ABSTRACT
The market for prawns is mainly concentrated in and around Tokyo. The distances involved are long and the packing cost is high. However, possible losses during the packing process should be minimized. The packing is done in small rooms at low temperatures. Before packing the prawns sawdust dried outside the room and kept in a freezer is spread on the bottom of corrugated cardboard boxes. In 1967 the rate for transporting 1 kg of prawns from Himejima of Oita Prefecture to Tokyo by sea was about 500 yen. With culture prawns the timing and amount of consignments can be adjusted according to the market position. Since the yawara condition often occurs in summer the pound net should be carefully used so as to avoid overcrowding of prawns in the bag nets. Summer prawns often die during the catching operation and cooling treatment. However, the price of dead prawns is only about one-third of live ones.
