Banana shrimp (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis) are a variety of shrimp commonly found in the Indo-West Pacific oceans which are farmed extensively in in both Australia and South-East Asia. The countries which are most well-known for their banana shrimp production include Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
This sub-species of shrimp has been harvested for aquaculture in steadily increasing rates, 50,393 tonnes being harvested in 2000 for aquaculture purposes, which hit its peak in 2006 at 96,633t. In 2007 onwards, production dropped off significantly, 2016 only producing 24,681t of banana shrimp specifically for the aquaculture industry.
This unique kind of shrimp is renowned for its sweet, light flavour and is suited very well for spicy dishes. They are traditionally barbecued or shallow fried. There are two varieties, the redleg banana prawns and white banana prawns, which can be distinguished by their colours. Redleg banana prawns are the more expensive and desirable varieties.
Despite the wide variety of countries which farm banana shrimp, they are still considered a minor farmable species in the industry, world production of the banana shrimp being only roughly eight percent of that of major farmable species, much less than the more prominent shrimp farmed in the sector, such as the Whiteleg prawn (Penaeus vannamei).
Another difficulty that comes with farming banana shrimp is the perception of their high mortality rates when raised in semi-intensive ponds, but these rates have not been studied extensively to conclude that banana shrimp are especially tricky for farmers to raise. Despite this, in coming years it has been noted that prawn post larvae are especially difficult to come across, which has not assisted in the farming of this unique species.
Yet there still remain many success stories for the banana prawn. Australia especially have reported survival rates of over 80 percent in their banana shrimp using semi-intensive and intensive farming techniques and, as technology evolves, these decapods are expected to become a recognisable face in the aquaculture sector.
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The Aquaculturists
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