimp provide beneficial levels of vitamins B3, B6, B12, vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acids. They are also sources of tryptophan, selenium, protein and minerals including iron, phosphorus, zinc and copper.

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