This week on Random Fish Fridays we take a look at the Spot Prawn (Pandalus platyceros).
The Spot Prawn lives off the coast of California, from San Diego all the way north to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and in the Sea of Japan. They live at a depth of about 1600 feet, but will swim up to swallower depths every night to mate and hunt for food. At sunrise they return to the safety of the deeper water. They often spend the day buried in the bottom sediment and can use their head appendages to funnel water over their gills for oxygen while remaining safely buried underground on the bottom of the ocean floor.
The Spot Prawn spends the first 4 to 5 years of it's life as a male. Once they reach a size of about 8.5 inches all Spot Prawns changes sex and becomes a female.
Spot Prawns are not an endangered of threatened species and are an important part of the Pacific northwest region seafood industry. The Spot Prawn population is considered stable to healthy thanks to a well managed fishing processes that ensures minimal impact to habitat.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at the Spot Prawn and maybe even learn a little in the process.
Until next time....
