Discovering the Palamós prawn

Palamós, the natural area of the red prawn

The municipality of Palamós can be identified by various characteristics and aspects, but when it comes to gastronomy, it is recognized by the red shrimp, which feeds on the marine fauna and flora found on the seabed of the Palamós coast.

This town on the Costa Brava, like most municipalities on this coast, has a coast with unique characteristics formed by a seabed of canyons and slopes.

The shrimp is located in a fishing ground with a rocky environment, transparent waters and rich in biodiversity along three miles of the San Sebastián de Palafrugell cape.

It could be said that the discovery of the red shrimp was possible due to the seafaring vocation of the town and the art of trawling that was adopted as the art of fishing. Specifically, in 1930 fishermen from the south of Catalonia, exactly from Ametlla de Mar, arrived at the Palamós coast and introduced the art of trawling.

With this new technique, which consists of fishing with a net that is dragged along the seabed with the help of the boat, large prawn fishing grounds were discovered and it began to be relevant as an activity of the municipality of Palamós.

To delve further into the world of fishing and learn about the seafaring past of Palamós, we recommend a visit to the Fishing Museum, which is located in the same municipality.

The Prawn Auction

In the municipality of Palamós there are 9 trawling boats that are dedicated to shrimp fishing and that have quality certification. Although in high season you can get to dedicate up to 35 boats.

It should be said that prawns present difficulties when it comes to being caught and the more boats there are in the sea, the smaller the fishing for this crustacean, obviously, for each one of the boats. The quantities range between 120 and 170 tons per year and can be divided into three types according to their size: large, medium and small. This can be fished throughout the year but the maximum time for capturing and fishing for prawns occurs between the months of May and July.

The fishermen of Palamós begin to work at dawn in order to catch shrimp using the trawling technique. These move to the fishing grounds and release the nets that they collect in the afternoon and later unload the crustacial port.

This is the live picture of the daily life of the fishermen and the ports, which is a spectacle for all visitors, especially if they later attend the fish auction.

Attending this activity is a way of understanding the past, present and future sailors of the town of Palamós.

Suck your head and lick your fingers

The Prawn from Palamós is the main product of a gastronomic tradition and an attraction of the Baix Empordà region. In addition, it has become the backbone of the gastronomic days called " Suck your head and lick your fingers " which are held annually in the municipality of Palamós and Calonge-Sant Antoni.

These days have the " Shrimp Menu " that can be tasted in various restaurants in the bay that are part of the blue plate association over two months, often between the months of April-May and June-July. The menu is the same for all the restaurants included in this initiative.

Calonge-San Antonio

The municipality of Calonge - Sant Antoni, as its name suggests, is divided into two different parts, Calonge and Sant Antoni de Calonge.

The first population center, Calonge, is the original town and Sant Antoni de Calonge corresponds to the fishing district of the town that was formed with the disappearance of piracy and the location of the fishermen's barracks.

This neighboring town of Palamós enjoys the presence of the red prawn, which shows off at the fish markets and at the market stalls.

Es Monestri beach in San Antonio de Calonge links the municipality of Palamós and Calonge. Thus, due to its proximity to Palamós to this town, you can also savor the red prawn, mainly in the restaurants of the Sant Antoni bay.