TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL PATTERNS IN RECRUITMENT OF 3 PENAEID PRAWNS IN MORETON-BAY, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

The size at recruitment, temporal and spatial distribution, and abioti c factors influencing abundance of three commercially important specie s of penaeid prawns in the sublittoral trawl grounds of Moreton Bay (Q ueensland, Australia) were compared. Metapenaeus bennettae and Penaeus plebejus recruit to the trawl grounds at sizes which are relatively s mall (14-15 mm carapace length, CL) and below that at which prawns are selected for, and retained, in the fleet's cod-ends. In contrast, Pen aeus esculentus recruit at the relatively large size of 27 mm CL from February to May, well above the size ranges selected for. Recruitment of M. bennettae extends over several months, September-October and Feb ruary-March, and was thus likely to be bi-annual, while the recruitmen t period of P. plebejus was distinct, peaking in October-November each year. Size classes of M. bennettae were the most spatially stratified of the three species. Catch rates of recruits were negatively correla ted with depth for all three species, and were also negatively correla ted with salinity for M. bennettae. (C) 1995 Academic Press Limited