These prawns are typically fished after catches of white banana prawns in the Gulf of Carpentaria decline at the end of the fishing season. Record red-legged banana prawn catches of 1000 tonnes were taken in 1997. Scientists are now estimating the size of the stock based on results of this research. Research is also investigating the juvenile habitats of red-legged banana prawns. 180 sites in the estuaries and rivers of the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf coast have been chosen for the study.
Early results show large numbers of juvenile prawns in mangrove-lined rivers and creeks.
This is interesting given that the most productive fishing area for red-legged banana prawns is in the west of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf. One theory to explain the failure of tiger prawn stocks to rebuild to predicted levels in recent years despite a reduction in fishing effort is that many of the young prawns produced each year may not survive to reach nursery areas. Current stock assessments assume that all the adult stock contributes to the next year's tiger prawn population. But recent studies suggest that only certain critical areas of the fishing grounds produce the next generation of prawns. Only prawn larvae from these areas are transported in ocean currents to inshore nursery grounds.