its own nerve cluster, so it’s hard to know
whether or how pain can be minimized. The
most sensible-sounding advice comes from
marine biologists: anaesthetize the animal in
iced salt water for 30 minutes just before
cutting up or boiling.
Shrimps and Prawns Shrimp and prawns are
the most commonly available shellfish in the
world. Their predominance stems from their
delicious flavor, conveniently small size,
rapid reproduction in the wild and in
aquaculture, and the tolerance of their flesh to
freezing. The two terms are often used for the
very same animals; in the United States,
“prawn” usually means a larger variety of
shrimp. There are some 300 species of shrimp
and close relatives exploited for food around
the world, but the most common belong to one
semitropical and tropical genus, Penaeus.
Species of Penaeus can mature in a year or
less and grow as long as 9 in/24 cm.