prawn · The Trophy Room
Spot Prawn
The sweetest thing in the Salish Sea, and open for only a handful of days each May. Spot prawns are the largest cold-water shrimp on the coast — firm, sweet, almost lobster-like — and the short, tightly managed season makes them a genuine event that locals plan their whole month around.
Identifying
- reddish body marked with distinctive white spots — one pair behind the head, one near the tail
- long saw-toothed rostrum (the spike between the eyes)
- large for a shrimp; the deep-water build shows in the delicate shell
- caught deep — 200 to 300 feet down over rock
Facts
- born male, then switching to female at a few years old — a sequential hermaphrodite
- eat them the day you catch them — a natural enzyme softens the meat fast once they die, so cook or freeze quickly
- the short May opener in Marine Area 7 is strictly managed; know the days and the pot rules before you set
