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NPF management

Key documents

Northern Prawn Fishery Management Plan 1995 and amendments Management Plan Amendment 2006 Gear determination No. NPFGD 04 Northern Prawn Fishery Management Plan 1995 and amendments Northern Prawn Fishery Operational Information Handbook 2012 (PDF, 13MB) Index of Northern Prawn Fishery Directions Industry Code of Practice (PDF, 7.4MB)

The Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) occupies an area of 771,000 square kilometres off Australia’s northern coast.

The Fishery extends from the low water mark to the outer edge of the Australian fishing zone along approximately 6,000 kilometres of coastline between Cape York in Queensland and Cape Londonderry in Western Australia.

The NPF is managed through a series of input controls, including limited entry to the fishery, gear restrictions, bycatch restrictions and a system of seasonal, spatial and temporal closures. These management restrictions are implemented under the Northern Prawn Fishery Management Plan 1995.

To fish in the NPF operators must hold Statutory Fishing Rights. These rights control the level of fishing by placing limits on the numbers of trawlers and the size of gear permitted in the fishery.

Management committees

• NPF Management Advisory Committee (NORMAC)

Go Fish Quota Board