More prawns on the menu for recreational fishers

Wallagoot Lake part of a three-year restocking project which is funded through the Recreational Fishing Trusts

In an Australian first, a total of 4 million juvenile Eastern King prawns will be stocked into two NSW south coast lakes.

The stockings, into Wallagoot and Back Lakes, are part of a three-year project which is funded through the Recreational Fishing Trusts, and will be carried out by researchers from the University of New South Wales.

NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Recreational Fisheries Manager, Bryan van der Walt, said

“Every year through the Trust we stock millions of fish into NSW waterways but this will be the first time for prawns.

“Previous studies have concluded that over 18 million prawns are harvested annually by recreational fishers Australia wide, with over 65% of these being harvested in NSW. The Eastern King Prawn accounts for around 83 percent of the recreational prawn catches in NSW.

“NSW has a large recreational prawn fishery but the life cycle of prawns in Wallagoot and Back Lakes is usually disrupted because these estuaries are only open to the ocean for limited periods. Good rains are also needed to flush prawns out to sea to spawn. Introducing stock will help boost numbers in these popular fishing areas.

“Because prawns are at the bottom of the food chain and make a tasty meal for most things we will stock the prawns into seagrass areas at night in a bid to improve their survival rates,” Mr van der Walt said. 

The stocked juvenile prawns will be about 15 mm in length and will be able to be harvested when they reach about 50 mm.

“Over the three-years fish will be caught from stocked and non stocked areas to estimate the proportion of the stocked prawns that are consumed by predators,” he said.
 
“Monthly sampling will be done throughout the year and signs will be placed around the target lakes notifying recreational fishers of the research project. Funds raised from the sale of the recreational fishing fee are placed into two Trusts, one for saltwater and freshwater, with the money spent on projects to enhance recreational fishing in NSW.

Three million prawns will be stocked into Wallagoot Lake today and another one million will be stocked into Back Lake on Tuesday 23rd and Thursday 25th.