Pandalus borealis (also called Pandalus eous) is a species of shrimp found in cold parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Many different English names are used, with little consensus (deep-water shrimp, cold-water shrimp, northern shrimp, Alaskan pink shrimp, pink shrimp, northern red shrimp). Often the word shrimp is replaced by prawn, albeit incorrectly.

Distribution

Pandalus borealis live at depths of between 10 and 500 m, usually on soft muddy bottoms, in waters between 2°C and 14°C. Its distribution in the Atlantic ranges from New England, Canada's eastern seaboard, southern and eastern Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, Norway and the North Sea as far south as the English Channel. In the Pacific, it is found from Japan, through the Sea of Okhotsk, across the Bering Strait, and as far south in North America as Washington state.

Physiology

In their 3–4 year lifespan, individuals can reach a length of 120 mm, with a carapace 35 mm long.

The shrimp are hermaphroditic. They start out male, but after year or two, their testicles turn to ovaries and they complete their lives as females. However, if there is a predominance of female Pandalus shrimp, the males will delay their transformation. Likewise should there be a shortage of females, the male shrimp will begin their transformation earlier, all for the sake of maintaining balance for procreational purposes.

Uses by humans

P. borealis is an important food resource, and has been widely fished since the early 1900s in Norway, and later in other countries following Johan Hjort's practical discoveries of how to locate them.

Shrimp alkaline phosphatase (SAP), an enzyme used in molecular biology, is obtained from Pandalus borealis.

External links

• Guide to Responsible Sourcing of Shrimp (Cold Water Prawns) - produced by Seafish, the United Kingdom Sea Fish Industry Authority