*

TIGER PRAWNS (2023)

Penaeus esculentus, Penaeus semisulcatus

  • Ian Butler (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences)
  • Inigo Koefoed (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia)
  • Matthew D. Taylor (New South Wales Department of Primary Industries)
  • Brad Zeller (Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland)

Date Published: June 2023

You are currently viewing a report filtered by jurisdiction. View the full report.

Toggle content

Summary

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

Toggle content

Stock Status Overview

Stock status determination
Jurisdiction Stock Stock status Indicators
Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (Brown and Grooved Tiger Prawn) Sustainable

Biomass estimate, MSY and Emsy estimates, catch rate, effort

Toggle content

Stock Structure

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).

Toggle content

Stock Status

East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (Brown and Grooved Tiger Prawn)

Brown (Penaeus esculentus) and Grooved Tiger Prawns (P. semisulcatus) are primarily retained in the Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (ECOTF) where they are recorded as ‘Tiger Prawns’ [Roach et al. 2012]. Since 2021, the ECOTF has been managed through five regional management areas, all with corresponding harvest strategies. The Northern and Central Harvest Strategy Regions (north of 18°S and 22°S respectively) lay within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) and contributed approximately 80% of the average total (2000–22) catch. Between 2000 and 2019, standardised annual catch rates in the Northern and Central regions generally trended upward [Helidoniotis 2020] except for 2007–08 when they declined following the advent of management changes, GBRMP re-zoning closures and rising operational costs [Larcombe et al. 2016]. Since 2019, the annual standardised catch rate derived from high abundance grids in both regions combined has remained relatively stable [Lovett et al. 2023].  

The earlier of the two most recent stock assessments (both applied a monthly delay-difference model to catch and effort data) estimated that in 2019 biomass was at 49% and 50% of unfished biomass, and MSY at 1,216 t and 311 t for the Northern and Central ECOTF regions, respectively [Helidoniotis 2020]. The 2019 catch of 602 t for the Northern region was well below MSY, while a catch of 333 t for the Central region was slightly above MSY. At 997 t, the 2021 combined Northern and Central regional catch was slightly (6%) higher than in 2019, with the most recent stock assessment [Lovett et al. 2023] estimating the northern and central regions combined biomass at 79% of the unfished level. In 2021–22 the combined catch for the entire East Coast stock was 1,150 t. The above evidence indicates that the biomass of this stock is unlikely to be depleted and recruitment is unlikely to be impaired.  

Prior to 2000, Tiger Prawn fishing effort levels in Queensland were at an historic high, averaging above 40,000 days per year [Larcombe et al. 2018]. From 2000–07, a 35% decline in Tiger Prawn fishing effort occurred due to structural adjustment of the Queensland East Coast Trawl fleet, following expansion of GBRMP no-fishing zones; as well as due to adverse weather and economic conditions [Larcombe et al. 2016]. Since 2007, total Tiger Prawn effort in the ECOTF has been consistently below the 2000–06 annual average of 29,826 days. The GBRMP ECOTF ecological risk assessment found that overfishing risk was low for Brown Tiger Prawn, and intermediate for Grooved Tiger Prawn at 2009 Tiger Prawn effort levels [Pears et al. 2012]. The Southern East Coast Trawl Fishery ecological risk assessment found that the overfishing risk for Brown Tiger Prawn south of the GBRMP was also low, based on 2009 effort levels [Jacobsen et al. 2018]. Between 2010–21, average annual fishing effort applied to the stock (in terms of total days fished) was less than effort in 2009. Fleet fishing power also declined during this period (Lovett et al. 2023).  

The average annual catch contribution to the 2000–22 East Coast stock catch from Northern and Central regions and Moreton Bay was 49%, 33% and 13% respectively. Current (2021–22) effort levels are well below that required to achieve MSY (EMSY) in the Northern Region, slightly above EMSY for the Central Region (Helidoniotis 2020), and below EMSY for Moreton Bay (Wang 2015). This level of fishing pressure is unlikely to cause the stocks within the management unit to become recruitment impaired.  

