Prawn Fishing

Abstract

The common prawn (Leander serratus) is widely distributed around the Irish coasts, but obviously varies in abundance from place to place. This prawn should not be mistaken for the Norway Lobster, sometimes called the Dublin Bay Prawn (Nephrops norvegicus) or with the brown shrimp (Crangon vulgaris). Alive, the common prawn is a grey-brown colour and has blue bands on its legs. The Norway lobster is a pink colour, and its body is profusely covered with white tipped spines. The common prawn also has a projection from its head, called a rostrum, which is absent from the shrimp. As the prawn is of economic importance, some notes on simple methods of capture will be of interest to fishermen.