Spencer Gulf king prawn
MSC status
Certified as sustainable in August 2011
Summary
Species: King prawn (Penaeus latisulcatus)
Location: The Spencer Gulf of South Australia, north of the geodesic joining Cape
Catastrophe (Latitude 34° 35.4’S, Longitude 136° 36.0’E) on Eyre
Peninsula and Cape Spencer (Latitude 34° 9.6’S, Latitude 135° 31.2’E)
on Yorke Peninsula.
Fishing methods: Demersal trawl.
Vessels: 38
Number of fisheries: 1
More about king prawn
Prawns are crustaceans with five pairs of swimming legs as well as five pairs of walking legs with the front three having claws. They are nocturnal and burrow into the seabed during the day and emerge at night to feed. Adult King prawns aggregate, mature, mate and spawn in deep water between October and April, with the main spawning period between November and February. Females may spawn on multiple occasions during one season.
More about the fishing methods
Fishers use a demersal otter trawl, which consists of towing a funnel-shaped net leading into a bag
(commonly referred to as a cod end) on the sea bottom behind a boat. Otter boards (or trawl-doors) are used to keep the trawl nets open both horizontally and vertically as well as keeping the net in contact with the sea bottom while being towed. The speed of trawling, the size of the net opening and the pressure wave created in front of the net determines how effective the net operates along with mesh size, trawl board size and weight of chain. The net is rigged with a head rope, foot-rope and a drop chain attached to the foot rope. This chain setup is to induce the prawns to ‘jump’ from off the sea bottom as a freight response to the oncoming trawl and into the net as it moves over sea bottom. The configuration of the chains on the foot rope differs between vessels and is altered according to the sea bed the trawl is being pulled over.
Fishery tonnage
2 024 tonnes in 2006/07, and 2 028 tonnes in 2007/08.
Commercial market
The Western King prawns are sold in Australia, as well as US, with additional target markets in SE Asia (Singapore) and the EU.
Actual eligibility date
31st March 2011.
