*

The status for Australia’s stocks of Endeavour Prawns varies by species across jurisdictions depending on the availability of catch and abundance information.  Where there is adequate information for assessment, such as in the main commercial fisheries, they are considered to be sustainable. Otherwise, where less information is available, they are classified as undefined.

Endeavour Prawns includes two species, Blue Endeavour Prawn Metapenaeus endeavouri, and Red Endeavour Prawn M. ensis that are generally not distinguished in fisheries. Although the two species are caught in differing proportions in different regions.

Endeavour Prawn fisheries are located in Shark Bay, Exmouth Gulf, the north coast of Western Australia, the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Torres Strait and the east coast of Queensland. Little is known about the biological stock structure of the populations of Blue and Red Endeavour Prawns that make up these fisheries. The majority of catch reported in this chapter is Blue Endeavour Prawn. Red Endeavour Prawn represents less than 20% of the catch in the East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery [Turnbull and Atfield 2007] and between 20–40% in the Northern Prawn Fishery.

Here, assessment of stock status is presented at the management unit level—Northern Prawn Fishery (Blue Endeavour Prawn), Northern Prawn Fishery (Red Endeavour Prawn), Torres Strait Prawn Fishery (Blue Endeavour Prawn) (Commonwealth); Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery (Blue Endeavour Prawn), North Coast Prawn Managed Fishery (Blue Endeavour Prawn), Shark Bay Prawn Managed Fishery (Blue Endeavour Prawn) (Western Australia); and East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (Red and Blue Endeavour Prawn) (Queensland).

East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (Red and Blue Endeavour Prawn)

Endeavour Prawns in the East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery management unit (Queensland) are not reported to the species level within commercial logbooks. Previous research indicates that harvest rates occur at a ratio of approximately 80:20 for Blue Endeavour Prawns and Red Endeavour Prawns respectively [Turnbull and Atfield 2007]. However, the recent assessment modelled these species collectively [Fox et al. 2023]. Based on data to December 2021, this assessment found that the stock underwent an historical decline between 1958 and 1997 falling to 34% of unfished biomass before rising steadily since. The 2021 biomass level was estimated to be between 54% and 87% (across the 95% credible interval), and most likely at 69% of unfished biomass. Current harvest levels are significantly lower than those reported prior to 2001 when an assessment concluded that the northern Endeavour Prawn stocks were fully exploited at 1,352 t [Turnbull and Gribble 2004]. Between 2017 and 2021, the annual catch rate (taken from high catching grids) increased while the catch has been variable with an average annual harvest of 395 t [Fox et al. 2023]. At 365 t the 2021–22 catch was only slightly below this average. The above evidence indicates that the biomass of this stock is unlikely to be depleted and recruitment is unlikely to be impaired.

Effort in this fishery stabilised in 2007–08, following management changes, marine park closures and rising operational costs. Fishing effort deployed in the 2021–22 Endeavour Prawn catch (7,331 days) was below the long-term median of 9,076 fishing days (2000–22) and lower than the maximum effort of 28,045 fishing days in 2000–01. Trawl effort levels (2021–22) in the northern (above 16°S) and southern (16–22°S) sectors of the fishery (2,351 and 3,817 days) were well below the effort at maximum economic yield (EMEY) estimate of 10,250 days (northern sector) in the previous assessment; and slightly above the 3,230 days EMEY estimate, but below the 23,960 days of effort at maximum sustainable yield (EMSY) estimate (southern sector) [Wang et al. 2015]. While the recent assessment did not provide further EMSY estimates for the northern and southern sectors, these were combined and modelled as the whole stock wherein fishing mortality was found to be persistent at levels below fishing mortality at MSY (FMSY) [Fox et al. 2023]. The above evidence indicates that the current level of fishing pressure is unlikely to cause the stock to become recruitment impaired.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, the multispecies East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (Red and Blue Endeavour Prawn) (Queensland) management unit is classified as a sustainable stock.

Red and Blue Endeavour Prawn biology [Courtney et al. 1989; Kailola et al. 1993; Keating et al. 1990; Kangas et al. 2015; Somers et al. 1987; Yearsley et al. 1999]

Commonwealth – Commercial (catch). Catch is by calendar year. TSPF – Torres Strait Prawn Fishery. NPF – Northern Prawn Fishery.

Commonwealth – Indigenous (management methods). The Commonwealth Government does not manage non-commercial Indigenous fishing (with the exception of the Torres Strait). In general, non-commercial Indigenous fishing in Commonwealth waters is managed by the states or territory immediately adjacent to those waters. In the Torres Strait both commercial and non-commercial Indigenous fishing is managed by the Torres Strait Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) through the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (Commonwealth), Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (Queensland) and the Torres Strait Regional Authority. The PZJA also manages non-Indigenous commercial fishing in the Torres Strait.

Commonwealth – Recreational (fishing methods). The Commonwealth Government does not manage recreational fishing. Recreational fishing in Commonwealth waters is managed by the states or territory immediately adjacent to those waters, under their management regulations.

Queensland – Indigenous (management methods). for more information see https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/traditional-fishing 

Queensland – Commercial (Management Methods). Harvest strategies available at: https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/sustainable/harvest-strategy

Queensland – Commercial (Catch). Queensland commercial and charter data has been sourced from the commercial fisheries logbook program. Further information available through the Queensland Fisheries Summary Report 

Commercial catch of Red and Blue Endeavour Prawns - note confidential catch not shown

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