Ram’s Assorted Cold Storage Limited (RACSL) Baramunda, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Pacific White (Litopeneaus Vannamei): This species is excellent for farming and is less damaging to the environment compared to other species such as P. Monodon. However its green credentials need to be weighed against its inferior taste. One should also keep in mind that the green credentials are more dependent on farming conditions as opposed to the species itself. If this shrimp is slightly overcooked one gets a rubbery taste to it. Only farmed variety of this shrimp is available since this is not a native species, and farms without adequate bio security measures are not given approval for farming this species. Farms will be mostly semi-intensive and/or intensive farms with high stocking density.

Black Tiger (Peneaus Monodon): This species is unrivalled in taste, a well preserved and properly packed Black Tiger is one of the best prawn species to eat, the texture is similar to that of lobsters. Its colour depends on the salinity of the water that it was sourced in usually in high salinity conditions a reddish brown colour develops and in low salinity conditions a bluish-grey colour is present. Most consumers are not aware of this and hence insist on prawns being of uniform colour, they are not aware that a processing unit will be procuring the raw material from a vast range of locations with varying salinities hence the huge diversity in colour. Till recently this was the most extensively farmed species in the world. However gradually it is being replaced by Litopeneaus Vannamei (Pacific White) Shrimp. The latter can be stocked at higher densities, lower protein requirements and has a quicker growth period. It is farmed in extensive, semi-intensive and intensive ponds. Apart from farmed sources there are wild caught sources. The majority are throuhg mechanized trawlers, apart from that we source from traditional fishermen who use various nets and gears for catching this species. Black Tiger availability in India is rapidly declining as farmers switch over to the more profitable P. Vannamei variety.