''Acetes'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small

prawns Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (members of the order of decapods), some of which are edible. The term ''prawn''Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature's most ...

that resemble

krill Krill ''(Euphausiids)'' (: krill) are small and exclusively marine crustaceans of the order (biology), order Euphausiacea, found in all of the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian language, Norwegian word ', meaning "small ...

, 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 environm ...

habitats, the South American ''A. paraguayensis'' is a fresh water species. Several of its species are important for the production of

shrimp paste Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a Fermentation, fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, Southeast Asian and Coastal Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed Shrimp and prawn as food, shrimp or krill mixed ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, including '' Acetes. japonicus'', which is the world's most heavily fished species of wild shrimp or prawn in terms of total tonnage and represent the majority of non-human animals killed for food in terms of number of individuals. They are generally 3-4 cm long. In Southeast Asia, ''Acetes'' have different local names depending on the country. It is known as ruốc in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, rebon in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, geragau in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, bubuk in

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

, alamang in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, among others.

Description

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

pereiopod The anatomy of a decapod consists of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment – often called a somite – may possess one pair of appendages, although in various groups these m ...

s. They are small prawns, long,

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...

, but with a pair of black eyes, and a number of red spots of

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

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 An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

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

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e 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 con ...

s: *'' Acetes americanus'' Ortmann, 1893 – aviu shrimp *'' Acetes binghami'' Burkenroad, 1934 *'' Acetes chinensis'' Hansen, 1919 – northern mauxia shrimp *'' Acetes erythraeus'' Nobili, 1905 – tsivakihini paste shrimp *'' Acetes indicus'' H. Milne-Edwards, 1830 – Jawala paste shrimp *'' Acetes intermedius'' Omori, 1975 – Taiwan mauxia shrimp *'' Acetes japonicus'' Kishinouye, 1905 – paste shrimp *'' Acetes johni'' Nataraj, 1947 *'' Acetes marinus'' Omori, 1975 *'' Acetes natalensis'' Barnard, 1950 *'' Acetes paraguayensis'' Hansen, 1919 Acetes_paraguayensis

*'' Acetes serrulatus'' (Krøyer, 1859) – southern mauxia shrimp *'' Acetes sibogae'' Hansen, 1919 – alamang shrimp 3351Alamang Acetes sibogae textures 24

*'' Acetes vulgaris'' 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 Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

, with global production in 2008 of . Fishers mostly use push nets 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 Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic compound, Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are Catabo ...

. The caught prawns are washed and then mixed with of

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

per of prawns. The prawns are then crushed using cleavers 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 Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

and 1.3% fat.

References