Publication Date

11-1988

Series Number

Fisheries Report No 81

Publisher

Department of Fisheries, Western Australia

City

Perth

ISBN

0 7309 1648 0

ISSN

0726-0733

Abstract

Data from a research vessel survey in September and October 1987 and commercial catch records have been used to assess the pearl oyster and prawn stocks along the Broome coastline between 17°S and 18°S latitudes. Observations made by pearl divers indicated that the survey zone contained commercially significant quantities of unfished pearl oysters particularly in the depth range 10 to 27 m, but also extending out to 44 m depth. The pearl oysters in the survey zone were found to be predominantly mature animals and appeared to be part of the now lightly fished deep water spawning population extending from the Lacepede Islands to the Eighty Mile Beach. Trawling survey data indicated that a commercially significant resource of western king prawns occurred within the survey zone, in depths between 20 and 50 m. An assessment of the survey and commercial catch data suggests that sustainable catches in the order of 200 tonnes annually could be produced. Within the survey zone the commercially important stocks of pearl oysters and western king prawns were not found to overlap markedly; however, continued trawling could be expected to cause some minor accidental damage to adjoining pearl oyster habitat. Trawling activity confined to the specific prawn grounds delineated during the survey appears unlikely to have a significant impact on the overall pearl oyster population, however, observations during the survey suggest that widespread exploratory prawn or fish trawling in the Broome region would not be compatible with the long term maintenance of the pearl oyster habitat.

Number of Pages

31

Keywords

Pearl oyster resources, Prawn resources, Broome, Western Australia, Fisheries research vessel

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Data Science | Marine Biology | Natural Resources and Conservation | Natural Resources Management and Policy

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