SCHOOL PRAWNS

HABITAT
My nursery is  the soft mud and seagrass of shallow estuaries. When I’ve grown, I migrate to the ocean in large schools.
Happy fish school prawns are found in some of the most pristine and carefully monitored fishing grounds in NSW: the Manning River, Wallis Lake, Smiths Lake and the Myall Lakes. Their nursery is found in the soft mud and seagrasses of shallow estuaries. Brackish water-part sweet part salt water.

HABITS
I can double size in just 3 days and live 12 to 18 months. Within a few hours of hatching a batch of eggs, I’m already carrying a new fertilised batch. The warmer the water, the faster I grow and the more often I shed my shells. Unlike my bright orange deep water cousins, I am pale, translucent and change colour to camouflage myself. Being such a fast breeder and grower, I am  an especially sustainable species.

HARVEST
Set pocket and seine net. At full moon prawns rise from the sea bed and swim in large schools with the tidal flow down the set pockets deployed across their path. Seine (or haul) nets, are usually set from a boat to surround a certain area and are hauled either from the shore or from the boat itself).
The NSW prawn fisheries are considered the most sustainable in Australia with steady long-term numbers and size of prawns.
For more on sustainability and quality measures visit individual fishermen profiles

HANDLING
Upon capture prawns are ice slurried then cooked in the water from which they come. Cooled ONLY in potable water (to prevent the reintroduction of bacteria naturally present in sea water) then re-iced and stored between 0-2C. These methods maximise natural flavour and shelf life.

TASTE
Smaller, sweeter and lighter textured than normal large king or tiger prawns. Because they are harvested as they swim there is no grit or full digestive track, so no de-veining is needed.