Tagging experiments with western king prawn Penaeus latisculatus Kishinouye. I. Survival, growth, and reproduction of tagged prawns

Abstract

Two tags for adult western king prawns, Penaeus latisulcatus, have been field tested in an unexploited king prawn population in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia.

Both toggle and Atkin tags have been found to cause little physical damage to the prawns apart from limited scarring at the points of entry and through the musculature adjacent to the tag. Long-term survival of both toggle- and Atkin-tagged prawns did not differ significantly from that of the untagged population, but a variable amount of initial tagging mortality occurred during the first 72 h after release due to both handling and tagging. Mortality related to size or sex was not evident for the toggle tags, but for Atkin tags there was a tendency towards smaller prawns having a better survival.

Growth of all tagged prawns was found to be retarded during the first month from release, but in subsequent months appeared to be faster than the average control animals. Although the growth of tagged prawns recaptured during the spawning season was retarded, normal ovary development occurred and some females spawned while tagged.

Some of the problems in the use of tag recapture data from penaeid prawn stocks have been discussed.