Influence of environment and economic drivers on fishing effort in Australia's redleg banana prawn fishery

Recent low levels of fishing effort in the redleg banana prawn (Penaeus indicus) component of the Australian Northern Prawn Fishery have highlighted challenges in assessing the stock status of the species and deriving appropriate management responses. Usually, low levels of fishing effort are associated with low stock abundance, but economic factors also affect fishing activity. In this study, we consider the key drivers of fishing effort in the sub-fishery, and conclude that fishing effort is driven by expectations of catch based on environmental drivers, realised revenue per unit of fishing effort, and the opportunity cost of fishing in other areas. In the case of the recent low effort levels, it is the opportunity cost that has been most influential, highlighting the importance of considering economic drivers when managing fisheries.