Industry update News Sustainability
UK prawn RAS farms pivot to meet post-pandemic demand

Two growing United Kingdom-based prawn farms are riding out the market disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to a healthy domestic preference for traceable and sustainably produced seafood.

U.K. retail sales are placed at around 180,000 metric tons and estimated to be worth about $637 million. The foodservice sector consumes roughly the same amount, according to a report from the Aquaculture Alliance.

The top sellers are the coldwater Pandalus borealis, typically caught in the Barents Sea, Iceland, Greenland and northern Canada, and the white-legged Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon black tiger prawns that are farmed in warm waters.

Two U.K. shrimp farms benefiting from this strong market are FloGro Fresh and Great British Prawns, the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s online publication, The Advocate, has reported.

Both companies farm prawns in indoor recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). Both companies have also learned to tweak their business model to meet emerging domestic demands.

Read more about how these two companies thrived despite the challenges of a global pandemic. The GAA’s The Advocate has the full story.