Question regarding the survival rate and population increase of Western School Prawns after a restocking program in the Swan and Canning Rivers. The answer outlines the project's aims, collaborators, funding, release numbers, and ongoing monitoring, indicating positive initial findings.

AnsweredQoN 3303Legislative Assembly
Asked
27 November 2014
Portfolio
Fisheries

QuestionView source ↗

Following the release of Western School Prawns into the Swan and Canning River as part of a restocking program, how many prawns have survived and is there a measurable increase in the school prawn population in the Swan and Canning Rivers?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
17 February 2015
Responded by
Minister representing the Minister for Fisheries
Response time
82 days
The Swan and Canning River prawn restocking project aims to restock and monitor the release of Western School Prawns and engage the community and encourage families onto the rivers.
The project has been undertaken in collaboration with the Western Australian Fish Foundation, Swan River Trust, Challenger Institute of Technology, Murdoch University and supported by Recfishwest and the Department of Fisheries.
The project has been made possible through funding from recreational fishing licence fees and a contribution from Commonwealth funding.
To date, approximately 885,000 two week old prawns have been released at various locations on the Swan and Canning rivers.
Swan River Trust and Murdoch University are undertaking monitoring with a report on the project due in 2016. Sampling undertaken to date indicates that there are a higher densities of prawns in monitoring locations and anecdotal evidence suggests there has been an increase in recreational prawning activity.

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