Northern Prawn Fishery

Northern Prawn Fishery

Our vessels operate in the Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF). The NPF is often referred to as Australia’s last ‘wild frontier’, across Australia’s top end.  The fishery extends from the low water mark to the outer edge of the Australian fishing zone.  Its eastern extremity lies at Cape York in Queensland and stretches west to Cape Londonderry in Western Australia.

52 vessels are licensed to operate in the MSC certified NPF, which covers approximately 880,000 km².  Less than 12% of this area is fished.

Fisheries Management

The Northern Prawn Fishery was certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as a sustainable and well managed fishery in November 2012. This fishery became the first tropical prawn fishery to be certified as sustainable in the world.

MSC certified sustainable Banana Prawns and Tiger Prawns can be found from this fishery in many local Australian seafood cabinets, including the major supermarkets, and reputable seafood retailers and distributors.

Austral Fisheries are members of the Northern Prawn Fishery Management Advisory Committee (NORMAC), which is an advisory body to the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA).  NORMAC is dedicated to maintaining the sustainability of the Northern Prawn Fishery and has a strong history in the area of responsible and pro-active action in fisheries management.

Austral Fisheries support environmental fishing practices and and such have fully supported the compulsory introduction of Bycatch Reduction Devices that apply to all prawn trawlers operating in the Northern Prawn Fishery. The most significant of these are Turtle Excluder Devices.  A grid is attached to the net which deflects turtles to an escape opening. This prevents them from being caught in the end of the net. Other larger marine species such as stingrays and sharks, also benefit from the introduction of these devices.