Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold

7. Rock Shrimp and Spotted Prawns

Anything humans can’t use, or understand, they label as trash. For years scientists called the parts of the genome that appeared to do nothing “junk DNA” before they discovered how important it is in controlling gene expression. Medical people declared the appendix a vestigial or useless organ and cut it out, although recent research has demonstrated that it serves as a reservoir for bacteria essential to digestion. Shrimpers call all the marine species in their nets that aren’t worth money “trash.”

For years little colorful hard-shelled rock shrimp were pushed through the scuppers along with the rest of the bycatch. There was no market for them, even though the shrimpers often took them home to “cook up a mess ...