The standard name ‘Tiger Prawn’ refers to the species Penaeus esculentus, P. semisulcatus and P. japonicus and the latter is not caught commercially in Australian waters. Brown Tiger Prawns are endemic to tropical and subtropical waters of Australia, while Grooved Tiger Prawns have a wider Indo–West Pacific distribution. There is some genetic evidence of separation of Brown Tiger Prawn stocks from the east and west coasts of Australia (Ward et al 2006). Since biological stock structure for these species is uncertain, stock status classifications are undertaken at the management unit level for fisheries in the Commonwealth, Queensland and Western Australia, and at the jurisdiction level for New South Wales (O’Neill and Turnbull 2006).

The brown tiger prawn is generally regarded as an endemic Australian species. It has a distribution around the top half of Australia and whilst the electrophoretic study on this species found no genetic differences amongst regions, there are a large number of functionally independent stocks. Each of these stocks is associated with relatively sheltered waters where there are also substantial amounts of seagrass. This species is generally found in coastal waters down to approximately 60m but has been recorded to a depth of 200m and is commonly found over mud or sandy mud substrates by trawlers (Buckworth et al. 2013).

Standardised catch-per-unit-effort data (also referred to as catch rate) are used as an indicator of abundance in the Shark Bay Prawn Managed Fishery (Western Australia) Brown Tiger Prawn management unit, and can be used to monitor changes in stock levels from year to year. 

A spawning stock–recruitment relationship exists for Brown Tiger Prawns, and the maintenance of adequate spawning stock (using a target catch rate) is the key management objective. Brown Tiger Prawns are managed to reference levels (catch rates) and accompanying control rules. A mandatory closure of the Brown Tiger Prawn spawning area is enforced, either to a catch-rate target or on a set date (around June–July), whichever is sooner, to protect the spawning stock. The fishery operates on a real-time management basis: commercial catch rates are monitored nightly to ensure that the Brown Tiger Prawn spawning areas are closed at the appropriate time. As fishing ceases in an area, fishery-independent surveys are conducted to verify catch rates in the spawning area (Penn et al. 1995; Caputti et al. 1998).

This fishery entered full assessment by the Marine Stewardship Council system in March 2014. Click here to link to the MSC fishery page and to learn more about the MSC fishery.