Movement, Growth and natural mortality rate of the Red Spot King Prawn, Penaeus longistylus Kubo, from the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon

Abstract

Movement, growth and natural mortality rate of the red spot king prawn, Penaeus longistylus, occurring in waters of the Great Barrier Reef off Townsville, Queensland, were investigated in a series of tagging experiments. Adult P. longistylus did not migrate after leaving nursery areas. Their growth rate was slower than that of the conspecific species P. plebejus, and significant inter-annual variation in growth parameters was observed. The natural mortality rate, assessed by sequential tagging experiments that eliminated the possibility of confounding with the rate of fishing mortality, was estimated to be 0.072 (week^-1).