The pink shrimp suffers a bit of an identity crisis out in the world - it's known by quite a few different names. Cocktail Shrimp, Salad Shrimp, Ocean Shrimp, Coldwater Shrimp, Bay Shrimp and we most often hear them described as "those little cooked shrimp". Their size
is decidedly unimpressive, but they have a wonderful lovely light flavor and sometimes you just don't need your shrimp to be "colossal." The Oregon shrimp fishery typically runs from April 1
st through October - they got a bit of a late start this year due to a few days of nasty ocean conditions and a few days of price negotiations between the boats and the processors. These shrimp are one of the few items that we prefer to get *after* they've moved through a large processor - namely because we don't want to see them until they've been cooked and peeled, which is done (thankfully) by machine. With a minimum size
requirement of 160 cooked tails per pound, shrimpers target the 2-3 year old populations and only fish during the daylight hours as the shrimp migrate up from the sandy bottoms at night to feed on krill and copepods. They're also a great choice for the environmentally conscious, and the Oregon fishery claims the title of the first ever Marine Stewardship Council certified shrimp. MSC is the environmental standard for sustainable fishing and you can find out more at
www.msc.org if you're interested. Pink shrimp are caught by a method called "otter trawl" with very little by-catch and we look forward to having these tasty little morsels available all summer. They are one of the more perishable seafood items, so we would caution not to purchase too far in advance of when you'll be enjoying them and take us up on our offer of ice if you're going to be out and about for more than 45 minutes, (or if it ever gets warm outside... dreaming, dreaming). There are a million ways to feast on salad shrimp, with some of our favorites being an unimaginative yet delicious salad topping, ceviche, shrimp casserole, shrimp risotto and Sailor's favorite: shrimp quesadillas! You can find our recipe for shrimp stuffed avocados
here and read on for our warm shrimp and pancetta salad!
on the latest information on a daily basis. At this point there seems little reason to worry about seafood other than the fish that is sourced directly from Japan - and as we have never imported Japanese fish, we feel pretty solid. If you would like to read more about the latest info, feel free to check out these two seafood industry articles that came through my inbox today. SeafoodSource Blog ~ There's no need for alarm. SeafoodSource Article ~ Some Radioactive Iodine Found in Japanese Fish 