NSW Fisheries playing tag with school prawns

NSW Fisheries have begun the task of tagging 3,000 school prawns in the Clarence River in northern NSW, and will continue to do so until Friday 11 June, Director-General of NSW Fisheries, Steve Dunn, announced today.

"Scientists from NSW Fisheries are working with commercial prawn fishers as part of a $2.3-million, three-year study to learn about the growth and mortality rates of school prawns," said Mr Dunn.

A total of 1,000 prawns have already been tagged at Wallis Lake, near Forster on the NSW north coast.

Prawns are tagged by using a needle to pass a thin streamer of plastic - bearing a number and the text 'NSW FISH' - through the tail of the prawn.

"School prawns have been the subject of much research in the past, but we still know very little about how fast they grow and how long they live - two of the most important factors in determining how much catch we can take from the prawn fishery," said Mr Dunn.

"School prawns are one of two species that make up the bulk of the commercial catch of prawns in NSW each year. They are found as juveniles in estuaries and as adults in ocean waters.

"NSW Fisheries and commercial and recreational fishers want to know with reasonable confidence the size at which prawns can be harvested to ensure the sustainability of the fishery.

"The study, funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and NSW Fisheries, has received valuable support from the commercial prawn industry, and will help generate new management tools for the fishery which extends along the coast of NSW.

"NSW prawns are the most economically valuable seafood resource managed solely by the NSW State Government, conservatively worth around $AUS 27 million per year at the point of first sale.
CONTINUED ...

Once the prawns have been tagged, NSW Fisheries will be offering a reward of $5 per prawn to members of the public who return any tagged prawns. Prawns must be returned with the research tag in place, and with the following capture details:
the date the prawn was caught or found
place of capture
name and address of the person who caught or found the tagged prawn.

NSW Fisheries will send you information on where and when the prawn was tagged and how much it had grown.

Tagged prawns can be returned with the information requested to your local NSW Fisheries Office, Fisherman's Cooperative or by contacting staff at the NSW Fisheries, Cronulla Fisheries Centre on 1300 726 488.

MEDIA INQUIRIES: Nick Bleszynski on 8437 4915 or Kristina Resanceff on 0419 185 375