On the basis of the evidence provided above, the East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery (Queensland) Brown and Grooved Tiger Prawn management unit is classified as a sustainable stock

Toggle content

Biology

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

Biology
Species Longevity / Maximum Size Maturity (50 per cent)
TIGER PRAWNS

1–2 years, 55 mm CL 

East Coast: 6 month, 32–39 mm CL West coast: 6 months, 27–35 mm CL Northern Australia: 6 months, 32–39 mm CL

Toggle content

Distributions

Distribution of reported commercial catch of Tiger Prawns

Toggle content

Tables

Fishing methods
Queensland
Commercial
Otter Trawl
Recreational
Cast Net
Management methods
Method Queensland
Commercial
By-catch reduction devices
Effort limits (individual transferable effort)
Gear restrictions
Harvest Strategy
Limited entry
Processing restrictions
Seasonal or spatial closures
Vessel restrictions
Recreational
Bag/possession limits
Gear restrictions
Seasonal or spatial closures
Catch
Queensland
Commercial 807.16t
Indigenous Unknown
Recreational Unknown

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)

Toggle content

Catch Chart

Commercial catch of Tiger Prawns - note confidential catch not shown
Toggle content

References

  1. AFMA 2022, Northern Prawn Fishery Resource Assessment Group (NPRAG) meeting, minutes, 17 to 18 May 2022, Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra.
  2. Butler, I, D'Alberto, B and Dylewski, M 2022, Northern Prawn Fishery, in Patterson, H, Bromhead, D, Galeano, D, Larcombe, J, Timmiss, T, Woodhams, J and Curtotti, R (eds), Fishery status reports 2022, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
  3. Caputi, N 1993, Aspects of spawner-recruit relationships, with particular reference to crustacean stocks: a review, Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 44: 589–607.
  4. Caputi, N, de Lestang, S,Hart, A, Kangas, M, Johnston, D and Penn, J 2014b, Catch Predictions in Stock Assessment and Management of Invertebrate Fisheries Using Pre-Recruit Abundance—Case Studies from Western Australia, Reviews in Fisheries Science and Aquaculture, 22:1, 36-54.
  5. Caputi, N, Feng, M, Pearce, A, Benthuysen, J, Denham, A, Hetzel, Y, Matear, R, Jackson, G, Molony, B, Joll, L and Chandrapavan, A 2014a, Management implications of climate change effect on fisheries in Western Australia: part 1, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation project 2010/535, Fisheries research report, Western Australian Department of Fisheries.
  6. Caputi, N, Penn, JW, Joll, LM and Chubb, CF 1998, Stock–recruitment–environment relationships for invertebrate species of Western Australia, in GS Jamieson and A Campbell (eds), Proceedings of the North Pacific Symposium on Invertebrate Stock Assessment and Management, Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 125: 247–255.
  7. D'Alberto, B, Butler, I and Tuynman, H 2022, Torres Strait Prawn Fishery, in Patterson, H, Bromhead, D, Galeano, D, Larcombe, J, Timmiss, T, Woodhams, J and Curtotti, R (eds), Fishery status reports 2022, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra.
  8. Deng, RA, Hutton, T, Miller, M, Upston, J, Moeseneder, C, Kompas, T and Pascoe, S 2022, Agenda item 6a: Tiger prawn assessment – results (status of the Northern Prawn Fishery Tiger Prawn Fishery at the end of 2021 with TAE estimation for 2022 and 2023)’, report to the NPRAG meeting 17 to 18 May 2022, Brisbane.
  9. Deng, RA, Hutton, T, Punt, A, Upston, J, Miller, M, Moeseneder, C and Pascoe, S 2020, Status of the Northern Prawn Fishery tiger prawn fishery at the end of 2019 with an estimated TAE for 2020 and 2021, report to AFMA, CSIRO, Brisbane.
  10. Department of Fisheries 2021, Prawn Resource of Exmouth Gulf Harvest Strategy 2021 – 2026 Version 2.0. Fisheries Management Paper No. 265. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia.
  11. Department of Fisheries 2022, Prawn Resource of Shark Bay Harvest Strategy 2022 – 2027 Version 2.0. Fisheries Management Paper No. 267. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia.
  12. Helidoniotis, F, 2020, Stock assessment of Queensland east coast tiger prawns (Penaeus esculentus and Penaeus semisulcatus), Fisheries Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
  13. Jacobsen, I, Zeller, B, Dunning, M, Garland, A, Courtney T, and Jebreen, E, 2018, An Ecological Risk Assessment of the Southern Queensland East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery and River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery, Fisheries Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane.
