BC Spot Prawns Vancouver 2025: Season Dates, Where to Buy, How to Cook

Here’s a look at where to buy BC Spot Prawns in Vancouver (BC Canada) along with 2025 season dates, buying tips, how to cook spot prawns tricks and spot prawn recipes.

How long is the 2025 BC Spot Prawn Season?

The BC Spot Prawn Season is short.  The 2025 harvest season will start Wednesday May 14 and is expected to last 30 – 40 days.

Where to buy spot prawns

BC Live Spot Prawns & Seafood will launch their 2025 season on May 14, offering live spot prawns for home delivery across Greater Vancouver and pickup at Ladner Wharf. Pre-orders are now open on bclivespotprawns.com, with prawns packed fresh from the same-day catch. The ungraded prawns come directly from fishing boats, offering large and XL sizes. Walk-up sales at the wharf will also be available daily, while quantities last. The company is adding a new status page and live chat for real-time updates. Shipping to Calgary, Edmonton, and Toronto is available on select dates.

Steveston Spot Prawns is selling spot prawns from their boat in Steveston Fisherman’s Wharf starting May 16. They are also taking pre-orders.

Prawns on the Spot is taking preorders (minimum 2 pounds) and they sell from their boat at Steveston Fisherman’s Wharf.

Lobster Man is taking preorders at $24.99 per pound. Available for in-store pick-up only. 

T&T usually has live spot prawns in the tank.

Spot Prawn Festivals & Events 2025

The Spot Prawn Festival 2025 returns on May 25 from 11 AM to 4 PM at False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf in Vancouver. This family-friendly event offers free dock access, cooking demos, and two food options: an 8 oz prawn bisque with a bun for $10, and a 19+ stand-up Spot Prawn Brunch for $79, featuring six spot prawn dishes. The annual event supports the Chefs’ Table Society’s education and sustainability programs across BC. Buy tickets here.

Richmond’s annual Spot Prawn Celebration kicks off on Wednesday, May 14, with the start of live spot prawn sales at Fisherman’s Wharf. From May 17 to June 15, enjoy weekend live music on the boardwalk, and from May 31 to June 15, the Dine About restaurant promotion returns, featuring special seafood dishes made with Steveston-sourced catch. Spot Prawn Day on Saturday, June 7 will feature chef-led cooking demos, musical and circus performances, hands-on Gyotaku fish printing, and family-friendly activities outside the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. Event dates are subject to change based on fishery notices.

Restaurant Spot Prawn Features

Fairmont Waterfront is marking the return of spot prawn season with a trio of culinary events at ARC Restaurant, starting May 20. The programming reflects an ongoing focus on sustainable West Coast dining, with all spot prawns sourced through Ocean Wise. The Province to Plate menu, launching May 20, brings seasonal dishes like spot prawn chowder and spot prawn boil to the forefront. Each dish uses locally sourced ingredients including buttered asparagus and sunchokes, aligning with ARC’s farm-to-table ethos. On May 22, ARC will host a Spot Prawn Boil dining experience at the Chef’s Bench. This evening features spot prawns simmered in a spiced broth, paired with regional wines and served against ocean views. The $163 per person event is reservation-only through ARC’s online store.

Fanny Bay Oyster Bar and Shellfish Market is serving spot prawn sashimi with optional crispy fried heads, a daily chef’s feature, and live prawns available for retail alongside their West Coast Bisque.

B House is offering Firecrackers Spot Prawns simmered in lobster stock and chili garlic butter, and a Spot Prawns Roll wrapped in spring roll pastry with pineapple and a house peanut dipping sauce.

Loam Bistro is presenting Spot Prawn Toast layered with tartare on toasted milk bread, served with a bisque made from roasted spot prawn shells.

Riley’s is featuring Spot Prawn Ceviche with tomato vinaigrette and nori crisp, Spot Prawns Gnocchi with nduja chili crumb and spring peas, and a Steamer Combo with garlic butter or spicy tomato sauce and Pinot Grigio.

Glowbal is showcasing Spot Prawns Arancini with mala cream and smoked egg yolk gel, Bibim-Naengmyeon with pork belly and kimchi, and a nduja butter-poached prawn combo with garlic ciabatta and wine.

Black and Blue is serving Spot Prawns Tagliatelle and a crudo-style Spot Prawns & Hamachi with ginger-grapefruit vinaigrette and jalapeño aioli, alongside a charcoal-grilled prawns combo with lemon and garlic butter.

Italian Kitchen is offering Poached Spot Prawns Crostino with whipped burrata and citrus marinade, and Dungeness Crab Ravioloni with Spot Prawns, pancetta, and white asparagus velouté.

Coast is plating Live Spot Prawn Sashimi, a Spot Prawns Roll with avocado and garlic chili sauce, squid ink Spot Prawns Gnocchi in saffron tomato bisque, and a grilled prawns combo with lemon and garlic butter.

C|Prime is highlighting a pasta finished with raw spot prawn tartare, complemented by a sauce made from prawn shells and heads, emphasizing clean flavours and freshness.

What is so special about spot prawns?

The BC spot prawn season is a favourite time of the year for foodies. Known for their sweet, delicate in flavour and firm texture, BC spot prawns are delicacies that are enjoyed locally but also around the world.

Why is it called spot prawn?

