''Acetes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of small

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

that resemble

krill Krill are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in n ...

, which is native to the western and central

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, the Atlantic coast of the Americas, Pacific coast of South America and inland waters of South America. Although most are from marine or

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

habitats, the South American ''A. paraguayensis'' is a fresh water species. Several of its species are important for the production of

shrimp paste Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are eithe ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, including '' A. japonicus'', which is the world's most heavily fished species of wild shrimp or prawn in terms of total tonnage. In Southeast Asia, ''Acetes'' have different local names depending on the country. It is known as rebon in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, geragau in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, bubuk in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

, alamang in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, among others.

Description

The genus is characterised by the loss of the fourth and fifth pairs of pereiopods. They are small prawns, long,

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions a ...

, but with a pair of black eyes, and a number of red spots of

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

on the

uropod Uropods are posterior appendages found on a wide variety of crustaceans. They typically have functions in locomotion. Definition Uropods are often defined as the appendages of the last body segment of a crustacean. An alternative definition sugge ...

Life cycle

The

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

of ''Acetes'' are green. As they develop, they swell to twice their original size or more. The eggs hatch early in the year, and the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e grow, mature and spawn in the same year.

Taxonomy

It includes 14 species, which are listed here with their FAO endorsed

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s: *'' Acetes americanus'' Ortmann, 1893 – aviu shrimp *'' Acetes binghami'' Burkenroad, 1934 *'' Acetes chinensis'' Hansen, 1919 – northern mauxia shrimp *'' Acetes erythraeus'' Nobili, 1905 – tsivakihini paste shrimp *'' Acetes indicus'' H. Milne-Edwards, 1830 – Jawala paste shrimp *''

Acetes intermedius ''Acetes'' is a genus of small shrimp that resemble krill, which is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific, the Atlantic coast of the Americas, Pacific coast of South America and inland waters of South America. Although most are from mar ...

'' Omori, 1975 – Taiwan mauxia shrimp *'' Acetes japonicus'' Kishinouye, 1905 – akiami paste shrimp *'' Acetes johni'' Nataraj, 1947 *'' Acetes marinus'' Omori, 1975 *'' Acetes natalensis'' Barnard, 1950 *'' Acetes paraguayensis'' Hansen, 1919 *'' Acetes serrulatus'' (Krøyer, 1859) – southern mauxia shrimp *'' Acetes sibogae'' Hansen, 1919 – alamang shrimp *'' Acetes vulgaris'' Hansen, 1919 – jembret shrimp

Fishery

Many species of ''Acetes'' are fished for commercially, and the different species are often not discriminated. ''Acetes'' are the most fished genus of

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

, with global production in 2008 of . Fishers mostly use push nets and bag nets, as well as seines both on boats and from the shore.

Preparation

Only a small proportion of the entire catch is sold fresh, with most of it being

dried Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consider ...

, salted or

fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...

. The caught prawns are washed and then mixed with of

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

per of prawns. The prawns are then crushed using cleavers and packed into various containers, where the paste remains for around 4 hours. After this, the paste is re-packed, before being left to mature for a month, after which it is mixed and crushed again, and then packed for sale. If a producer cannot sell the paste quickly, it can be kept for up to 6 months, mincing it every month or so. The resulting paste is reported to contain 16.2%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

and 1.3% fat.

References