Marine shrimps are fished all along the Indian coast and brought to different fish
landing centres/harbours located in the maritime states. They are caught mainly by trawlers,
either multiday or single day trawlers using trawl nets. The multiday trawling operations may
extend from three days to more than a week. The voyage by single day trawlers is restricted
to 6 to 7 hours. There are several commercially important shrimp species in India– Penaeus
indicus, Metapenaeus dobsoni, Metapenaeus monoceros, Metapenaeus affinis,
Parapenaeopsis stylifera, Penaeus semisulcatus, Penaeus monodon, Solenocera choprai etc.
In each maritime state, the species composition varies and one or the other species may
dominate the landings in quantity. Some of them are highly valued in the international
markets whereas others are utilised for domestic consumption. Certain smaller species are
also dried and consumed. In India the total peaneid shrimp landings during 2016 was 200116
t forming 45% of the crustacean and 12% of the total marine landings.
Diagnostic characters provide identity to each species and species having similar or
certain identical characters are placed under same genus and family. Commercial shrimp
species mostly belong to the family penaeidae, under the genera Penaeus, Metapenaeus,
Parapenaeopsis, Metapenaeopsis, Solenocera and Trachypenaeus