BC spot prawns are reddish brown in colour and have characteristic white spots on their tail and white horizontal bars on the carapace (shell).

BC spot prawns are the largest of the seven commercial species of shrimp found on Canada’s West Coast. They vary greatly in size; some larger females can exceed 23 cm in total length – bigger than your hand!

How are spot prawns caught?

Prawn fishermen typically leave early in the morning to spread baited traps in areas approved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The traps lie along the rocky ocean floor at depths ranging from 40 to 100 metres. This method has minimal impact on ocean habitat and very low levels of bycatch of other species. The fisherman return later in the day to collect their haul.

How much are live spot prawns?

For the 2025 season, prices at the fisherman wharfs are around $24 – 25 per pound.

Tips for buying live spot prawns

The first days when spot prawns are available on the market are pretty crazy. You can preorder online ahead of time at some of the vendors that have online shops but that doesn’t guarantee the availability.

During the first few days, the amount of spot prawns on the market is usually not enough to keep up with the HUGE demand in the beginning. If you are planning to buy directly from the fishermen boats at the wharves, the boats typically come in around 12 pm – 1 pm.

You can expect long line ups at the wharf ahead of when the boats even arrive. The wait could potentially be hours. Check the social media of the fishermen for the latest information on when the boat is arriving or if they are sold out. The demand does wane a bit as the season goes on so you can find spot prawns more easily in places like supermarkets (even in the late evening) and not having to wait in line for hours at the wharf.

When you buy live spot prawns, they should be jumping, moving about with a translucent appearance. Do not buy foul-smelling, discoloured spot prawns.

How do you transport live spot prawns? Bring a cooler with a small ice pack if you can to keep your spot prawns alive. That way you can keep them cool until you get home.

Do not put the spot prawns directly in ice because melted fresh water ice will kill them. If the spot prawn is dead, an enzyme is released from within a prawn’s head that can cause the meat to turn mushy when cooked.

How many spot prawns are in a pound?

Depending on the size of the catch, the number can range from 10-16 for mixed sizes. Recommended serving is roughly half a pound per person

How to prepare spot prawns

So you’ve brought home your live spot prawns, kept them cool and they’re sticking kicking and moving about. What to do next?

Get ready to cook them ASAP. You need to cook them live because spot prawns release an enzyme when they die.

If you’re asking “why are my spot prawns mushy,” it is likely that your spot prawn meat is spoiled. Dead prawns have a black flesh and are simply not good to eat. Do not put spot prawns in tap water because fresh water will actually kill them. 

Spot prawns taste best when they are cooked fast in just about two minutes. Beware of overcooking! You can even undercook the spot prawns a bit because they will continue to cook after removal from heat. Look for them to turn pink and curl up which means they are ready to be enjoyed.

For the spot prawn meat to be in the best condition, cook the spot prawns live with their head or you will need to remove their heads while still alive.

It can be intimidating at first, but to remove the head of a live spot prawn follow these steps:

• Carefully remove the spot prawn from the bag and carefully handle the sharp ends.
• Firmly grab the spot prawn head in one hand and the spot prawn body with the other.
• Pinch the spot prawn head with your thumb and index finger.
• Twist your hands in opposite directions and pull.
• Voila, the head will come free easily!
• Grab the body with your dominant hand and pinch the head between the thumb and index finger of your other hand. Quickly and forcefully twist the body away from the head until it’s removed. Rinse the tail thoroughly.

Check out this demo video to see how it is done.

What is the best way to cook spot prawns?

In the list below, here are the best ways to cook spot prawns.

How to steam spot prawns: Bring the water in your pot to a boil. Place spot prawns in the steamer basket. Steam for about 2 minutes and then run cold water over them.

How to grill spot prawns: Grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side at medium heat. You can also skewer them.

How to boil spot prawns: Bring the water in your pot to a boil. Boil spot prawns (with shell) for about 2 minutes.

How to sautée spot prawns: You can sautée spot prawns for a few minutes with or without shell.

Can you eat BC spot prawns raw? Spot prawn tails can be eaten sashimi-style from de-headed fresh, BC live spot prawns.

Spot prawn recipe ideas

Here are some spot prawn recipe ideas for inspiration.

• Cooked then chilled on ice. Serve with a lemon and cocktail sauce.
• With butter only!
• Paella with mussels, clams and fish. Serve with wine.
• Steamed and then seasoned with olive oil, lemon and salt.
• Cooked in sweet chili, butter, garlic and tomato sauce.
• Pasta with tomatoes, asparagus in a garlic white wine sauce.
• Tacos with mango, lime, sweet onion, salsa, chipotle mayo, avocado, cilatro and so forth.
• Ceviche style.
• Olive oil, salt and lemon zest.
• Spot prawn boil with corn, potatoes and onions.
• Garlic butter with Romesco sauce.
• With coconut milk and lime.
• Grilled and tossed in uni butter.
• Spot prawn scampi (linguine pasta, butter, garlic, parsley, lemon, white white, parmesan)
• Skewered and grilled.
• With a butter garlic sauce.
• Grilled with corn, then served with pasta and cherry tomatoes.
• Chili garlic spot prawn steamed with sake and served with coconut rice.
• Seafood risotto with mussels and clams.
• Serve with soy sauce.
• With a sake dashi broth.
• Olive oil, garlic and fresh lemon juice.
• Served with garlic, herb butter and zucchini and peas.

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