Why Are Shrimp Called The Cockroaches Of The Sea?

Here in the US, bugs often get a bad reputation. They’re seen as gross, and the sight of one crawling across your floor can send some people running.

And yet when one looks beneath the waves, our opinions begin to change for these bugs’ aquatic counterparts.

Demand for shrimp and other crustaceans for food has been steadily increasing for a long time in the US, and the industry is expected to continue growing.

So what gives? Are shrimp really the cockroaches of the sea?

And if so, what does that tell us about how Americans’ eating habits could change in an evolving world?

Let’s scavenge up some answers about how these undersea critters compare to the bugs that walk on land!

Table of Contents

• Are Shrimp Roaches Of The Sea?
• Shrimp vs Cockroach
• We Love Shrimp, But Hate Roaches
• Treat Cockroaches More Like Shrimp?
• Insect Agriculture And The Future
  • Shrimp & Bugs: Sustainable Food Source
• Conclusion

Are Shrimp Roaches Of The Sea?

So shrimp and cockroaches are closely related from a scientific standpoint, but the similarities don’t stop there. The two animals also share a whole host of similarities in their life cycles as well!

Both shrimp and cockroaches start out as eggs and hatch into small, immature larvae. As they grow they mold their hard exoskeletons, until eventually reaching adult proportions.

Shrimp and Cockroaches are both omnivorous, and neither are very picky eaters. Both animals will snack readily on vegetation, dead or decaying animals, and any other detritus they can find in their environment.

If there is not enough food present, or if their environment is too overcrowded, both shrimp and roaches have been known to cannibalize other individuals! It’s a rough world out there for these opportunistic arthropods.

Shrimp vs Cockroach

The easiest place to start is at the genetic level. From a scientific perspective, are shrimp and cockroaches closely related? Surprisingly, relative to the rest of the tree of life, they are!

The clades that contain all insects (hexapoda) and all crustaceans (crustacea) are both included within the arthropods as well.

Not only this, but they are actually sister groups, with insects and crustaceans both belonging to the arthropod group called pancrustacea.

This relatively recent scientific consensus means that insects are, quite literally, the land-dwelling cousins of crustaceans! Shrimp may have learned to swim, but they’ll still be at the cockroach’s family reunion.

We Love Shrimp, But Hate Roaches

If shrimp and cockroaches really are so similar, then why is one feared and shunned while the other is a seafood favorite?

The answer may simply be that cockroaches can live in our homes while shrimp can’t. Our trash cans and pantries generally aren’t underwater, meaning shrimp can’t snack on our litter.

If we lived and ate underwater, there’s a good chance that we would see shrimp, crabs and other crustaceans in the exact same way that we see cockroaches on land!

This is not a constructive way to look at the situation, however.

Cockroaches and other insects may have an important role to play in our future, and Americans may be able to learn a thing or two from our shrimpy pals.

Treat Cockroaches More Like Shrimp?

While overfishing and climate change both continue to cause fish stocks around the world to decline, farming seafood is undoubtedly necessary in order to keep up with current levels of demand.

While large fish like salmon can be farmed, there are inherent issues with keeping such large animals fed and clean.

Shrimp, meanwhile, are at a lower trophic level- that is, they are lower down on the food chain, and thus less picky about what they’ll eat. Feed that humans are unable to consume can be fed to shrimp, and thus turned into useful (and delicious) protein!

Being smaller and generally more sedentary than most fish, many more shrimp can be grown in a given amount of space when compared to larger animals.

Given all these advantages, it’s no wonder that farmed shrimp makes up the vast majority of what’s sold in the US!

Being aquatic, however, leads to inherent problems in farming shrimp. Water circulation can be expensive, and farming shrimp in the ocean can destroy vital coastal habitats.

Luckily, there exists a group of animals with the exact same desirable farming qualities as shrimp, but with none of the hassle that comes with breathing water… but it may gross out some Americans.

Shrimp may be the cockroaches of the sea, but cockroaches (and other insects) have the potential to be the shrimp of the land!

Insect Agriculture And The Future

While it’s not common in the Western world, many countries in Africa and Asia routinely eat both raw and cooked insects as part of their diet.

It isn’t seen as gross, and many species are even considered delicacies! They are served ground, baked, fried, and even candied in some cases.

Crickets are one of the main staples of insect agriculture, but many other species are farmed as well. And yes, in China, even cockroaches are farmed somewhat commonly!

That may gross out some readers, but there are many surprising benefits to incorporating insects into our diets.

For starters, insects are actually pretty healthy! They’re low-calorie packages stuffed with protein and nutrients.

Some people even say that the meat tastes a lot like shrimp, which shouldn’t be a surprise anymore given how closely they’re related to each other!

While many of us associate these bugs with dirty conditions, they are as clean as any other animal when raised in a farm environment!

Shrimp & Bugs: Sustainable Food Source

Insects don’t need wide rolling pastures and can be reared essentially anywhere with unused space, from basements to backyards to rooftops.

As famine and starvation impact many parts of the world, this type of agriculture could present a powerful tool in the fight against world hunger.

The feed and space efficiency of insect farming also means they’re incredibly friendly for the environment and the climate when compared with other options. These little guys could spark a huge leap forward for sustainable agriculture!

Of course, there are cultural barriers that people who don’t regularly eat bugs would need to overcome. A lot of us, especially in the US and Europe, just think it’s gross regardless of any statistics.

To be sure, nobody’s asking us to give up shrimp either, or any other food for that matter! Adding this new protein source to the mix with the rest is simply a new way to drag down our overall carbon footprint.

And attitudes are slowly starting to change, with Westerners who give bugs a try often being surprised at how good they taste. So maybe one day we’ll all be snacking on some delicious roaches with cocktail sauce at the next summer cookout!

Conclusion

As it turns out, shrimp do indeed seem to earn the moniker of ‘cockroach of the sea.’ But that isn’t a bad thing.

The lesson here isn’t to start thinking of shrimp like we do bugs, but in fact to do the opposite- to start treating bugs more like we already treat shrimp!

In a quickly changing world with ecological and climatic threats on the horizon, we will likely have to make changes to the way we live to help our environment recover.

We already love to eat our favorite water bugs, so perhaps we can give their terrestrial cousins a try as well. Bon Appetit!