Summary

Night-time surveys of recreational prawners in spring-summer over three years provided estimates of prawn catches in four NSW estuaries. Recreational catches represented 57% of the commercial catch for Lake Illawarra, 36% for Tuggerah Lakes, 17% for Wallis Lake and 10% for Coila Lake. The species composition of the recreational catch was differed from that of the commercial catch, with the recreational fishery taking few greasyback prawns and a larger proportion of eastern king prawns than school prawns. Size composition was generally similar for recreational and commercial catches. Recreational prawning on the ebb-tide in the dark of the moon was strongly favoured by prawners, particularly in the areas of estuaries affected by tides. The results showed that the recreational fishery is a significant harvester of prawn resources in NSW, and its impact needs to be incorporated into stock assessments of prawn resources.