Confusion is particularly widespread in culinary contexts as far as prawns vs. shrimps go in common terminology.. In commercial farming and fishery the terms shrimps vs prawns are often used interchangeably. In European countries, particularly the United Kingdom, the word “prawns” is more commonly on menus than the term “shrimp”. In Australia, virtually all shrimp are termed prawns (so don't look for any shrimps on the barbie in Autstralia). This may sound like a trivial distincion, but in fact, if you want to find Australian recipes for shrimp you had better Google 'prawns on the barbie' or 'prawns on the barbee' not shrimp!