Farmed Prawns vs. Wild Prawns

[bbz404]

So I always try to buy Wild Prawns in Ban Phe Market. At least, I thought they were wild because they looked significantly different than all the grey, whitish prawns that I assume are farmed. My wife and the vendor also confirmed that they are wild and chemical-free. The price was higher of course.

Now I am doubting a bit. Can anyone clearly identify wild prawns vs. farmed ones (ideally with a picture)?

 

Also, recently the vendor stopped having wild ones and it is now impossible for us to find wild prawns from Mae Phim to Ban Phe in Rayong. If anyone has suggestions on where to find them, it would be highly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Pungdo]

Generally speaking the wild caught prawns will have a rougher texture to their shells and the farmed will feel a little slimey

 

[fin5prtw]

Also if you look closely at the she'll markings on the prawns, the wild ones are likely to be more distinctive, the farmed ones more plain, and the wild ones are likely to be a mix of different markings/patterns and sizes whereas the farmed ones should be much more similar. When you have the prawns at home the entrails are the dead giveaway as wild ones will have varying size and colour entrails whereas farmed will all be the same size, texture and usually a darkish brown/grey colour... The taste is very different too, wild ones are so much better in my opinion 

[jenny2017]

You should read this one:

   https://civileats.com/2015/02/19/warning-after-reading-this-post-you-may-never-eat-shrimp-from-thailand-again/

 

Covers your question: 

https://www.pccmarkets.com/sound-consumer/2008-08/sc0808-shrimp/

 

[bbz404]

Just now, jenny2017 said:

You should read this one:

   https://civileats.com/2015/02/19/warning-after-reading-this-post-you-may-never-eat-shrimp-from-thailand-again/

 

Covers your question: 

https://www.pccmarkets.com/sound-consumer/2008-08/sc0808-shrimp/

 

Actually read both of those articles this morning already. Doesn't completely answer my questions though. 

 

The ethical and environmental concerns with farmed shrimp I'm aware of. That's why I prefer wild. But sometimes, farmed has to do it. We don't eat them very often though.

[bbz404]

20 minutes ago, fin5prtw said:

Also if you look closely at the she'll markings on the prawns, the wild ones are likely to be more distinctive, the farmed ones more plain, and the wild ones are likely to be a mix of different markings/patterns and sizes whereas the farmed ones should be much more similar. When you have the prawns at home the entrails are the dead giveaway as wild ones will have varying size and colour entrails whereas farmed will all be the same size, texture and usually a darkish brown/grey colour... The taste is very different too, wild ones are so much better in my opinion 

Thanks. And for your last point, I absolutely agree.

 

So it turns out that what I was buying in Ban Phe for around 600-800 Baht/kg were in fact wild ones. Now, I just need to find a new supplier

Edited April 9, 2018 by bbz404

[tropo]

12 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

You should read this one:

   https://civileats.com/2015/02/19/warning-after-reading-this-post-you-may-never-eat-shrimp-from-thailand-again/

 

 

That's interesting, but is it true? Where's the evidence to support it? We can't just blindly believe everything posted online. Who's to say that wasn't written by someone in the US shrimp market trying to improve sales of US shrimp?

 

Anyway, that covers wild shrimp caught out at sea, not farmed shrimp. The only thing currently keeping me away from it is the price.

[geisha]

A question please,  when  they sell river  prawns, which river are they fished from ? Wherever, I definitely don’t like the taste. 

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Wild ones caught by Burmese slave labor versus farmed ones full of antibiotics and farmed in former mangrove areas should be your question.

[exemplary21]

Farmed prawns are generally greyer and more speckled.

 

If not sure, ask the vendor.

 

As for availability of wild-caught prawns, the supply is seasonal and they are in short supply everywhere at the moment.

 

Supply will pick up in June.

[bbz404]

1 minute ago, exemplary21 said:

Farmed prawns are generally greyer and more speckled.

 

If not sure, ask the vendor.

 

As for availability of wild-caught prawns, the supply is seasonal and they are in short supply everywhere at the moment.

 

Supply will pick up in June.

very useful information, thanks very much!

[stropper]

goom my favorite food, my life with prawns started in botany bay, and kogarah bay , netting at night in the 1960s, they were magnificent years, 10 buckets a night, then to beraquie , durras lakes , turross, the entrance , off fraser island , yeppon and many more places, finally to sea on the galway bay trawler out of the gold coast , 30 baskets of, 30 kgs of the best  prawns in the world, you have never tasted a prawn to you have had one, freshly cooked as the sun comes up from the last net, the skipper told me then . son he said you can never put to much salt in when cooking prawns, just bought 5 ks at tesco, 239bart per kilo , absolutely first class goom, and beleive me they will be cooked quickly , with heaps of salt  and they will be as good as any that i have tasted, and i have had some, good prawns are all in the freshness and cooking, enjoy

[weegee]

Have a look at the colour of the matter where the head joins the rest of the body...

