The Northern Prawn Fishery Resource Assessment Group (NPRAG) is the research and scientific committee for management of the Northern Prawn Fishery. The group provides advice to the AFMA, the Commission and the Northern Prawn Fishery Management Advisory Committee on the status of target stocks (including the type of information and research needed to support the stock assessments) and on fishing impacts upon byproduct, bycatch and the marine environment.
The group also evaluates alternative harvest options like the impact over time of different harvest strategies, effort levels, confidence levels for fishery assessments and risks to the success of fishery objectives. Economic factors affecting the fishery are a key consideration for the assessments.
This group provides an avenue for consultation between industry members, fishery managers, economists, scientists and other interest groups.
- review of recent NPF tiger prawn catch and effort data and the fishery independent survey data
- results of the banana prawn Maximum Economic Yield (MEY) harvest control rule trigger
- consideration of expert advice to supplement information used in the fishery's ecological risk assessment (ERA)
- monitoring of sawfish interaction trends and current research targeted at mitigating interactions
- results of the recent Redleg Banana Prawn stock assessment
- review of the NPF Harvest Strategy
- review of research priorities
- progress updates on the MICE project, species split project, mangrove regrowth following the 2015-16 dieback, and Northern waters developments.
Read the 24-25 May 2023 NPRAG meeting minutes (PDF)
The next committee meeting is scheduled for March 2023.
- assessment of target species
- recruitment and spawning surveys
- analysis of observer data
- bycatch reduction
- river flow impacts.
Past minutes, recommendations and advice can be found on the Northern Prawn Fishery Resource Assessment Group past meetings page.
The Chair is appointed until 1 March 2024 and Members are appointed until 31 March 2024.
- Dr Ian Knuckey, Chair
- Mr David Brewer, research member
- Mr Ian Boot, industry member
- Dr Rik Buckworth, research member
- Dr Tom Kompas, economics member
- Dr Éva Plagányi, research member
- Mr Phil Robson, industry member
- Mr Jeremy Smith, AFMA member
- Mr Bryan van Wyk, industry member
- Ms Cate Coddington, executive officer
Cate Coddington
Tel: 02 6225 5555
Email: Cate.Coddington@afma.gov.au