Prawns

Two species of prawns are popular in the Uk.: native northern cold water prawns and tropical tiger prawns.
TIP: Try finding trap caught native prawns. The tiger prawn fishery is very environmentally damaging.

Problems

Wild caught prawns have one of the highest rates of bycatch. For every 1Kg of prawns that are caught 10Kg of non-target species is wasted.
Many turtles can become entangled in prawn nets- around 15,000 per year. Bottom trawling used in prawn fishing destroys the seabed.
Farming prawns can also have detrimental effects on the environment, as it destroys mangroves and causes pollution.
The prawn industry is a huge threat to marine biodiversity.
Small fishing communities are damaged by more commercial intensive methods of fishing.

Solutions

The Australian government has developed a project to help north coast prawn fishers make their fishing gear more environmentally friendly to reduce rates of bycatch.
Turtle exclusion devices and square mesh panels are less damaging.
The UN Environment Programme suggests a stop to government subsidies that fund exploitative fishing in developing nations. They call for better sustainable fishing management practices.
The MSC certifies and encourages the sustainable fishing of prawns by returning female prawns with eggs back to the sea.
MSC organically farmed prawns have requirements which include the replanting of mangroves, limiting stocking densities and health and feeding guidelines.

Photo courtesy of Jess James