White Spot

• Never use prawns intended for human consumption as bait. Using imported raw prawns as bait may introduce serious diseases into our waterways
• When fishing, always source your bait from a trusted bait supplier, such as a tackle shop, or catch your own^#
• It is illegal to bring bait caught in south-east Queensland to NSW, source your bait from a trusted supplier local to the area you intend to fish
• Dispose of your prawn waste (heads or shells) in general waste, never into our waterways
• Make ‘clean’ part of your routine (PDF, 385.23 KB), wash your vehicles and gear between waterways
• If you catch your own bait, use it only in the water from where you caught it
• If you are a recreational fisher, please refer to important information for recreational fishers - use of prawns as bait

^#  Refer to NSW Fishing rules and regulations

• Follow your permit conditions, including those relating to biosecurity
• report any unusual mortalities or suspicions of White Spot to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 or a local Fisheries Officer as soon as possible, and within 24 hours
• Ensure your Biosecurity Plan is up-to-date based on current biosecurity requirements and guidelines and being implemented to minimise the risks of aquatic disease entering your property
• Use separate equipment where practical. If unable, please decontaminate minimise unnecessary visitors to production areas of your farm and find out where delivery trucks and other visitors have previously visited before accepting them on site
• DPI Primefact - NSW Prawn Farms: Enhanced biosecurity measures

• Be aware of the control order currently in place on uncooked prawns, decapod crustaceans (including lobsters, crabs, slipper lobsters, Moreton Bay bugs) and polychaete worms (including beach worms) originating from within the Clarence River Control Area and an area between Caloundra and Tweed Heads in south-east Queensland.
• Ensure that you are not buying or selling uncooked prawns, decapod crustaceans, or polychaete worms (for bait or human consumption) in NSW that have been sourced from within the Clarence River Control Area or the affected area in south-east Queensland, unless they have been treated in accordance with the control order.
• Movement (or transiting through) control areas into NSW (or to other areas of NSW) of uncooked decapod crustaceans destined for human consumption only, not bait, can only occur if they have originated from outside the control areas, the packaging remains secure, the grower and packer details are clearly displayed and they are transported directly to a point of sale in NSW for human consumption.
• Note: there are no movement restrictions on cooked decapod crustaceans that are securely packaged and transported directly to a point of sale in NSW.

• The Control Order prohibits the movement into NSW of uncooked prawns, decapod crustaceans, and polychaete worms (marine worms) originating from both
  • the Clarence River Control Zone, and
  • the area between Caloundra and Tweed Heads in south east Queensland .
• Certain high value decapod crustaceans, including lobsters, mud crabs, blue swimmer crabs, spanner crabs, and slipper lobsters (Moreton Bay bugs), are classified as excluded carriers and may be moved out of the control zone uncooked subject to these conditions:
  • It is being moved for human consumption
  • It is cooked by the end consumer as soon as possible after arriving at its destination, and
  • If it is alive, it is not placed in waters to which the Fisheries Management Act 1994 applies.
• You are required to ensure that:
  • Any water used for the transport of the excluded carrier is disposed of through a public sewer
  • Any waste produced for the transport of the excluded carrier is disposed of at a waste depot.
  • The transportation of the excluded carrier is accompanied by documents which state the date the excluded carrier was captured or harvested and the location in the Control Zone where it was captured or harvested.
• Fittings used in the control areas in connection with cultivation or commercial catch of live or dead decapod crustaceans or polychaete worms are also prohibited from entry into NSW unless they are cleaned in accordance with a protocol approved by the NSW Chief Veterinary Officer.
• If trading interstate, check with the appropriate state for their restrictions as they differ from state to state.

Surveillance within the Clarence River Estuary commenced on 16 February 2023. No confirmed cases of White Spot have been found in the estuary. Trace level DNA was detected in a small number of wild caught prawns sampled in the Clarence River estuary on 17 February.

Confirmatory retesting was undertaken at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) national reference laboratory following discussion at a national Aquatic Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Disease meeting in June 2023. This retesting found trace level DNA in five prawns (sampled on 17 February 2023) from the indeterminate results that were reported by EMAI.

White spot viral DNA was detected in the five prawns following additional testing of indeterminate samples by ACDP. However, the source of this viral DNA cannot be conclusively determined, and it is not possible to distinguish between very low levels of virus, or fragments of viral DNA.

NSW DPI has now clarified with ACDP that in future, a consistent and agreed process is followed for all testing to deliver clear results which are more rapidly available, should any indeterminate results be found through the NSW DPI surveillance.

