BY-CATCH FROM PRAWN TRAWLING IN THE CLARENCE-RIVER ESTUARY, NEW-SOUTH-WALES, AUSTRALIA

By-catch was surveyed in the commercial prawn trawl fleets of the Clar ence River system, the largest estuarine prawn fishery in New South Wa les, Australia. The catch was censussed in all tows during replicate f ishing trips in each month in the 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1991-92 prawn t rawl seasons in the two areas of this fishery: the Clarence River and Lake Woolooweyah. Significant species-specific variabilities in abunda nces were detected at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Despit e comparatively small ratios of by-catch to catch of prawns (annual es timates in each area of between 0.13:1 and 0.45:1), hundreds of thousa nds of small recreationally and commercially important finfish were ca ught and discarded by the fleet. The results are discussed in terms of (i) their contrast to common generalisations about by-catch in prawn trawl fisheries, (ii) the accuracy and precision of the methods used t o quantify and compare by-catches, (iii) the consequences for conflict s between prawn trawl fisheries and other commercial and recreational fisheries that target by-catch species, and (iv) the various strategie s available to fisheries managers to resolve potential conflicts.