British Columbia’s Spot Prawn Season Ready for May Start

POST DATE May 01, 2019

AUTHOR admin

It’s spot prawn season in British Columbia! The months of May and June are prime harvest season for wild B.C. spot prawns, and as one of Canada’s top producers, it’s an incredibly busy for the team at Walcan Seafood.

Also known as Amaebi (Sweet Shrimp), BC spot prawns have a lucious, buttery flavour combined with a firm texture, making them a world famous delicacy. Largest of the seven commercial species of shrimp caught in the Pacific Northwest, spot prawns can grow up to 23 cm in length. Their colours are reddish-brown with defining white spots on their tails and turn a bright pink when cooked.

Not only are they delicious, but the BC spot prawn fishery has been considered sustainable by Ocean Wise. Prawn fishermen spread their long-line bait traps in the waters between Vancouver Island and the mainland along the rocky ocean floor, about 40-100 metres deep. This method is rated effective because of it’s low bycatch rates of other species.

Popular in Asia, especially Japan, all of our BC spot prawn production is exclusively sold to international markets. The specialized processing and delivery methods at Walcan ensure that only the freshest, and highest quality spot prawns are shipped to our customers. Our plant is strategically located near some of the best fishing areas in the world, on Quadra Island off the coast of British Columbia.