LAUSR

In central Patagonia, the most important crustaceans caught are the Argentine red shrimp (ARS) (Pleoticus muelleri) and the southern king crab (SKC) (Lithodes santolla). Their industrial processing generates large amounts of waste, which cause environmental pollution and ecological imbalances. The recovery of valuable compounds from this waste could bring economic benefits to the region. Comparative dry-basis proximal analysis of shells of ARS and SKC showed similar values of chitin (19 and 20%, respectively), slight but significant differences in proteins and ashes (18 and 48% for SKC and 26 and 55% for ARS), and 8 times higher content of lipids in ARS (4%) than in SKC (0.5%) shells. Nowadays, the waste generated by the processing of ARS (18000 t/year) is almost 180 times higher than that of SKC (100 t/year) and comprises not only shells but also heads (S + H). Nevertheless, taking into account that the amount of waste of SKC could increase in the future, the information about its chemical composition becomes relevant and is thus also reported in this work. The analysis of S + H of ARS showed the highest lipid content (11%), and the wet basis analysis of its fatty acids and carotenoids at different catch times showed a constant high level of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic (5.0 g kg−1) and statistically significant variation in the carotenoid content, which can reach up to 158.8 mg kg−1. The results suggest potentials for recovering valuable n-3-PUFAs and carotenoids from ARS waste.