Project number: 2015-011
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $107,078.00
Principal Investigator: Matt D. Taylor
Organisation: NSW Department of Primary Industries
Project start/end date: 14 Jul 2015 - 14 Mar 2018
Contact:
FRDC

Need

This project directly addresses Priority 20 in Program 1 (Environment), which was identified as a research priority by the NSW Fisheries Research Advisory Board for 2015. This priority arose through ongoing concerns about declines in School prawn productivity that fishers have conveyed to NSW commercial fisheries managers and peak industry bodies, particularly fishers in the north coast region of NSW. This issue is not confined to one estuary, and declining productivity of School prawns in some areas is an issue which percolates through all stakeholders in the NSW fishing industry, including individual fishing businesses and fishing cooperatives at the local scale, as well as the Professional Fishermens Association and other peak bodies, and recreational fishers whose primary bait supply is underpinned by School prawn harvest.

Consequently, this project has been designed to address two key needs identified by industry: 1) An improved understanding of the specific issues within Camden Haven estuary, to allow management to strategically target ameliorative actions within the catchment and estuary itself; and 2) A broader understanding of how catchment-based activities could be affecting School (and other) prawn stocks along the New South Wales coast, through adverse effects on water quality. Restoration of the School prawn fishery in Camden Haven and other estuaries is essential to the continued livelihoods of estuary fishers, and provision of quality seafood product for both consumption and bait markets. However, the factors which have contributed to the declines in catch must be understood if ameliorative/restorative actions are to be implemented in a strategic fashion. These factors may include a combination of both recruitment and water quality issues. Furthermore, ~25% of seagrass was lost from the system between 2005 and 2011, which may also have contributed.

Objectives

1. Examine school prawn recruitment to different areas within the Camden Haven estuary, to determine if recruitment limitation in certain areas is likely
2. Evaluate whether post-recruitment processes in Camden Haven estuary may be adversely affecting school prawn growth and survival
3. Synthesise research findings to provide recommendations to catchment, habitat and fishery managers regarding restoration of school prawn productivity

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-76058-345-3
Authors: Matthew D. Taylor Catherine McLuckie Angela Russell R. Hugh Dunstan Natalie A. Moltschaniwskyj Geoffrey MacFarlane Marcus Crompton Neil R. Loneragan
Final Report • 2019-10-01 • 6.97 MB
2015-011-DLD.pdf

Summary

New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) presents new information exploring the effect of catchment-derived stressors on Eastern School Prawn. Declines in School Prawn productivity over decadal time scales have been reported anecdotally across many estuaries in New South Wales, and are evident in the catch statistics in some locations. This has included reports that indicate that prawn landings have become decoupled from freshwater flows, which generally enhance catches in estuarine and inshore fisheries. To date, no research has been conducted into the direct effects of environmental conditions within nursery habitats that may be contributing to these changes in productivity. This project commenced this investigation using the Camden Haven estuary as a case study, and through a combination of high-resolution logger data, aquarium experiments, habitat mapping, extensive field sampling, and analysis of commercial catch statistics, provide evidence to link catchment-derived stressors with changes in productivity of School Prawn. We use this evidence to propose recommendations for targeted repair in the Camden Haven estuary catchment, as well as other New South Wales estuaries supporting School Prawn harvest.

Related research

People
Industry
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2016-020
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Spatial management within the NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery

1. Apply existing survey techniques to quantify the abundance and size-structure of juvenile Mulloway, School Prawn (and Eastern King Prawn), in current inshore closure and non-closure areas, under normal conditions and following floods
ORGANISATION:
NSW Department of Primary Industries