An Illustration of Head-on Argentine Red Shrimp

An Illustration of Head-on Argentine Red Shrimp (20251204) 🦐

Release: December 2025

This illustration shows thawed head-on Argentine red shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri) being sold in a Japanese supermarket. These shrimp are mainly harvested in the Patagonian region of Argentina.

Head-on Argentine red shrimp are valued in the Japanese market for their versatility, usable both raw and cooked. They are ideal for sushi and sashimi, as well as for a variety of cooked dishes. Particularly, head-on shrimp that are frozen on board immediately after harvest retain excellent freshness, making them perfect for raw use.

This shrimp is a cold-water species, similar to Northern shrimp, coonstripe shrimp, and Spot prawns. It is larger than Northern shrimp, offering a more substantial portion, yet more affordable than coonstripe shrimp and Spot prawns. This allows suppliers and restaurants to provide products that look high-quality at a lower cost.

Sushi restaurants often use raw, head-on Argentine red shrimp as a topping, both in conveyor-belt sushi chains and other establishments. Head-on Argentine red shrimp are also widely used in cooked dishes. In Italian restaurants, they appear in recipes such as baked shrimp with breading, while in Japanese restaurants, they are common in traditional hot pot dishes.

Traditionally, the Japanese market for grilled shrimp relied on farmed Japanese tiger prawns or wild tiger prawns from Southeast Asia and Australia. Now, head-on Argentine red shrimp are attracting attention in this market due to their appealing price.

For example, at the New Year, when people in Japan celebrate the beginning of a new year, grilled head-on shrimp are popular, symbolizing longevity with their curved bodies and long antennae resembling elderly figures. Affordable, festive grilled shrimp products sometimes feature head-on Argentine red shrimp, which makes them easier to sell.

💡 Subject to the Usage Rights outlined below, this illustration may be used for both personal and commercial purposes.

If this illustration resonates with you, we would be grateful if you would consider acquiring it. During this trial sales period, you are welcome to choose an appropriate price.

Purpose of This Illustration

This illustration is intended to support professionals worldwide in gaining insight into Japanese seafood culture, encompassing raw materials, culinary practices, cultural events, and regional landscapes.

To achieve this objective, Minato News provides AI-enhanced illustrations that focus on:
• how raw materials imported into Japan are processed and served in retail and foodservice settings; and
• how raw materials exported from Japan are produced in their regions of origin.

About AI-Enhanced Illustration

• This illustration is an AI-enhanced, watercolor-style image created from photographs originally taken by Minato News journalists.

• If the original photographs contain price tags, labels, trademarks, or brand identifiers, such elements are removed, obscured, or replaced with non-identifiable imagery.

• When individuals appear in the source photographs, they are replaced with fictional characters or otherwise processed so that no individual can be identified.

• As this illustration is processed using AI, the sample illustration displays the label “AI-Enhanced.”

Please note that this label does not appear on the actual illustration sold.

• Dimensions: 800 × 533 px
• Format: JPG

© Copyright Minato News 2025

Usage Rights

You may use this illustration for any personal or commercial purpose, including but not limited to business reports, presentations, marketing materials, websites, and social media.

No attribution is required, and no additional licensing fees apply.
Modifications, edits, and combinations with other materials are permitted as necessary.

However, you may not:
• register this illustration, or any derivative thereof, as a trademark or service mark;
• use this illustration in any context that is unlawful, defamatory, discriminatory, or otherwise offensive to public morals;
• display the Minato News name or logo in connection with this illustration; or
• redistribute or resell the file “as is.”

The usage rights granted above apply only to the illustration itself and do not extend to any accompanying editorial text or descriptions.