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Royal Red Prawn is widely distributed. It occurs in depths of 350–500 m in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. The South Eastern Australian stock is sustainable, but the QLD stock is negligible. 

Royal Red Prawn is widely distributed, occurring in depths of 350 m to 550 m in the Indian and western Pacific oceans. In Australia, the main geographic distribution is from Sydney on the east coast, around southern Australia to Perth on the west coast, with some occurrence as far north as Moreton Bay, Queensland [Kailola et al. 1993]. On the east coast, Royal Red Prawn is mainly distributed between 26°S and 36°S with few records at 40°S. Commercial catches are mainly taken between Sydney and Ulladulla [Rowling 1995]. Little is known of the stock structure in eastern Australia and the northern limit of the stock is unknown but is considered to lie north of the current boundary of the fishery at Barrenjoey Point, 35° 35’S [Rowling 1995].

There is evidence of a size related latitudinal distribution with larger prawns (spawners) towards the northern end of the range and juveniles (< 20 mm length) towards the south [Baelde 1992; Tilzey 1994; Rowling 1995]. Royal Red Prawn have two spawning seasons each year, resulting in two annual recruitment pulses, in February–April and again in July–August [Tilzey 1994; Rowling 1995]. Royal Red Prawns are relatively slow growing and longer lived than shallow water penaeid prawns [Tilzey 1994].

Here, assessment of stock status is presented at the biological stock level—South Eastern Australia; and jurisdictional level—Queensland.

Queensland

Royal Red Prawn occur in Queensland waters [Potter and Dredge 1985], although little is known about their distribution or potential biomass. While Royal Red Prawns are retained in the East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery, catch and effort levels are comparatively small. Royal Red Prawn catch and effort peaked in 1989–90 at 30 tonnes (t) and 116 effort days respectively. Following this peak, harvest levels declined markedly with the species reporting annual catches of less than 0.5 t and annual effort levels of less than 10 days fished [Helidoniotis et al. 2018]. It is unlikely that fishing pressures exerted on this stock within Queensland will impair long-term recruitment. The species is not targeted within the current fishing environment and catches remain low to negligible. 

On the basis of the evidence provided above, Royal Red Prawn in Queensland is classified as a negligible stock.

South Eastern Australia

Royal Red Prawn in South Eastern Australia is caught in the Commonwealth Trawl Sector (CTS) of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) and in New South Wales. The stock status classification reported here is based on analyses undertaken for the SESSF, which includes available state catches.

Catch of Royal Red Prawn fluctuated around 500 t per year during the 1990s and early 2000s, before declining to stabilise at between 100 t and 200 t in recent years. However, in the 2020–21 fishing season, Commonwealth landed catch decreased to 33 t, but NSW landed catch increased to ~197 t. Catch has not approached the total allowable catch (TAC) in recent years. This is understood to be the result of limited availability of processing facilities for this species and low market demand.

Royal Red Prawn in Commonwealth fisheries is managed as a Tier 4 stock under the SESSF Harvest Strategy Framework [AFMA 2021]. A tier 4 analysis in 2020 [Sporcic 2020] informed the management of the stock for the 2021–22 fishing season.

Standardised catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) for this stock is considered to be compromised by fisher behaviour: targeting of Royal Red Prawn is market driven and predominantly conducted by a few vessels [AFMA 2022]. This issue was also raised when reviewing the 2020 tier 4 analysis [Sporcic 2020], which indicated that CPUE had significantly increased over the past 4 years (2016–19), with the 2019 estimate being the highest in the series. The recent average CPUE was well above the target reference point and the limit reference point, producing an recommended biological catch (RBC) of 870 t. The above evidence indicates that the biomass of this stock is unlikely to be depleted and that recruitment is unlikely to be impaired.

Commonwealth-landed catch in 2021–22 was 1.7 t, and NSW landed catch was 62.3 t, based on catch disposal records. The weighted average of 4 calendar years (2017 to 2020) was calculated and used to estimate discards of 5.2 t [Althaus et al. 2021]. For the 2021–22 fishing season, total catch and discards were estimated to be 69.2 t. Total catch and discards are estimated to be below the RBC of 870 t for the 2021–22 fishing season [Emery et al. 2022]. 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, the South Eastern Australia biological stock is classified as a sustainable stock. 

Royal Red Prawn biology [Holthuis 1980; Graham and Gorman 1985; Potter and Dredge 1985; Kailola et al. 1993; Baelde 1994; Tilzey 1994; Rowling 1995]

Distribution of reported commercial catch of Royal Red Prawn

Commonwealth – Commercial (Management Methods/Catch). Data provided for the Commonwealth align with the Commonwealth Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery for the 2021–22 financial year. 

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 Torres Strait. In general, non-commercial Indigenous fishing in Commonwealth waters is managed by the state or territory immediately adjacent to those waters. 

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

Commercial catch of Royal Red Prawn - note confidential catch not shown

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14. Tilzey, RDJ 1994, The South East Fishery: a scientific review with particular reference to quota management, Bureau of Resource Science Bulletin.