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Eastern School Prawn fisheries occur along the east coast of Australia. Stock status is sustainable in QLD, NSW and VIC.

Eastern School Prawn fisheries occur along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Genetic work on the biological stock structure of this species is limited. There is evidence for some minor genetic differentiation of Eastern School Prawn in the Tweed River and Noosa River from Eastern School Prawn in other estuaries, but estuaries within New South Wales appear to be generally genetically homogenous [Mulley and Latter 1981]. No genetic information is available for Victorian populations.

As a result of uncertainty regarding the biological stock structure of Eastern School Prawn, assessment of stock status is presented at the jurisdictional level—Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

New South Wales

Eastern School Prawn is commercially fished throughout most of its range in New South Wales, although there has been limited harvest south of latitude 35°S in recent years. Eastern School Prawn is a fast-growing, fast-maturing and short-lived species which generally exhibits high productivity [Racek 1959], but observations of recruitment and catch indicate substantial influence of environmental conditions (especially rainfall) [Ruello 1973, Pinto and Maheshwari 2012]. Simulation modelling has also established that environmental factors can have a strong influence on Eastern School Prawn catches [Ives et al. 2009]. These traits mean this species displays large inter-annual variations in recruitment. Taylor [2020] reports the outcomes of analysis of standardised catch rates, as well as a Surplus Production Model fitted using the datalowSA R package [Haddon et al. 2018]. A summary of these outcomes is provided below.

Taking into account marked rainfall variability and drought in recent years, and known effects on recruitment in Eastern School Prawn, standardised catch rates (as a proxy for stock biomass) approximated recent historic levels, and showed no indication of a downward trend. The Surplus Production Model estimated that biomass has remained above B_targ for the previous 12 years, and the depletion ratio is increasing. The current biomass estimate for the stock of ~7 500 tonnes (t) is well above B_targ (4 337 t), and the highest in the time series analysed, as is the lower CI (~6100 t) for this value. The above evidence indicates that the biomass of this stock is unlikely to be depleted and that recruitment is unlikely to be impaired.

The estimated harvest rate has remained below F_targ for around 16 years. The harvest rate has been decreasing during the last 10 years, but has appeared to stabilise during the last two years in this time series. The low harvest rate has likely contributed to an increase in the stock biomass over this period. The above evidence indicates that the current level of fishing mortality is unlikely to cause the stock to become recruitment impaired.

On the basis of the evidence provided above, Eastern School Prawn in New South Wales is classified as a sustainable stock.

Eastern School Prawn biology [Rowling et al. 2010]

Distribution of reported commercial catch of Eastern School Prawn

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

New South Wales – Commercial (Management Methods) Size limit – Prawn counts apply to commercial fisheries in NSW and serve as a proxy to size limit.

New South Wales – Indigenous (Management Methods) see https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/aboriginal-fishing.

New South Wales – Recreational (Catch) Murphy et al. [2020].

Victoria – Indigenous (Management Methods) A person who identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is exempt from the need to obtain a Victorian recreational fishing licence, provided they comply with all other rules that apply to recreational fishers, including rules on equipment, catch limits, size limits and restricted areas. Traditional (non-commercial) fishing activities that are carried out by members of a traditional owner group entity under an agreement pursuant to Victoria’s Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 are also exempt from the need to hold a recreational fishing licence, subject to any conditions outlined in the agreement. Native title holders are also exempt from the need to obtain a recreational fishing licence under the provisions of the Commonwealth’s Native Title Act 1993.

Commercial catch of Eastern School Prawn - note confidential catch not shown

1. Ives, MC, Scandol, JP, Montgomery, SS, Suthers, IM, 2009, Modelling the possible effects of climate change on an Australian multi-fleet prawn fishery, Marine and Freshwater Research, 60: 1211-1222
2. Mulley, J, Latter, B, 1981, Geographic differentiation of eastern Australian penaeid prawn populations, Marine and Freshwater Research, 32: 889–895.
3. Murphy, JJ, Ochwada-Doyle, FA, West, LD, Stark, KE, Hughes, JM, 2020. The NSW Recreational Fisheries Monitoring Program - survey of recreational fishing, 2017/18. NSW DPI - Fisheries Final Report Series No. 158
4. Pinto, U, Maheshwari, B, 2012, Impacts of water quality on the harvest of school prawn (Metapenaeus macleayi) in a peri-urban river system, Journal Of Shellfish Research, 31: 847–853.
5. QFish, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, www.qfish.gov.au
6. Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries 2018, An ecological risk assessment of the East Coast Trawl Fishery in southern Queensland including the River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery, Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Brisbane.
7. Racek, AA, 1959, Prawn investigations in eastern Australia, State Fisheries Research Bulletin, 6: 1–57.
8. Rowling, K, Hegarty, A and Ives, M, 2010, Status of fisheries resources in NSW 2008–09, New South Wales Industry and Investment, Cronulla.
9. Ruello, NV, 1973, Influence of rainfall on distribution and abundance of school prawn Metapenaeus macleayi in Hunter River Region (Australia), Marine Biology, 23: 221–228.
10. simpleSA: A package containing functions to facilitate relatively simple stock assessments. R package version 0.1.18.
11. Status of Australian Fish Stocks 2020 – NSW Stock Status Summary – Eastern School Prawn (Metapenaeus macleayi)