The decline in wild shrimp catches and the resulting shortfall in demand resulted in the development of shrimp culture since mid-1980s. Despite the rapid development of fisheries in this region, the level of knowledge of the status of resources is inadequate. Many management decisions have been made on an ad hoc basis and only in some cases have management measures been based on advice from the scientific community. The situation is of course different in the southern part of the region, where scientific advice has been an integral part of the management process in most of the Australian fisheries for some time. The higher rate of catch increase in the later years for this group may very well be explained by augmented fishing pressure in coastal waters.
Coastal fisheries are still dominant in the major fishing countries.
Shrimp are a main target of these fisheries, with the banana prawn as the most valuable species. While shrimp exports from capture fisheries have been relatively constant, if not declining, those from aquaculture have increased and overtaken them. The preferred cultured species is the tiger prawn, P. monodon, due to its sturdiness and relatively large individual size. Some resources are still lightly exploited in some Indonesia waters and in a limited part of Vietnam waters, and there could be potential for further development. Tunas are an important export commodity for the area.