Bycatch and the Northern Prawn Fishery, Australia 

The prawning industry has come a long way just by watching these informative shows ,Its just a pitty that the wingers never got to see the amount of bycatch when I was working out of Brunswick heads 20 years ago then maybe they would be greatfull to the fishing industry for all they have done and maybe just enjoy the next prawn they eat.AND be greatfull to the men and women who spend the long hours at sea. Good on you guys wish I was back at sea .

use of teds is great but lets not forget that huge quantities of immature and small fish and invertebrates are discarded as bycatch

As I Shrimp Fisherman in Louisiana, US I enjoy watching how other countries catch shrimp. We do it the same style but a little different. Pretty much the same regulations and yes we also have to have TEDs.

Thanks Gary. Yes the prawning industry in Australia is vastly different to what it was 20 years ago. Unfortunately the huge leaps in better gear, bycatch reduction devices, reduction in effort etc. has gone largely unrecognised by Joe Public. They seem to be basing their perceptions on outdated information or horror stories from other countries instead of giving some kudos to well-managed Australian fisheries.

When I worked on Prawn trawlers back in the day (over 10 years ago) a lot of skippers had the turtle excluders sewn up, when they were not likely to be inspected.

And that's why NPF trawlers are also legally equired to use another bycatch reduction device for excluding small bycatch (including small prawns - their livelihood for the next season) such as a popeye fish box or panel of square mesh.

And I'm sure that makes a huge difference. Others prefer to work with the fishing industry on practical solutions to some of these problems, and to ensure that improvements are continually made in our wildcatch and aquaculture fisheries. I've posted some links in the info section. There is a huge amount of work been done on both small and large bycatch in Australian trawl fisheries. I would be more concerned about the environmental and food safety issues of some of our imported products.

Other devices are being trialled such as a rubber road cone used in conjunction with a panel of square mesh - creating turbulence and an area of low water flow at the top of the net which attracts small fish seeking to escape the pull of the trawl - they are then allowed to escape through the panel of square mesh.

Good on you mate. I don't want to see any unnecessary bycatch but it seems you guys are doing your best to keep it at a minimal/acceptable level. Respect.

Loved workin on the Proteus in mid 80s..sistership Maggie Jo..both frm Hervey Bay 💖💖

The NPF is one of the very best managed fisheries in the world. With the 3 month fishing season in the Gulf of Carpentaria, there is more than enough to sustain the entire fleet with the remaining 9 months left for the stock to replenish.

There was no missing part, it did show the whole catch, mainly banana prawns & some small fish - it showed it clearly when the codend was emptied into the sorting tray. We are not yet at the stage of zero bycatch & may never be. You have to decide what is an acceptable level of bycatch. If you think it is zero, well you'll have have to shut down all food production, including vegetable & grain farming as they have the equivalent of bycatch in terms of species displacement & pest management.

excellent video.. loved it!! wishes to all those who took the struggle to create this!

Yes, the small fish will be thrown back and the dead ones will become food for other animals. The use of hoppers (which hold the catch in sea water before sorting) keeps the prawns fresh and allows some of the small bycatch to survive. As I said in an earlier comment, no form of food production has zero impact on other species (including insects, rodents, small mammals, reptiles not to mention the displacement of native species due to farming). We work to minimise that impact in fisheries.

And then they go and buy imported prawns from countries with poor fisheries management, dubious environmental protection and poor food safety standards???

Good stuff , looking after the wee turtle then.

i salute the crew.. the bestttttt

I worked on the Proteus back in the early 90's in the gulf. Men who worked on prawn trawlers back then made really good money. Now the industry is fucked from all that imported cheap shit. Price of fuel and low prices equals a dead and dying industry, its a shame because most Australians dont realise that imported stuff is no good for you.

Good on you slabby .,. More prawns for the rest of us !!!

What happened to those small fish you catched, will they be thrown back to the sea even though most of them are dead?

still tons of juvenile fish as bycatch

Forget about the turtles and sharks for a second and think about the millions upon millions of sponges, jellyfish, sea stars, urchins, sea cucumbers, tunicates, snails, clams, anemones, zooplankton, non-target crustaceans, and many other invertebrates.

ShT are those white things surrounding the net?

I couldn't help but notice the part missing in this video. Was video of the by-catch. I am sure good steps are taken and all but if you don't show the hole catch the wast and what lives and dies. People aren't stupid show a video of the by-catch then let people see the holistic view. of prawn fishing

amazing

woow good😍👍

una red demasiado pequeña, me refiero a los agujeros

nice music

cool

Anyone that thinks wild caught shrimp are a bad thing should only eat the pond raised variety. They taste like crap, are full of antibiotics and preservatives, are never actually IQF'd. Everything from sea gulls to sharks depend on the boats for supper. All commercial fishing is regulated, which makes everything more expensive... including your supper. Besides, commercial fisherman are a part of the sea... just like all the other creatures on it or in it. Some people just need a horse to ride and complain abou the imagined "pillage" of the sea. Same people think man is destroying the enviornment. They talk a lot about global warming. That turned out to not be true, so they now call it "climate change". Of course the climate is changing. It always has.

i boycot all wild harvest prawns (and aquaculture shrimp for that matter) and i encourage all my friends and family to do the same

JESUS is coming soon i want you to repent and give your life to JESUS CHRIST for you to make HEAVEN and to be safe please repent and stop doing bad things and follow JESUS.

ksp house jeffnippard lanadelrey

I would hate to see the day when there are no fish left to catch.

The capture of turtles has been reduced by 99% - catches of sharks and rays have also been reduced (..) - BY HOW MANY % !?! This information is useless and suspicious without a number, it could be a very insignificant reduction. But the biggest bycatch problem of prawn fishing isn't the big animals, but the mind blowing amount of juvenile fish, moluscs..all individuals that have never spawned. Don't know about Australia, but some prawn fishing industries have catch rates of 20kg of bycatch for 1 kg of prawns. bon apetite!

Sitting here licking my lips.......

Catch like no body business

Why the porno tune?

What about all the other creatures they kill!

SWIM DOWN!!!!!!!!

yawns loudly so bs fisher shit./

looting the sea