The ACDP retesting results remain consistent with the initial NSW DPI findings that only low levels of viral DNA were detected in wild crustaceans in the Clarence River estuary.

Clarification of testing protocols with ACDP confirms NSW’s ability to continue to implement the long-term surveillance plan to determine if self-declaration of freedom from white spot can be made, according to the requirements of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

Prawn farm surveillance and DNA sequencing tests indicate the strain of White Spot virus detected on prawn farms in February 2023 shows strong similarity to the strain detected in NSW in August 2022. It is not the same as the south-east Queensland strain detected in 2016.

NSW DPI has undertaken extensive sampling of wild caught prawns and crabs from the Clarence River Estuary for White Spot with no positive detections found in more than 2500 samples.

A surveillance plan to support a self-declaration of freedom from White Spot in the Clarence River Control Zone, has been approved by the national Aquatic Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Disease (AqCCEAD). This surveillance plan is consistent with the Australian Aquatic Veterinary Emergency Plan (AQUAVETPLAN) Disease Strategy - White Spot disease and the WOAH Aquatic Animal Health Code.

If White Spot is not detected during this surveillance, NSW will seek to ‘self-declare’ freedom from White Spot and revoke the current Control Order.

If White Spot is detected, NSW DPI will work closely with affected industry stakeholders and other Australian jurisdictions to determine appropriate steps.

White Spot causes major impacts on the prawn farming and prawn fishing communities and associated industries on which many people rely to make a living.

NSW DPI has worked closely with the affected prawn farms, commercial fishing industry and our state and federal counterparts to contain and manage this detection. Formal control measures restrict the movement of raw, uncooked decapod crustaceans from an area defined as the Clarence River Control Zone, and requires enhanced biosecurity measures on NSW prawn farms, while containment, source detection and surveillance activities are underway.

Prawns with White Spot may have:

• a loose carapace
• high degrees of colour variation, with a predominance of darkened (red-brown or pink) body surface and appendages
• white calcium deposits embedded in the shell, causing white spots 0.5 – 3.0 mm in diameter

Biosecurity is a shared responsibility. Everybody plays a part in safeguarding Australia’s and NSW’s biosecurity to help protect our economy, environment, community and reputation as a clean and safe producer of healthy seafood.

If you suspect White Spot in NSW prawns, please call the Emergency Animal Disease 24-hour Hotline, 1800 675 888.

More information about White Spot can be found on the Australian Government outbreak.gov.au website.

The Control Order restricting the movement of raw, uncooked decapod crustaceans and polychaete worms from the Clarence River Control Zoneis in place until June 2025, to support business and trade continuity in NSW and other parts of Australia.

During this two-year period  a nationally agreed  surveillance plan is underway. NSW management of white spot will be reassessed following outcomes  of the surveillance.

Yes, restrictions have been in place since 2017. In Queensland, movement restrictions have been in place for high-risk animals such as prawns, yabbies and marine worms. This means they cannot be moved out of the Queensland White Spot disease restricted area unless cooked first.

In Queensland, after extensive testing, it was declared the crabs, lobsters and bugs were exempt from the restrictions and may be removed from the restricted area if destined for human consumption. These high value species are predominantly used for the sole purpose of being eaten, so the risk of them being returned to natural waterways and spreading White Spot is insignificant.

In Queensland it has been considered that movement restrictions will remain in place while they are still considered an effective means of control and containment for the disease to the defined region. Negative results for the virus from a minimum two-year surveillance program is needed to return Queensland to an internationally recognised White Spot free status.

Yes, you can continue to harvest school prawns. However, all produce including prawns, yabbies and polychaetae worms, must be cooked in the Clarence River Control Zone.

A Control Order on the movement of green prawns has been put in place to reduce the likelihood of spreading. Currently this means that raw prawns, yabbies, nippers, shrimp and polychaete worms cannot be removed from the Clarence River Control Zone.

The Control Order restricts the movement of uncooked prawns that could potentially impact other estuaries such as the Hawkesbury and Hunter estuary prawn trawl fisheries and numerous Estuary General prawn fisheries throughout NSW.

No. White Spot disease is a major biosecurity threat to prawns and other crustaceans, but it does not pose a threat to human health or food safety. Prawns sold for human consumption are still safe to eat.

