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    About the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery

    The Torres Strait Prawn Fishery (TSPF) is a multi-species prawn fishery (Endeavour, tiger and king prawns) that operates in the eastern part of the Torres Strait.

    Brown Tiger prawn (Penaeus esculentus) and the Blue Endeavour prawn (Metapenaeus endeavouri) are the key target species. The Red Spot King prawn (Melicertus longistylus) is essentially a by-product species.

    Prawn harvesting occurs at night, primarily using the otter trawl (quad) method which involves towing four trawl nets behind a boat. The TSPF has restrictions on the type of gear and boat that can be used during fishing.

    A Total Allowable Effort cap (TAE) restricts the number of days that can be fished each year.
     

    Fishery Map

    Torres Strait Prawn Fishery Map

    On 12 December 2025, the Protected Zone Joint Authority (PZJA) agreed to set the TSPF fishing season as 1 February to 1 December, for each year from 2026 to 2035 inclusive. 

    These are the same season dates that have been in place since 2015. The season opening date was first changed from 1 March to 1 February in 2016. 

    The legislative instrument that brought this decision into effect is the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery Fishing Season Determination 2025.

    If you have any questions relating to this decision, please contact TSPF Senior Management Officer Lisa Cocking on 02 6225 5451 or email lisa.cocking@afma.gov.au.

    The TSPF is managed through the Torres Strait Prawn Fisheries Management Plan 2009 (the plan). The objectives of the plan are to:

    • ensure the optimum utilisation of the fishery resources within the TSPF is consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development and the exercise of the precautionary principle
    • promote economic efficiency in the utilisation of the fisheries resources within the TSPF
    • ensure cooperative, efficient and cost effective management of the fishery
    • manage the fishery’s interactions with the marine environment including the incidental capture of non-target species and impacts on demersal habitats.

    A Harvest Strategy for the TSPF was developed by PZJA Agencies and introduced in 2011. The Harvest Strategy provides a framework and control rules for management decisions within the fishery. The Harvest Strategy will ensure management is more transparent and logical and the fishery meets pre-defined ecological and economic goals. A copy of the harvest strategy can be found below.

    See how prawns from the pristine Torres Strait in northern Australia get from the ocean onto your plate. See some devices used to reduce bycatch and prevent the capture of marine turtles. The Torres Strait Prawn Fishery is dedicated to using sustainable fishing practices to protect the environment. This video was an initiative of the Torres Strait Prawn Management Advisory Committee.

    Fisheries Management Instruments outline the rules and regulations in fisheries in addition to the rules within the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery Management Plan 2009 and Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984. 

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    Page last updated: 06/01/2026