White Shrimp

Common Name:

White Shrimp

Scientific Name:

Litopenaeus setiferus

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Sourcing Summary

4-8 in.

U.S. white shrimp are caught from August to November, and are usually available frozen as tail meat year-round. White shrimp is low in saturated fat and is a very good source of selenium and vitamin B12. Random tests are recommended to ensure that the shrimp that arrives is actually what was ordered. Buyer Beware: Most shrimp is treated with the preservative sodium tripolyphosphate, but too much will make the shrimp appear translucent and give them a soapy feel. Buyers recommend asking for specific moisture content since processors sometimes undercook the shrimp to increase weight. Many fishermen prevent black spots on shells by using bisodium sulfates but overuse causes pitting on the shells.

Harvest Methods

Wild

Trawl

Product Forms

Fresh

  • Head-on
  • Tails (shell on)

Frozen

  • Head-on
  • Tails (butterflied)
  • Tails (EZ-Peel)
  • Tails (P&D)
  • Tails (PUD)
  • Tails (raw)
  • Tails (shell on)
Fresh Seasonal Availability
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Culinary Composition

Flavor

Mild
Sweet
Strong

Texture

Delicate
Medium
Firm

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition facts

Serving size: 100 Grams
Amount per serving
  • Calories
    106.00
  • Total Fat
    1.73
    g
  • Cholesterol
    152.00
    mg
  • Sodium
    148.00
    mg
  • Carbohydrates
    0.00
    g
  • Protein
    20.30

Recommended Servings per Month

  • Men
    4+
  • Women
    4+
  • Kids 6-12
    4+
  • Kids 0-5
    4+

Cooking Methods

Advisory Concern

Biology

White shrimp can live up to four years old, though most don’t survive to two years. Juvenile white shrimp grow and molt quickly in estuaries during late spring and summer in temperatures warmer than 18 degrees Celsius. This growth rate decreases in the cooler fall and winter months. Temperatures colder than eight degrees Celsius can be critically dangerous for these populations, and temperatures at three degrees Celsius or colder is fatal. 

Females grow larger than males, typically up to eight inches in length. Males can grow up to seven inches in length. Both males and females mature at about five inches in length. The antennae of white shrimp tends to be longer than that of other shrimp species, growing up to three times longer than the rest of their body length. White shrimp have ten long walking legs and five pairs of shorter swimming legs.

Spawning behavior is initiated by an increase in offshore bottom water temperatures, and can occur through May to September. Up to one million eggs are released per spawn. Eggs are then fertilized and sink to the bottom of the water column – hatching within 10-12 hours after fertilization. White shrimp remain as larvae for 10 days, where they then enter estuarine nursery habitats to live and grow before migrating to the ocean in the spring.

Larvae feed on zooplankton and phytoplankton. Juvenile and adult white shrimp feed on detritus, plants, microorganisms, small fish, and small invertebrates. Sheepshead minnows, water boatmen, and insect larvae eat larval shrimp. Grass shrimp, killifishes, and blue crabs prey on young shrimp. Many finfish feed on juvenile and adult white shrimp.

Species Habitat

White shrimp are found along the Atlantic Coast of North America from Fire Island, New York to St. Lucie Inlet, Florida. In the Gulf of Mexico, they are found from the Ochlockonee River, Florida to Campeche, Mexico – with their greatest abundance being in the Mississippi River Delta of Louisiana. White shrimp inhabit estuaries, marshes, and coastal areas generally to about 100 feet offshore. Juveniles live and grow in protected nursery areas with muddy ocean bottoms and low to moderate salinity. As they grow older, white shrimp move further offshore where they will spawn. Though white shrimp generally occur higher in the water column, they have also been found in association with other shrimp species – particularly brown shrimp.

Science & Management:
  • Wild
    Science: 

    The Annual Economic Survey of Federal Gulf and Atlantic Shrimp Permit Holders conducts research about operating expenses and costs of owning and maintaining shrimp vessels. The information is gathered in order to assess trends in the financial and economic state of the shrimp fisheries, and the economic and social effects of regulations on these fisheries. The Gulf Shrimp System provides an overview of procedures used to collect fishery statistics for the shrimp fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. The end goal is to provide catch, value, area caught, and effort data for commercial fishing trips.

    Management: 

    NOAA Fisheries and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council manage the US Atlantic white shrimp fishery under the Shrimp Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP and its amendments:

    Establish a permitting system for the harvest of shrimp in federal waters

    Requires fishers to submit reports for each trip

    Requires fishery observers to be onboard fishing vessels (if selected) to collect data on catch, bycatch, gear, and fishing effort

    White shrimp are relatively short-lived can be particularly impacted by severe cold weather during the winter months along the South Atlantic. As such, fishery managers establish catch limits based on historic harvest amounts and fishing effort – rather than on abundance. Stocks can be periodically decimated by cold weather snaps in the South Atlantic, especially in South Carolina and Georgia. When this occurs, the FMP allows individual states to close the shrimp fishery in their waters – as well as in adjacent federal waters – to protect the remaining populations.