Yes, raw high valued crustaceans defined as ‘excluded carriers’ under the Control Order can be moved uncooked into and within NSW, including for sale purposes, provided that:

• It is being moved for human consumption
• It is cooked by the end consumer as soon as possible after arriving at its destination, and
• If it is alive, it is not placed in waters to which the Fisheries Management Act 1994 applies.

You are required to ensure that:

• Any water used for the transport of the excluded carrier is disposed of through a public sewer,
• Any waste produced for the transport of the excluded carrier is disposed of at a waste depot,
• The transportation of the excluded carrier is accompanied by documents which state:
  • The date the excluded carrier was captured or harvested, and
  • The location in the Control Zone where it was captured or harvested.

Yes, DPI has participated in the national White Spot surveillance program since the Queensland detection. White Spot has not been detected in NSW waters before this current 2023 event.

Additionally, DPI is implementing a nationally agreed NSW long term surveillance plan, see Fact sheet for more details

• Long-term White Spot surveillance plan (PDF, 107.01 KB)

On the initial report, assessments are undertaken to review each individual case. White Spot disease in Australia is guided by the agreed national disease strategy – AQUAVETPLAN – Disease Strategy White Spot

Once suspicion of White Spot disease has been confirmed, the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer (ACVO) is notified and the relevant agency and ACVO request a meeting of the Aquatic Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Disease (AqCCEAD).

AqCCEAD membership comprises the ACVO, state and territory chief veterinary officers or directors of fisheries and representatives from the relevant Australian Government authority and the CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness.

AqCCEAD shares information and makes decisions on the management of an emergency aquatic animal disease incident until it decides the disease or threat no longer exists, or a national response is no longer required. NSW DPI uses the Biosecurity Act 2015 to enact legal instruments (such as a control order) based on the biosecurity risk. A control order can be made by the Minister if there is reasonable belief it is necessary to prevent, eliminate, minimize or manage a biosecurity risk or impact.

NSW DPI issued a Control Order on 16 February 2023 to restrict the movement of raw, uncooked prawns, other decapod crustaceans (such as crabs and lobsters) and polychaete worms from the Clarence River Control Zone. This will remain in force until June 2025.

NSW DPI is working closely with industry and FRDC to better manage impacts of White Spot. This includes active extension programs to increase awareness in the industry.

NSW DPI is actively communicating with recreational fishers to stress the importance of never using prawns intended for human consumption as bait and delivering important information  to help protect the prawn industry.

This Control Order applies to everyone who fishes within the Clarence River Control Zone, including recreational fishers and anyone who catches, handles or uses:

• Prawns (including school, tiger and banana prawns)
• Yabbies, nippers and shrimp (used as fishing bait)
• Lobsters and Moreton Bay bugs (often wild caught for human consumption)
• Crabs (including Blue Swimmer, Mud, Hermit and three-spotted crabs)
• Marine worms

Yes, if you purchase these products at a store in NSW, you are free to move them.

Yes, you can move uncooked excluded carriers from the Control Zone into and within NSW provided that:

• It is being moved for human consumption
• It is cooked as soon as possible after arriving at its destination, and
• If it is alive, it is not placed in waters to which the Fisheries Management Act 1994 applies.

Excluded carrier species include:

• blue swimmer crab (Portunus armatus),
• bug (Ibacus spp. and Thenus spp.),
• mud crab (Scylla spp.),
• red champagne lobster (Linuparus trigonus),
• slipper lobster (Scyllarides spp.),
• spanner crab (Ranina ranina),
• three-spotted crab (Portunus sanguinolentus),
• rocklobster (family Palinuridae).

No, unless:

• The products are cooked in the zone and
• They are for commercial sale, not personal use or
• They are listed as an excluded carrier in the Control Order.

Excluded carriers can be moved out of the Control Zone if the conditions in the Control Order are followed.

Yes, cooking carried out by recreational anglers within the zone and then eaten is permitted. This is strictly limited to ‘within the zone’ and can only occur on a boat using personal equipment.

A recreational fisher cannot take these crustaceans home to cook – that is prohibited under the Control Order.

No. Cooking must be carried out in an approved (licenced) food business and be for commercial sale, not personal use.

Yes, as long as:

• They are not live decapod crustaceans
• They are intended for commercial sale, not personal use
• They came from outside the Control Zone and have only entered the Control Zone to transit through it
• They are transported by the most direct route to the destination
• They are transported in a way that prevents any contamination with White Spot disease, and
• They are packaged and labelled with the location of where they were grown, capture or harvested, and the details of who the grower or fisher was that produced or harvested them.