Endeavour prawn stock

Species

  • Endeavour prawns (Metapenaeus endeavouri and Metapenaeus ensis)

Fish stock status

Although a species may be classified as sustainable under the Status of Australian Fish Stocks (SAFS) framework, this does not mean that the stock is meeting Queensland targets under the harvest strategy.

Stock20232020201820162014
East Coast Otter Trawl FisherySustainableSustainableSustainableSustainableSustainable

Stock assessment

The 2023 stock assessment used current biological, survey and commercial catch data to estimate the:

  • biomass of the biological stock
  • fishing pressure on the biological stock.

The assessment team used a delay-difference biomass model, based on previous stock assessments. 14 scenarios were run, covering a range of modelling assumptions.

The results for the project team’s preferred scenario indicated that biomass in 2021 was between 54% and 87%, most likely at 69% for the east coast endeavour prawn stock north of 22 degrees latitude.

Biomass estimates and key management actions

The chart presents the biomass ratio of endeavour prawns from 1958 to 2021. The ratio is relative to unfished biomass in 1958. Data used in the stock assessment includes 63 years of commercial catch data.
Chart of Australian east coast stock assessment biomass estimates and key management actions for endeavour prawns.
© Queensland Government

Estimated retained catch from 1958 to 2021

The chart presents the biomass ratio of endeavour prawns from 1958 to 2021. The ratio is relative to unfished biomass in 1958. Data used in the stock assessment includes 63 years of commercial catch data.
Chart of estimated retained catch for Queensland east coast endeavour prawn.
© Queensland Government

Project team

The stock assessment project team had a wide range of skill sets, and included :

  • managers, scientists, monitoring and data specialists from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
  • 2 industry representatives.

The team operated under the terms of reference  (PDF, 154KB) to ensure:

  • team member roles and tasks were clearly defined
  • processes were well documented.

We thank the project team for contributing their time and knowledge, and engaging constructively over the course of a 17-month project.

We acknowledge the significant time commitment and deep operational and technical expertise of our industry representatives. The project has benefited greatly from their input. Future assessments should continue to engage with industry members to further enhance assessments and build collaboration between industry and government.

Ecological risk assessment

Assessed in the 2018: Southern Queensland east coast otter trawl fishery and river and inshore beam trawl fishery (PDF, 4MB)

Management

East coast otter trawl fishery:

Last updated: 10 Jul 2024