  14. Kangas, MI, Sporer, EC, Hesp, SA, Travaille, KL, Brand-Gardner, SJ, Cavalli, P and Harry, AV 2015b, Shark Bay Prawn Managed Fishery, Western Australian Marine Stewardship Council Report Series 2: 294 pp.
  15. Kenyon, RA, Deng, R, Donovan, AG, van der Velde, TD, Fry, G, Tonks, M and Salee, K 2021, An integrated monitoring program for the Northern Prawn Fishery 2018–2021, final report, AFMA 2017/0819, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Brisbane.
  16. Larcombe, J, Zeller, B, Taylor, M, and Kangas, M, 2016, Tiger Prawns, In Status of Australian fish stocks reports 2016, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra.
  17. Larcombe, J, Zeller, B, Taylor, M, and Kangas, M, 2018, Tiger Prawns, In Status of Australian fish stocks reports 2018, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra.
  18. Lovett et al. 2023, Lovett, RA, Fox, AR, Wickens, ME and Hillcoat, KB 2023, Stock assessment of Queensland east coast tiger prawns (Penaeus esculentus and Penaeus semisulcatus), Australia, with data to December 2021, Fisheries Queensland, Department Agriculture and Fisheries.
  19. Newman, S, J, Wise, B, S, Santoro, K, G, and Gaughan, DJ (eds) 2023, Status Reports of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of Western Australia 2021/22: The State of the Fisheries, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia.
  20. O’Neill, MF and Turnbull, CT 2006, Stock assessment of the Torres Strait Tiger Prawn Fishery (Penaeus esculentus), Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Brisbane.
  21. Pears, RJ, Morison, AK, Jebreen, EJ, Dunning, MC, Pitcher, CR, Courtney, AJ, Houlden, B and Jacobsen, IP 2012, Ecological risk assessment of the East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: technical report, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville.
  22. Penn, JW, Caputi, N and Hall, NG 1995, Stock–recruitment relationships for the tiger prawn (Penaeus esculentus) stocks in Western Australia, ICES Marine Science Symposium, 199: 320–333.
  23. Punt, AE, Deng, R, Pascoe, S, Dichmont, CM, Zhou, S, Plagányi, É, Hutton, T, Venables, WN, Kenyon, R and van der Velde, T, 2011, Calculating optimal effort and catch trajectories for multiple species modelled using a mix of size-structured, delay-difference and biomass dynamics models, Fisheries Research, 109: 201–11.
  24. Punt, AE, Deng, RA, Dichmont, CM, Kompas, T, Venables, WN, Zhou, S, Pascoe, S, Hutton, T, Kenyon, R, van der Velde, T and Kienzle, M 2010, Integrating size-structured assessment and bio-economic management advice in Australia’s Northern Prawn Fishery, ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 1785–801.
  25. Roach, J, Kangas, M and Winning, M 2012, Tiger Prawns Penaeus esculentus and P. semisulcatus, in M Flood, I Stobutzki, J Andrews, G Begg, W Fletcher, C Gardiner, J Kemp, A Moore, A O’Brien, R Quinn, J Roach, K Rowling, K Sainsbury, T Saunders, T Ward & M Winning (eds), Status of key Australian fish stocks reports 2012, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra, 186-192.
  26. Somers, IE 1987, Sediment type as a factor in the distribution of commercial prawn species in the Western Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 38: 133–149.
  27. Turnbull, C 2019, Updated tiger prawn stock assessment for the Torres Strait prawn fishery: a final report to AFMA for the TSPMAC and TSSAC, project 180802, Australian Fisheries Management Authority, Canberra.
  28. Turnbull, C and Cocking, L 2019, Torres Strait Prawn Fishery Data Summary 2019, Australian Fisheries Management Authority. Canberra, Australia.
  29. Wang, N, 2015, Application of a weekly delay-difference model to commercial catch and effort data in multi-species fisheries, PhD Thesis, University of Queensland and Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane.
  30. Ward, R, Ovenden, J, Meadows, J, Grewe, P and Lehnert, S 2006, Population genetic structure of the brown tiger prawn, Penaeus esculentus, in tropical northern Australia, Marine Biology, 148(3): 599–607.
  31. Wise, BS, St. John, J and Lenanton, R 2007, Spatial scales of exploitation among populations of demersal scalefish: Implications for management. Part 1: Stock status of the key indicator species for the demersal scalefish fishery in the West Coast Bioregion. Report to the FRDC on Project No. 2003/052. Fisheries Research Report No 163. Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, 130 pp.
  32. Yearsley, GK, Last, PR and Ward, RD 1999, Australian seafood handbook: domestic species, CSIRO Marine Research, Hobart.

Downloadable reports

Click the links below to view reports from other years for this fish.