Responsible Sourcing Guide: Cultivated warm water

Warm water prawns, as their name suggests, are located in tropical marine areas. Total world production of penaeid (family Penaeidae) shrimps and prawns averaged 4.78 million tonnes per annum for the years 2008-10 (1). Of these 3.57 million tonnes or 75 % were produced by aquaculture, pre-dominantly from inland (brackish water) locations (87 %). In contrast, 98.4 % of wild caught penaeids were from marine areas. Two species dominate aquaculture, the white leg prawn (Litopenaeus vannamei formerly Penaeus vannamei) and the giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) with 70 % and 21 % of world annual production (average 2008-10) respectively. The remaining 9 % of aquaculture production is made up of a further six minor species (Table 1). On the UK market the legal distinction between penaeid prawns and shrimps is based on weight; the fish labelling regulations (2) should be consulted for details. Scientific names have changed recently (see Table 1). In 2007, AC Nielsen valued the UK retail market for warm water prawns at £183m, with a year on year growth rate of Table 1. Scientific names penaeid prawns/average production pa. Previous scientific name (3) Current scientific nam