''Acetes'' is a genus 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, 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 in Southeast Asia, 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, geragau in Malaysia, bubuk in Brunei, alamang in the Philippines, among others.

Description

The genus is characterised by the loss of the fourth and fifth pairs of

pereiopod The decapod (crustaceans such as a crab, lobster, shrimp or prawn) is made up of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in various g ...

s. They are small prawns, long, translucent, but with a pair of black eyes, and a number of red spots of pigment 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 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 larvae 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 ''Acetes americanus'' is a small shrimp species in the family Sergestidae found in the western Atlantic Ocean between Brazil and the United States. Taxonomy Two subspecies are recognized: *''A. a. americanus'' Ortmann, 1893 *''A. a. carolinae'' ...

'' Ortmann, 1893 – aviu shrimp *''

Acetes binghami ''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 ...

'' Burkenroad, 1934 *''

Acetes chinensis ''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 ...

'' Hansen, 1919 – northern mauxia shrimp *''

Acetes erythraeus ''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 ...

'' Nobili, 1905 – tsivakihini paste shrimp *''

Acetes indicus ''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 ...

'' 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 ''Acetes japonicus'' is a shrimp species from the family Sergestidae. It occurs in the western Pacific Ocean and northern Indian Ocean, between Arabian Sea and the Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean lo ...

'' Kishinouye, 1905 – akiami paste shrimp *'' Acetes johni'' Nataraj, 1947 *''

Acetes marinus ''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 ma ...

'' Omori, 1975 *''

Acetes natalensis ''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 m ...

'' Barnard, 1950 *''

Acetes paraguayensis ''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 ...

'' Hansen, 1919 *'' Acetes serrulatus'' (Krøyer, 1859) – southern mauxia shrimp *''

Acetes sibogae ''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 ...

'' Hansen, 1919 – alamang shrimp *''

Acetes vulgaris ''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 ...

'' 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, with global production in 2008 of . Fishers mostly use

push net A fishing net is a net used for fishing. Nets are devices made from fibers woven in a grid-like structure. Some fishing nets are also called fish traps, for example fyke nets. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by knotting a relatively ...

s 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. The caught prawns are washed and then mixed with of salt per of prawns. The prawns are then crushed using

cleavers ''Galium aparine'', with common names including cleavers, clivers, catchweed and sticky willy among others, is an annual, herbaceous plant of the family Rubiaceae. Names ''Galium aparine'' is known by a variety of common names in English. They ...

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 and 1.3% fat.

References