    NOAA Fisheries and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council manage the white shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Mexico under the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The majority of white shrimp harvested in the United States (96 percent in 2014) come from the Gulf of Mexico – particularly from Louisiana and Texas. Implemented in 1981, the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp FMP and its amendments:

    Establishes a permitting system for the harvest of shrimp in federal waters (currently no new permits are being issued to limit the number of boats participating in the fishery)

    Requires fishers to install electronic logbooks and to submit trip reports for each fishing trip

    Establishes an observer program where observers must be aboard vessels (if selected) to collect data on catch, bycatch, gear, and fishing effort

    Sets a seasonal, 45 day shrimping closure in the federal waters off Texas (from mid-May to mid-July) to protect brown shrimp populations

    Establishes a cooperative Tortugas Shrimp Sanctuary in Florida where trawling is off limits and sets seasonal closures in Florida Bay to avoid conflict with stone crab fishing

    All states enforce federal requirements mandating that otter trawl vessels have and use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to reduce bycatch of threatened and endangered sea turtles and other species of concern. Federal TED regulations apply to all state-managed waters as well. In Florida, skimmer trawl vessels are also required to use TEDs; however, TEDs are not required on skimmer trawl vessels in the other Gulf Coast states (Texas does not allow the use of skimmer trawls). Currently, the only mitigation strategy to reduce sea turtle bycatch in skimmer trawls is through limits on tow time. In regards to bycatch of finfish, Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs) are required in the state waters of Texas, Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. BRDs are not required in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. In some areas, closures may be instituted if finfish bycatch exceeds certain thresholds.

    US shrimp fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic are considered to be both region’s largest and most valuable commercial fisheries. According to a 2015 stock assessment, the white shrimp stocks in both the US Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic are not overfished, nor subject to overfishing.

    In Mexico, the white shrimp fishery is managed by a network of federal agencies including: the Secretaría de Agrucultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación (SAGARPA, the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food), the Comisión Nacional de Acuacultura y Pesca (CONAPESCA, the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries), and the Instituto Nacional de Pesca (INAPESCA, National Fisheries Institute). These agencies employ management measures such as closed seasons, gear modification, and bycatch reduction programs. Despite management efforts, the white shrimp fishery in Mexico is depleted and it is unclear if measures to reduce bycatch are effective. Noncompliance amongst fishers in regards to gear restrictions and seasonal closures, as well as illegal fishing, further limit rebuilding efforts. 

Wild

Impact on Stock

White shrimp are highly fecund and can grow fairly quickly, allowing them to rebound quickly from unfavorable environmental conditions such as extreme cold weather. The population levels of white shrimp, which are particularly abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, are high and overfishing is not occurring, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. They thrive in marshy, estuary-filled areas and are found higher in the water column than brown and pink shrimp.

Habitat Impacts

Although fishermen use a variety of gear to catch white shrimp, the otter trawl is the most common. Since this gear is meant to maximize contact with the ocean bottom, it can harm marine organisms, damage the seafloor, disturb sediment, lower sea grass production, and cause an increase in algal blooms. Trawling also occurs in the same areas annually. Overall, the effects of trawling on the habitat are a moderate concern in this fishery.

Bycatch

Thousands of sea turtles are caught in shrimp trawls annually in the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Since shrimping trawlers interact with sea turtles so much, U.S. shrimpers are required to have turtle extruder devices (TEDs). Compliance varies but is good in the southeast Atlantic coast shrimp fishery, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. The white shrimp fishery also contributes to mortality in Gulf of Mexico red snapper, which has been overfished for decades. Other species of concern include endangered smalltooth sawfish, endangered Atlantic sturgeon and overfished blacknosed shark.

Management Effectiveness

Commercial shrimp fisheries are working on reducing bycatch impact through time-area closures and bycatch reduction devices, according to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. The white shrimp fishery abundance is monitored by the NMFS. Despite management efforts in the shrimp fisheries, bycatch continues to greatly outweigh shrimp landings. Bycatch reduction methods depend on compliance, which is not at 100%.

