【Reading】しまShrimp

【English Name】Morotoge shrimp

The shimaebi, whose official standard Japanese name is hokkaiebi (Pandalus latirostris), is a kind of shrimp belonging to the family Pandalidae. Adults are about 8-13 cm in body length, and its greatest visual feature is the vertical-stripe body pattern in which yellow-green and green-brown alternate. These stripes are the very origin of the common name "shimaebi" (striped shrimp).

It makes its main habitat the waters from the Pacific coast north of Miyagi Prefecture to the Sea of Okhotsk, with especially high distribution density in eastern Hokkaido. While most of the genus Pandalus tend to prefer deep-water zones, the shimaebi stands out for making the shallow environment of inner-bay eelgrass (amamo) beds its living place. The stripe pattern of the body surface plays the role of protective coloration that deceives the eyes of predators within the eelgrass colonies—a species in which ecology and appearance are closely linked.

The main production areas are concentrated at three points: Lake Notoro (Abashiri City), Lake Saroma, and Notsuke Bay (Betsukai Town). The peak of the fishery is around July, and at Notsuke Bay, emphasizing the protection of the seagrass-bed environment, engineless sailing-ship "utase-ami" trawling is still carried on. This traditional fishing method has blended into the regional culture as a seasonal feature heralding the arrival of summer.

Because the action of digestive enzymes originating within its body causes freshness to be lost rapidly, the practice of salt-boiling immediately after landing is common in many production areas. When heated, it turns reddish-orange while keeping its stripe pattern, and the boiling and salting adjustments are said to greatly determine the final flavor. The trading price stands at a guideline of around 3,000 yen per kilogram, but depending on the catch it can reach levels exceeding 10,000 yen.

It has the trait of protandrous hermaphroditism, in which sex switches during growth; after hatching it first grows as a male, then transitions to female once it exceeds about 10 cm in body length. As a result, almost all individuals circulating at the market and wholesale stage are female.