Is it true farmed prawns swim in their own sewage?

Thank you for your frozen food question. In the UK we eat two main types of prawns. Cold water prawns and warm water prawns. All seafood of course excretes into the environment in which it lives and stocks do not survive if the concentration of nitrogen metabolites become excessive. You are correct that cold water prawns are exclusively wild caught and that they are fished in the cold waters of the Atlantic. Around 50% of warm water prawns are farmed; the rest are wild caught. Farmed prawns are produced in shallow ponds, with a high water turnover. As the species are mainly estuarine the water always appears very turbid (muddy!) but this does not mean it is polluted (think The Thames and the fact that Salmon have returned). Farmed prawns receive a feed supplement formulated from protein and carbohydrates and vitamins and have dietary requirement similar to most animals. Click here for more info on frozen fish and click here to inside a frozen fish factory.

Thank you for your frozen food question. Click here to see where your frozen food comes from.

Dr Jon Harman, Development Director Seafish