Farmed
Origin Harvest Method Sustainability Ratings FIP Source
Mexico - Gulf of Mexico Artisanal Charanga Net
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Mexico - Gulf of Mexico Artisanal Suripera Net
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Mexico - Gulf of Mexico Bottom Trawls
Seafood Watch- Avoid
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Mexico - Gulf of Mexico Small Mesh Bottom Trawl
Seafood Watch- Avoid
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Mexico - Pacific Artisanal Bottom Trawl
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Mexico - Pacific Artisanal Entanglement Net
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Mexico - Pacific Artisanal Suripera Net
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Mexico - Pacific Bottom Trawls
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Mexico - Pacific (FIP) Bottom Trawls
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Fishery Improvement Project (FIP)
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
FIP product
Thailand (ASC) Ponds
Seafood Watch- Eco-Certification Recognized
Ocean Wise- Recommended
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Unassessed Origin Unassessed Fishing Methods
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
USA Ponds
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
USA Unassessed Farming Methods
Seafood Watch- Unrated
Ocean Wise- Unrated
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
USA - Florida Skimmer Trawl
Seafood Watch- Good Alternative
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
NOAA FSSI- 4 out of 4
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
USA - Gulf of Mexico Skimmer Trawl (Vessels > 40ft)
Seafood Watch- Good Alternative
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
USA - Gulf of Mexico Bottom Trawls
Seafood Watch- Good Alternative
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
NOAA FSSI- 4 out of 4
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
USA - Gulf of Mexico Skimmer Trawl (Vessels < 40ft)
Seafood Watch- Avoid
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
NOAA FSSI- 4 out of 4
USA - Louisiana (FIP) Bottom Trawls
Seafood Watch- Good Alternative
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
NOAA FSSI- 4 out of 4
Fishery Improvement Project (FIP)
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
FIP product
USA - Louisiana (FIP) Skimmer Trawl
Seafood Watch- Avoid
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
NOAA FSSI- 4 out of 4
Fishery Improvement Project (FIP)
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
FIP product
USA - Texas (FIP) Bottom Trawls
Seafood Watch- Good Alternative
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
NOAA FSSI- 4 out of 4
Fishery Improvement Project (FIP)
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
FIP product
USA - West Central Atlantic Bottom Trawls
Seafood Watch- Good Alternative
Ocean Wise- Not Recommended
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
NOAA FSSI- 4 out of 4
Worldwide RAS - recirculating aquaculture systems (with wastewater treatment)
Seafood Watch- Best Choice
Ocean Wise- Recommended
Good Fish Guide - Unrated
Name Country State/Province
Anna Marie Seafood United States Louisiana
Baton Rouge Shrimp Company, Inc. United States Louisiana
Bionic Zoo and Aquarium
Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc. United States Alabama
Cape Canaveral Shrimp Co. United States Florida
Captain's Fine Foods, LLC United States Florida
Carson & Company Inc United States Alabama
Catanese Classic Seafood United States Ohio
Cherry Point Seafoods United States South Carolina
Clipper Ship, Inc. United States Washington
Cox's Wholesale Seafood, LLC. United States Florida
Crimson Bay Seafood United States Alabama
DoRan Seafood United States Louisiana
Dubberly's Seafood United States Georgia
Empire Fish Company United States Wisconsin
Flying Fish Company United States Oregon
Georgia Shrimp Association United States Georgia
Katie's Seafood Market United States Texas
Livingston's Bulls Bay Seafood United States South Carolina
Lusamerica Foods United States, United States, United States California
McRoberts Sales Co., Inc. United States, United States Florida
Northeast Seafood Products, Inc. United States Colorado
Ocean Beauty Seafoods LLC United States Washington
Pacific Harvest Seafoods United States California
Pacific Seafood Group, Inc. United States Oregon
Palomino Foods, Inc. United States Washington
Paul Piazza & Son, Inc. United States Louisiana
Pike Place Fish Market United States Washington
Profish Ltd. United States District of Columbia
Royal Hawaiian Seafood United States California
Safe Harbor Seafood Market United States Florida
Sammy's Seafood Inc United States Florida
Samuels & Son Seafood Company, Inc. United States Pennsylvania
Santa Monica Seafood, Inc. United States California
Sarasota Seafood Company United States Florida
Sea to Table, USA United States New York
Seafood Garden United States Massachusetts
Select Gourmet Foods Inc. United States Washington
Sizzlefish United States North Carolina
The Fish Guys Inc. United States Minnesota
The Lobster Place Wholesale Seafood United States New York
Triar Seafood Company United States Florida
Water Street Seafood, Inc United States Florida
Western Seafood Co., Inc. United States Texas
Wild Fish Direct LLC United States Florida
Wild For Salmon United States Pennsylvania
Wixter Market United States Illinois
Wood's Fisheries, Inc. United States Florida

Acknowledgements

  • Environmental Defense Fund
  • NOAA Fisheries
  • Seafood Watch Program
  • SeafoodSource
Last Updated: 8/7/2020