Kon's Covered Fisheyes BRD Trial Report

In 2015, NPF Industry Pty Ltd launched the Northern Prawn Fishery’s Bycatch Strategy 2015-2018 with the vision to reduce small bycatch by 30% in three years. A key component of the strategy was industry innovation and through this process the Kon’s Covered Fisheyes Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD) was developed.In 2016, at-sea testing of the Kon’s Covered Fisheyes Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD) was conducted in the Gulf of Carpentaria to determine its effectiveness in reducing small bycatch in the tiger prawn fishery compared to a currently legislated device. The device was found to significantly reduce small bycatch by approximately 36.7%, with commercial prawn catch increasing by an average of 0.5%. The device proved to be easy and safe for crew to use and due to the significant reduction in bycatch, the time taken for crew to process the catch was reduced.