Delectable Prawns and Sunsets

There are few things more enjoyable than eating prawns and watching a beautiful sunset. British Columbia has an abundance of both prawns and sunsets. The sunsets are a gift and the prawns require more work.

British Columbia has 25 species of prawns and we have caught five. The most common, spot prawns can grow to 10 inches from tip to tip. The next most common type is the tiger prawn which is more delicate and smaller. There is a tiny hairy prawn that we have not identified and a large brilliant red prawn that is tasty.

Prawns are found in about 300 feet of water and have a keen sense of smell which leads them to the delectable fish fertilizer and prawn bait concoction that seeps from our pots. They have brilliant golden eyes on stalks that darken when they are out of the water.

British Columbia prawns are sweeter and more flavorful than others we have tasted. We tend to cook them simply. A Carolina Skillet where you just put the prawns in a hot skillet and cook them in their own juices, a simple fry or perhaps seasoned with a touch of garlic and a scampi.

An interesting prawn fact is that prawns live for three years. Their first year is as a juvenile, the second is as a male and their final year is as a female.

I wonder what our world would be like if humans changed from juvenile to male to female in their life cycle.