NPF industry, AFMA management and CSIRO are concerned about declines in both spatial and the overall productivity of NPF tiger prawn fishery in recent years. It is thought that these declines are environmental/climate change - not fishing effort - driven. As well, stakeholders recognise that the NPF tiger prawn stock assessment model, whilst a 'cutting edge' model when first developed, has a number of deficiencies which are impacting on the model performance and impeding on the ability of the fishery to meet it's management objectives/ legislative requirements, the effective implementation of the tiger prawn harvest Strategy and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification at risk. When the NPF tiger prawn stock assessment model was developed, the ability to conduct spatially-structured, environmentally or socio-economically based stock assessments was limited due to a lack of appropriate data (e.g. survey information) and computational requirements. whilst improvements to the model have been made over time, the NPRAG noted in February 2022 there has been a significant amount of work that has been undertaken that could enable a significant, if not a fundamental change to the model currently used. The extension of these activities through the workshop will enable discussion on the potential to better integration of these additional components and other new methods available to incorporate spatial and climate change considerations into the assessment model. The project will also assist the NPRAG and NORMAC to respond to the AFMA Commission's request for climate change impacts are considered at future by all RAGs and MACs .
Project number:
2022-096
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$50,740.00
Principal Investigator:
Annie Jarrett
Organisation:
NPF Industry Pty Ltd
Project start/end date:
14 Jan 2023
-
30 May 2023
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES
1. To improve the biological and economic performance of the Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) by identifying:• concerns and trends regarding the productivity of the Tiger Prawn Fishery• deficiencies in the Tiger Prawn stock assessment model/s and data collection framework that impede the NPF meeting management objectives • key projects that will address the deficiencies above to improve the Tiger Prawn stock assessment model/s
Author:
Annie Jarrett
Final Report
•
2023-02-23
•
9.07 MB
2022-096-DLD.pdf
The Northern Prawn Fishery operates over a considerable expanse off Australia's northern coast. The fishery has been managed with a combination of voluntary buybacks, internal industry restructuring, and compulsory acquisition programs, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of licenses from 302 in 1985 to 52 in 2007. The Northern Prawn Fishery targets two main prawn species: banana prawns and tiger prawns. The tiger prawn fishery is particularly important, and its management relies on a sophisticated stock assessment model that uses a weekly time series of data to predict optimal effort and catch trajectories required to achieve long-term maximum economic yield for the fishery. A workshop was held to improve the biological and economic performance of the Northern Prawn Fishery by identifying concerns and trends regarding the productivity of the tiger prawn fishery, deficiencies in the tiger prawn stock assessment model/s and data collection framework that impede the Northern Prawn Fishery meeting management objectives including legislative requirements and Marine Stewardship Council certification, and key projects that will address the deficiencies above to improve the tiger prawn stock assessment model/s. The outputs and outcomes from this project will assist the Northern Prawn Fishery Resource Assessment Group and Management Advisory Committee to respond to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority Commission's request that climate change impacts are considered at future by all Australian Fisheries Management Authority resource assessment groups and management advisory committees.
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2023-062
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT
Methods to account for climate impacts in fishery models and management: Case study example of environmental contributors that affect Tiger Prawn population dynamics
Commercial in confidence
ORGANISATION:
CSIRO
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2019-214
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED
Survey for WSSV vectors in the Moreton Bay White Spot Biosecurity Area
1. Interview prawn farmers and collect and archive field samples of potential WSSV vectors (microcrustaceans, small crabs, plankton)
ORGANISATION:
DigsFish Services Pty Ltd
PROJECT NUMBER
•
2019-015
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT
Understanding the relationship between commercial prawn species population dynamics, fishing patterns and climate in the Shark Bay World Heritage area in Western Australia
1. Understand the impact of changing temperature and other environmental parameters (e.g. seagrass, flooding events) on the reproductive cycles, growth and distribution patterns of western king and brown tiger prawns
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) WA