Sustainable Spencer Gulf King Prawns

 

Wednesday of this week was a simply glorious Adelaide day for a fresh seafood lunch on the banks of the Torrens in the city.  The sun was shining, a gentle breeze blew through the marquee that had been set up on the cool, green lawns and Neil Perry, of Rockpool, was cooking my lunch – just another day in the life of a food blogger really.  Actually, this was a remarkably special day for South Australian seafood producers in general, and Spencer Gulf prawn fishermen specifically as it marked the recognition of Spencer Gulf and West Coast Prawn Fisherman’s Association (SGWCPFA) as the first prawn fishery in both the Asia Pacific and the world to gain certification for sustainability from the prestigious Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The MSC is a global program which assesses wild capture fisheries only and sets standards for sustainably managed fish stocks, minimal environmental impact and effective fishery management.

This is an utterly outstanding achievement for our prawn fishermen and a significant credit to the entire Eyre Peninsula fishing community whose diligent stewardship of their region cannot be underestimated.  The awarding of this certification by the MSC recognizes the sustainability of the management practices that have been developed and worked at on the Eyre Peninsula, making it a world leader in prawn fishing strategies and conduct.  I was able to take the chance for a chat with one of the fishermen present at the lunch, whose justified pride and commitment was worn well and truly on his sleeve.

Andrew Hogg is no stranger to the sea, having been a Rock Lobster fisherman working out of Robe in South Australia’s South East for 20 years.  Thirteen years ago he and his family moved up to Adelaide and he now lives just north of the city, a convenient drive from his boat and fishing base in Wallaroo on the western side of the Yorke Peninsula.  He believes that Australia has some of the best managed fisheries in the world and spoke to me about the system of stock assessments which are carried out before the prawn fishing season commences in November and again just before February.  The assessments are always carried out on the dark of the moon (the phase of the moon when it is directly between the sun and the earth) as prawns are light-sensitive (who knew?) and are conducted by a partnership of nominated fishermen and South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) inspectors.

 

Depending upon the results of the November assessment, Andrew will go out for about five nights in November and for another 3-4 days in December.    He will only fish on those days until he reaches his bag limit or until the catch drops below 300kg per night – at which point he stops.  Stock assessments begin again in February and fishing commences for one week in March, and four days in April and May and another three to six days in June.  The prawns are caught in nets which are dragged along the seabed and then emptied into hoppers on deck.  The hoppers have a system of gridwork which strains the prawns through to the bottom, leaving the larger fauna to be tipped straight back into the sea alive.  The management of the Spencer Gulf fishery is now so finely tuned that, in 2010, Andrew fished for 47 nights for a catch of 1,950 tonnes – once upon a time it would have taken him 250 nights out in the boat for that same catch.

As I previously mentioned, lunch was caught (from the tank) and prepared for us all by Neil Perry.  The weather is shaping up well here for the weekend so if you want to give some sustainable local prawns the Neil Perry treatment why not try this recipe of his!

Charcoal Grilled King Prawns

[mc4wp_form id="16750"]