If it's a nice deep orange colour ( Roe)...It's wild Prawn as you call it.

If it's white or close to clear....it's Farmed.

These white prawns you all talk about are estuary Prawns, and are same as farmed ones...NO taste whatsoever, because they are hatched in Fresh water and migrate to deep sea to Fertilize and then back to the fresh water to lay the eggs. The wild ones you talk about are genuine Prawn caught while in the deep sea cycle and have spent a lot of time in Salty water, thats where they get the taste from, Their food supply is totally different from the mud they eat in the rivers.....In Australia, they are called Banana Prawns.

Tiger Prawns...are usually from farms here. It's very rare to buy ocean Tigers in Thailand....AND the Ocean ones are tough to chew, Because they are at the end of their life cycle...In Australia, they are called Leader Prawns, or tiger Prawn...take your pick.

 

If you want to have the good taste of the Wild Prawns(as you call it)...Boil then in normal pot with at least half a hand full of salt in the water (For about half a Kilo by weight)....only boil until the first shell behind the head has an airspace in it...then cool them in cold water with a handful of salt added....Keep refrigerated once cooled.

Remember...here...the larger the prawn, the tougher it is to eat, and very stringy flesh.

[stropper]

4 minutes ago, weegee said:

Have a look at the colour of the matter where the head joins the rest of the body...

If it's a nice deep orange colour ( Roe)...It's wild Prawn as you call it.

If it's white or close to clear....it's Farmed.

These white prawns you all talk about are estuary Prawns, and are same as farmed ones...NO taste whatsoever, because they are hatched in Fresh water and migrate to deep sea to Fertilize and then back to the fresh water to lay the eggs. The wild ones you talk about are genuine Prawn caught while in the deep sea cycle and have spent a lot of time in Salty water, thats where they get the taste from, Their food supply is totally different from the mud they eat in the rivers.....In Australia, they are called Banana Prawns.

Tiger Prawns...are usually from farms here. It's very rare to buy ocean Tigers in Thailand....AND the Ocean ones are tough to chew, Because they are at the end of their life cycle...In Australia, they are called Leader Prawns, or tiger Prawn...take your pick.

 

If you want to have the good taste of the Wild Prawns(as you call it)...Boil then in normal pot with at least half a hand full of salt in the water (For about half a Kilo by weight)....only boil until the first shell behind the head has an airspace in it...then cool them in cold water with a handful of salt added....Keep refrigerated once cooled.

Remember...here...the larger the prawn, the tougher it is to eat, and very stringy flesh.

so you have never had a prawn from morton bay then, ?

[weegee]

4 minutes ago, stropper said:

so you have never had a prawn from morton bay then, ?

Yep, caught hundreds and hundreds of pounds of them a long time ago....Moreton Bay is different to here, as it has the beauty of sea water flowing in and out along with the mud from the bay....Correct?

BTW...are you talking about Greasys, or Bay Kingies.

 

Edited April 9, 2018 by weegee

[sandyf]

On 4/9/2018 at 2:06 PM, bbz404 said:

Actually read both of those articles this morning already. Doesn't completely answer my questions though. 

 

The ethical and environmental concerns with farmed shrimp I'm aware of. That's why I prefer wild. But sometimes, farmed has to do it. We don't eat them very often though.

Like everything in life there is more than one aspect to every story. Prawns are either farmed or brought in from the sea, wild!! where did that come from?  Prawns can be farmed in either fresh water or salt water or a mixture of both, and salt water farms can be either offshore or onshore.

My wife has a friend at Ao Yai and her family run an onshore salt water prawn farm and their is nothing unethical or environmentally damaging in the way the farm is managed. There are many family run farms in that area.

We have had their prawns on many occasions and my sister in law who only ever buys fresh fish and seafood from the sea says there is little difference between them and deep water prawns. Of course it all depends on how well the farm is looked after.

I would certainly agree that there is a distinct difference between the fresh and salt water but like you I cannot tell by looking, only once they are cooked. You have to be a bit wary, the last time we were at the Ang Sila fish market my wife saw some vendors selling fresh water prawns at salt water prices, on the basis that if you have to ask its almost a foregone conclusion what the answer would be. 

[unblocktheplanet]

It's not only about the environmental devastation or the antibiotics and colour in their feed--those are add-ons. The reason to eat wild shrimp is their exquisite, delicate flavour. You won't find that in a bag of frozen jumbo prawns at Costco.