[ SPECIES ] Pink shrimp, or deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris)
Sought-after crustaceans from the deep waters of the Mediterranean The deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris), also known as pink shrimp or crevette rose, is one of the most economically important crustacean species for the fishing industry, particularly in the Mediterranean region. Because this species mainly occurs in relatively deep waters, comparatively little is known about the biology and way of life of these shrimp. This means there is an increased risk of overfishing, since market interest continues to be significant.
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hrimp and prawns have become an established and highly valued part of everyday diets in many countries around the world. Demand is growing and is largely being met by increasing aquaculture production. While landing quantities for crustacean fishing, which in addition to shrimp also includes lobster, crayfish, crab and swimming crab, is fairly stable at 6 million tonnes per year worldwide, the global aquaculture industry is currently producing around 10 million tonnes per year, including approximately 7 million tonnes of shrimp alone. However, the fishing industry very clearly differs from the aquaculture industry in the wider range of species caught. Shrimp production in aquaculture is quite clearly dominated by white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), which is the most important shrimp at 5 million tonnes per year. The fishing industry, on the other hand, catches a much wider variety of shrimp species, ranging from the northern prawn (Pandalus borealis) to the Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri). The deep-water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris) can also be classified as belonging to this varied assortment of species. Landings of these crustaceans in just the Mediterranean of approximately 20,000 tonnes per year
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may not be large, but they are still of economic significance. The actual catches may be significantly higher, because this species is not accurately recorded everywhere across its area of distribution. Depending on size (count) and season, these wild shrimp can fetch prices between 4.05 and 7.66 USD/kg on the Spanish market. In the Strait of Sicily, the passage in the Mediterranean between Sicily and the North African coast, Parapenaeus longirostris is the main target species for trawl net fishing, with an estimated annual market value of about 80 million euro. The economic, environmental and social interest in the sustainable management of this resource, which is shared by Italian, Tunisian and Maltese bottom trawlers, is correspondingly large. Current stock estimates demonstrate a high fishing mortality rate as well as decreasing shrimp size in catches, which indicates possible overfishing. However, important requirements for developing a strategic plan for the sustainable management of this resource are still lacking. Despite its economic significance, our knowledge of the stock structures, the geographical distribution of stocks as well as the spawning and nursery areas in the Mediterranean is rather sparse.
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Fisheries scientists are working intensively on filling these gaps in our knowledge. The pressure to achieve reliable results as quickly as possible continues to increase, because the warming trend in Mediterranean waters is being reinforced by climate change and there is a risk that the deep-water rose shrimp, which is particularly sensitive to temperature, could also be affected. Because the Strait of Sicily is seen as an important biodiversity hotspot in the Mediterranean, this marine region was classified as a priority area for conservation as a precautionary measure as early as 2011, and in 2014 it was classified as an ecologically or biologically significant area (EBSA).
The main distribution area is most likely the Mediterranean Deep-water rose shrimp are widely distributed across the North Atlantic. They occur in the East Atlantic from the Iberian peninsula, i.e. Spain and Portugal, to Angola and Namibia. In the West Atlantic, they extend from the USA (Massachusetts) to French Guyana. Although the name deep-water shrimp indicates a life lived at great depths, this species of shrimp prefers to live in areas nearer the coast, particularly
where the shelf zones are not too wide and give way to the continental slope after only a few nautical miles. This pattern can also be seen in the Mediterranean, which is viewed as the centre of the distribution area for this species of crustaceans. These shrimp can be found almost everywhere from the coasts of Asia Minor to Spain, although the frequency of their occurrence varies significantly from region to region. In the Sea of Marmara, in the northern and central Adriatic, in the Gulf of Lion, the Alboran Sea, the Aegean, offshore from the Gaza Strip and off the French coast, this species is rather rare and is therefore only fished in limited quantities. In the Strait of Sicily and the marine areas around Greece, on the other hand, Parapenaeus longirostris is the most commonly occurring shrimp species almost everywhere. The deep-water rose shrimp is a benthopelagic (bottom-dwelling) shrimp species that prefers to live on muddy sand sea floors in the bathyal zone (bathyal, originating from the Greek bathys – deep, refers to the entire light-deprived area of the sea between 200 and 4,000 m depth). There they occur at depths between 20 and 700 m, but most commonly between 70 and 400 m. The species has a size-dependent bathymetric distribution, which
