Investigating the biometric and physicochemical characteristics of freshly harvested Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei): a comparative approach

Results - No significant correlation (P > 0.05) was found between the biometric and physicochemical indices of the sampled L. vannamei specimens. Possibly the lack of post-mortem and physical change(s) at day of harvest together with the absence of temporal variable may have collectively limited the degree of any significant correlation between biometric and physicochemical data points measured in this study. Although the TWs of freshly harvested L. vannamei shrimp resembled (P > 0.05), SL and CF differed significantly (P < 0.05) with minimal explained variance. Moreover, some biometric and physicochemical variables were independently correlated (P < 0.05).

BACKGROUND - The practicality of biometrics of seafood cannot be overemphasized, particularly for competent authorities of the shrimp industry. However, there is a paucity of relevant literature on the relationship between biometric and physicochemical indices of freshly harvested shrimp. This work therefore investigated the relationship between biometric (standard length (SL), total weight (TW) and condition factor (CF)) and physicochemical (moisture content, pH, titratable acidity, water activity, water retention index, colour values and fracturability) characteristics of freshly harvested Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) obtained from three different farms. The relationships between these parameters were determined using correlation and regression analyses.