Convenience over tradition as gen Z and millennials favour pre-peeled prawns over the Christmas period
Seafood store worker Keiran Hein says the generational divide is obvious when it comes to prawn preferences. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
In short:
Younger Australians are opting for pre-peeled prawns this Christmas.
There is a generational divide when it comes to prawn purchases in Australia, with older generations preferring whole prawns.
What's next?
Australians are expected to eat around 18.5 million kilograms of prawns this Christmas period.
Green, cooked, peeled or frozen — how you buy your prawns may say more about you than you realise.
Research by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has found younger generations are increasingly opting for pre-peeled prawns.
It's a trend seafood retailers have noticed as Australians flock into stores ahead of Christmas.
Overall, 56 per cent of Aussies prefer a peeled prawn, with the number rising to 66 per cent for gen Z and 63 per cent of millennials.
Around half of Aussie consumers prefer Australian caught prawns, a figure that rises to 60 per cent among baby boomers. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
Whereas baby boomers are attempting to keep Christmas traditions alive and prefer buying whole prawns a majority of the time.
MSC senior fisheries standards manager Adrian Gutteridge said the difference could likely be attributed to young families trying to save some time and hassle.
"Contrary to that idea that the cost-of-living crisis is making people choose cheaper options, it's actually more expensive to buy pre-peeled prawns," Dr Gutteridge said.
"That shows that the convenience of not having to deal with shells and heads once you get home is probably more factoring into that purchasing."
Keiran Hein says the research is in line with what she has observed in store. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
Seafood store workers' observations have backed up the research.
Keiran Hein, who works at Best Oceania Seafood in Mount Gambier, said she had a different word for why young consumers were opting for pre-peeled.
"Thirties and under are probably a bit on the lazier side; they will buy them pre-cooked and unshelled,"she said.
"People my age, 50 and up, will buy the whole prawns and peel them themselves."
Industry pushes for focus on sustainability
It is not just the type of prawns where generations differ, with more gen Z and millennials checking their seafood is sustainably sourced compared to gen X and baby boomers.
According to MSC research over half of Australians will be choosing frozen over fresh prawns this week. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
"Only about 16 per cent are actually bringing sustainability into their purchasing sphere,"Dr Gutteridge said.
"We'd love to see that get higher because at the moment there's about two-thirds of wild-caught prawns in Australia that carry the MSC blue fish tick labels, so it's never been easier to buy sustainably [caught] prawns.
"It's guaranteeing you that the fishery has gone through a really rigorous process to demonstrate sustainability."
Meghan Petherick says businesses are fortunate to not be impacted by the South Australian algal bloom this Christmas. (Supplied: Meghan Petherick)
Meanwhile, the Tapley family has been prawn fishing on the Spencer Gulf for generations, selling their seafood themselves at The Prawn Store in Port Lincoln.
Store manager Meghan Petherick (nee Tapley) had also noticed changing trends in consumer habits.
"The shift that I have noticed is that the younger generation is buying what we call a green prawn — so a raw prawn versus your traditional cooked prawn," she said.
While consumers may be shifting away from whole prawns, six in 10 Australians say peeling prawns brings back Christmas memories. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
"It's a more versatile product ... there are more ways to get creative in the kitchen, so that is the shift that I've seen versus your boiled prawn."
Catching millions of prawns
However you buy them, prawns continue to be a firm favourite at Christmas, with Australians expected to consume an estimated 18.5 million kilograms this week, according to MSC.
Getting all those prawns ready for consumers is no easy task, with fishers working around the clock to be Christmas-ready.
76 per cent of Western Australians are willing to pay extra for pre-peeled prawns, well above the national average of 60 per cent. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
"Numbers were fantastic this year, which has been really good and encouraging," Ms Petherick said.
"The lead-up to Christmas has been chaos in a good way, and it's been really good to have the support of locals, especially at this time with everything that is going on with the algal bloom."
Despite being around them all year, there will still be prawns on the Tapley/Petherick table this Christmas.
Consumers who go for green prawns usually have a recipe planned. (ABC South East SA: Elsie Adamo)
"I'm a greenie all the way because you can do so much more with it, and just cooking your own product is really rewarding as well," Ms Petherick said.
"But I am happy to also peel my own prawn."