The Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) is an important fishery resource of the Northern hemisphere. Caught by large offshore trawlers, this species is mainly landed as a cooked and frozen product. However, for boats fishing close to the shore, the landing of live shrimp could be a preferable option, as higher prices could be attained for this type of product. We hypothesize that landing and transport of live shrimp is feasible, if key factors for survival and suitable transportation methods are identified. To increase our understanding of post-harvest handling and its effect on shrimp survival, we conducted a set of dry (out of water) and wet (in water) transport experiments. Different cooling methods and temperatures were tested as well as the use of the sedative AQUI-S®. Additionally, a set of pilot studies was conducted to determine the time frame for post-harvest recovery and to identify a favorable water temperature to ensure optimal revitalization.
A post-transport recovery period of 48 hours at water temperatures below 8°C was found to be appropriate and was applied to experimental animals before simulating different transport conditions. Live shrimp, transported dry for 24 hours at −0.5°C, showed a significantly lower mortality rate (14.4%) compared to shrimp transported dry at 2°C (67.8%). Transport of shrimp in water (3.0°C) at two different densities (~80 and ~165 kg/m3) did not reveal any significant difference in mortality after a 4-day period, with an overall survival of 92.5%. Although survival was not improved by post-transport treatment with AQUI-S®, our results show that it is possible to deliver vital live shrimp to the market, given optimal post-harvest revitalization and careful choice of transportation method.
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