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 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 November 2024.
- 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 31 March 2027 and Members are appointed until 31 March 2029.
- Dr Ian Knuckey, Chair
- Dr Rik Buckworth, Scientific member
- Prof Tom Kompas, Economic member
- Ms Éva Plagányi, CSIRO, Scientific member
- Dr Denham Parker, Scientific member
- Mr Ian Boot, Industry member
- Mr Phil Robson, Industry member
- Mr Bryan van Wyk, Industry member
- Ms Darci Wallis, AFMA
Executive Officer
Northernfisheries2@afma.gov.au
Tel: 02 6225 5555