Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Mississippi Business Journal

Lobster-like freshwater prawns a premium aquaculture product.

Article Excerpt
There is more to aquaculture in the Mississippi Delta than catfish. A small but growing niche in the marketplace is freshwater prawns that command premium prices for a product that some people believe tastes more like lobster than marine shrimp.

Leland-based Lauren Farms (www.laurenfarms.com), owned by Dolores and Steven Fratesi, started producing freshwater prawns in 1995 after Mississippi State University (MSU) asked the couple to see if research done over the past decade at MSU could be transferred to commercial production.

"My husband has L & S Fish Farms, a catfish hatchery, so it was a natural progression for us to begin Lauren Farms, which is a freshwater prawn hatchery and produces product for consumers," Dolores Fratesi said. "We began hatching for several years, and provided juveniles for both our farm and other farmers. We became confident this could be a way for farmers to diversify. We could really see the potential for the freshwater prawn because it is a premium product raised with no chemicals that has many health benefits. It is a Mississippi,...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!