California Spot Prawn

Spot prawn reach up to 27 centimeters in length, with females often longer than their male counterparts. Spot prawn have a translucent, reddish carapace with white stripes and pereopods and antennae which are banded dark and light red. Their first and fifth abdominal segments have white spots.

They are protandric hermaphrodites, meaning they first turn into males, with their appendix masculina lengthening while maturing and then gradually shortening until they turn into females.

The spot prawn ranges throughout the northern Pacific Ocean, (Unalaska Island, Alaska to San Diego, California), and also from the Sea of Japan to Korea Strait.

While found in depths of 3.7 meters to 457.2 meters, spot prawn are most often found around 109.7 meters below sea level.

Spot prawn harvests are relatively short, lasting only 6-8 weeks from May to June. The season opens in the spring because it is the new lifecycle for spot prawns.

The largest spot prawn harvests occur in British Columbia, Canada where approximately 2,450 metric tonnes are harvested annually, with about 65% of the harvest coming from the waters between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland. BC spot prawns are considered sustainable having been recognized by the Vancouver Aquarium's OceanWise program and as a “Good Alternative” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program.

The largest US harvests occur in Alaska which limits annual harvest to under 800,000 lbs (Approximately 363 tonnes). The majority of the continental US landings occur in southern California, though fishing activity extends north to the Oregon border. California produced approximately 100 metric tonnes annually.