Shrimp-peeling stress, seafood got you seeing red? Hand-peeling raw shrimp often results in a mangled mess unfit for sight nor taste. The 'Hightailer' shrimp scissors simplifies seafood preparation resulting in less waste and more eye appeal.

The shrimp-peeling cheekily named Hightailer, a cleverly engineered device that peels raw shrimp and makes 'em look nice, comes from a well-known Japanese kitchen utensil manufacturer.

Anyone whose had to peel a few dozen raw shrimp knows the process is finicky and messy. The semi-transparent shells don't always slip off the shrimps easily or in one piece. Even worse, a bad peeling job often causes expensive shrimp meat to go to waste.

Shrimp producers and academics from the Indonesian Aquaculture Community (MAI) protested Wednesday the government's policy of importing shrimp.

At a press conference held at the Hotel Sheraton Mustika in Yogyakarta, the more than 250 participants from regions across Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Java denounced the impact the imports were having on the local shrimping industry.

MAI secretary-general Agung Sudaryono said the import policy would "devastate" the local industry and render futile the myriad research and development into shrimp. "Imports will only kill the producers and incapacitate the researchers," Agung said.

He added Indonesia was rich in natural resources, possessed the right technology and skilled human resources in the shrimp business, and was currently one of the biggest shrimp producers in the world.

Today the Bangkok Post reports that shrimpers have suggested the industry cut production by between 10% and 20% next year to match expected slow demand from major buyers overseas.

Somsak Paneetatyasai, the president of the Thai Shrimp Association, said the poor economy would force importers to keep lower stocks. The result could be lower prices for Thai shrimp, especially if the local industry still sticks with its target to produce 500,000 tonnes of shrimp next year. Next year's production should be slashed by 20% at maximum and export volume should not exceed 350,000 tonnes, or 50,000 tonnes lower than this year's estimate, he said.

The cuts are to prevent further falls in shrimp prices, which have dropped steadily this year. The price is 115 baht per kilogramme (50 shrimp), down 15% from the same period last year. "If the market improves, farmers will be able to build up supplies quickly as the harvesting period of shrimp is only four months," he said.