Wild Harris

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The Prawn (aka scampi, langoustine or Nephrops) is this small pink lobster-like animal lives in burrows on the seabed.  Although once discarded by trawlermen, it is now the most valuable catch from fishing boats on the West cost of Scotland. When the tails are fried in batter the resulting dish is called scampi; however the main market these days is whole live animals which are stored individually in small tubes and shipped abroad, mostly to markets in Spain. Locally simply known as prawns, they are either caught by trawls or, more commonly these days, by baited creels, which reduce the chances of damaging the animal. Prawns hole up n their burrows during the day, emerging at night to feed on just about anything they can find.

Prawn- nephrops in hole    (Photo: Sue Scott)

A scampi prawn at home. Each animal lives in its own burrow, emerging to crawl across the sea bed in search of food. 

Prawns in Creel    (Photo: Sue Scott)

Caught in a trap! These prawns have been lured into the fisherman's creel by the smell of the dead fish bait. They will only escape if they can find the opening where they came in (the white ring on the side of the creel) 

by Paul Tyler

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Link to Soft Seabed Animals