A group of Florida shrimp fishermen are enjoying a significant economic boost after improving the quality of their catches by switching to Prawnfresh Plus.
According to Richard Reid, Dock Foreman with Cape Canaveral Seafood and Wild Ocean Seafood Market, the move has brought tangible benefits by bringing “real savings” for boat skippers, which will now enable the local industry to effectively compete against imported shrimps.
Reid has only recently started supplying Prawnfresh Plus to three shrimp trawlers based at Port Canaveral on Florida’s Gulf coast – and the boost in the visual appearance was immediate.
Reid says: “Prawnfresh substantially improves the appearance of fresh shell-on shrimp without any of the downside effects commonly found with metabisulphites.
“Prawnfresh Plus will become a game changer for the domestic Gulf Shrimp industry. It dramatically reduces black spot, improves the appearance and extends retail shelf-life for fresh, shell-on shrimp up to seven days when the shrimp is properly refrigerated.”
According to Reid, after five days on ice in a refrigerated display case, the shrimp were still “shiny, clear and looked like they had just come out of the sea”.
Reid also expressed another unexpected positive benefit that shrimp freezer boat captains have found. Normally freezer boats must flush and recharge their brine tanks regularly while at sea. That process requires them to flush the brine tank and replace the seventeen 36kg bags of salt that are used in the brining process at a cost of $10 per bag. But when they soak shrimp in Prawnfresh prior to putting it in the brine tank, the quality of the water is extended for longer periods and does not require them to recharge the system as often.
As Reid points out: “Fishermen fish for dollars, not shrimp, and this is a real saving for boat captains.”