Whiteleg shrimp
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei, synonym Penaeus vannamei), also known as Pacific white shrimp or King prawn, is a species of prawn of the eastern Pacific Ocean commonly caught or farmed for food.
DescriptionEdit
Litopenaeus vannamei grows to a maximum length of Template:Convert, with a carapace length of Template:Convert.<ref name="FAO"/> Adults live in the ocean, at depths to Template:Convert, while juveniles live in estuaries.<ref name="FAO"/> The rostrum is moderately long, with 7–10 teeth on the dorsal side and two to four teeth on the ventral side.<ref name="FAO"/>
Distribution and habitatEdit
Whiteleg shrimp are native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, from the Mexican state of Sonora to as far south as northern Peru.<ref name="FAO">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is restricted to areas where the water temperatures remain above Template:Convert throughout the year.<ref name="CASIP"/>
Fishery and aquacultureEdit
Template:Refimprove-section During the 20th century, L. vannamei was an important species for Mexican inshore fishermen, as well as for trawlers further offshore.<ref name="FAO"/> In the late 20th century, the wild fishery was overtaken by the development of aquaculture production; this began in 1973 in Florida using prawns captured in Panama, that were used in hatcheries for larvae production.<ref name="CASIP">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Latin America, the culture of L. vannamei started to develop with the availability of hatchery larvae, the development of feeds, the technification of the growth processes, the freezing installations and market channels, among others.Template:Citation needed
From Mexico to Peru, most countries developed large production areas in the 70s and 80s. Ecuador became one of the world leaders producers of this type of shrimp.Template:Citation needed
Around the beginning of the millennium, Asia introduced this species in their aquaculture operations (changing from Penaeus monodon). China, Vietnam, India and others have become major packers as well.Template:Citation needed
The packing of shrimp from aquaculture origin has surpassed the quantity of ocean caught wild shrimp in recent years. Both origins, ocean caught and aquaculture, are subject to weather changes and diseases.Template:Citation needed
By 2004, global production of L. vannamei approached 1,116,000 t, and exceeded that of Penaeus monodon.<ref name="CASIP"/>
Litopenaeus vannamei have been cultivated indoors through a recirculating aquaculture systems at TransparentSea Farm, a startup in Downey, California.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Weather effectEdit
Normally, there are peaks of production during the warm El Niño years, and reduced production during the cooler La Niña years. The effect is on ocean caught as well as on aquaculture origin.Template:Citation needed
DiseasesEdit
There are several known diseases.<ref name="CASIP"/> Production of L. vannamei is limited by its susceptibility to white spot syndrome, Taura syndrome, infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis, baculoviral midgut gland necrosis, and Vibrio infections.<ref name="CASIP"/>
Impact on natureEdit
In 2010, Greenpeace International added the whiteleg shrimp to its seafood red list. This lists fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries.<ref name="redlist">Greenpeace International Seafood Red list</ref> The reasons given by Greenpeace were "destruction of vast areas of mangroves in several countries, overfishing of juvenile shrimp from the wild to supply shrimp farms, and significant human rights abuses".<ref name=redlist/> In 2016, L. vannamei accounted for 53% of the total production of farmed crustaceans globally.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
See alsoEdit
- Macrobrachium rosenbergii, the giant freshwater prawns
- Pandalus borealis, Canadian northern prawns
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Edible crustaceans Template:Taxonbar Template:Authority control Template:Portal bar