*

Tiger Prawn stocks in the Commonwealth, NT, WA and QLD are sustainable. There is one negligible stock in NSW. 

The standard name ‘Tiger Prawn’ refers to the species Penaeus esculentus, Penaeus semisulcatus and Penaeus japonicus. Only P. esculentus (Brown Tiger Prawn) and P. semisulcatus (Grooved Tiger Prawn) are considered in this chapter; P. japonicus is not caught commercially in Australian waters.  

Brown Tiger Prawn appears to be endemic to tropical and subtropical Australian waters. Some genetic evidence indicates that there are separate stocks on the east and west coasts of Australia [Ward et al. 2006]. The biological stock structure in the Commonwealth Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) across northern Australia is uncertain and is assumed to be a single stock for assessment and management purposes.  Brown Tiger Prawns are also considered to constitute a single separate stock in the Commonwealth Jointly Managed Torres Strait Prawn Fishery for assessment and management purposes.

Grooved Tiger Prawn ranges across northern Australian waters, the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. The biological stock structure is uncertain across northern Australia and in the Commonwealth NPF is assumed to be a single stock for assessment and management purposes.

Here, assessment of stock status is presented at the management unit level—East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (Brown and Grooved Tiger Prawn) (Queensland), Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery (Brown Tiger Prawn) (Western Australia), North Coast Prawn Managed Fisheries (Brown Tiger Prawn) (Western Australia), Northern Prawn Fishery (Brown Tiger Prawn) (Commonwealth), Northern Prawn Fishery (Grooved Tiger Prawn) (Commonwealth), Shark Bay Prawn Managed Fishery (Brown Tiger Prawn) (Western Australia), Torres Strait Prawn Fishery (Brown Tiger Prawn) (Jointly managed); and at the jurisdictional level—New South Wales (Brown Tiger Prawn).

New South Wales (Brown Tiger Prawn)

Stock status for New South Wales stock is reported as Negligible due to historically low catches in this jurisdiction, and the stock has generally not been subject to targeted fishing. The New South Wales commercial catch during the period 2017–18 to 2021–22 averaged less than 0.5% of landings from neighbouring jurisdictions, and Tiger Prawn is not a major component of recreational landings. Fishing is unlikely to be having a negative impact on the stock.

Brown and Grooved Tiger Prawn biology [Somers 1987; Yearsley et al. 1999; Kangas et al. 2015]

Distribution of reported commercial catch of Tiger Prawns

Commonwealth – Recreational. The Australian Government does not manage recreational fishing in Commonwealth waters. Recreational fishing in Commonwealth waters is managed by the state or territory immediately adjacent to those waters, under its management regulations.

Commonwealth – Indigenous. The Australian Government does not manage non-commercial Indigenous fishing in Commonwealth waters, with the exception of the Torres Strait. In general, non-commercial Indigenous fishing in Commonwealth waters is managed by the state 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); the 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.

Queensland – Indigenous (Management Methods). For more information see Traditional fishing | Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland (www.daf.qld.gov.au)

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