Exploitation status and spawning potential ratio of banana prawn (Penaeus merguiensis) after trawling ban in Kaimana, West Papua

Penaeus merguiensis de Man, 1888 is a prawn species with high commercial value and is a potential fisheries resource in Kaimana, West Papua, Indonesia. Formerly exploited by foreign fishing trawlers, the Indonesian government issued a national moratorium of foreign fishing ship licensing and trawling ban in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Consequently, the fishing activities in this area have shifted to local, small-scale vessels using trammel nets. This study aimed to determine the exploitation status and the spawning potential ratio (SPR) of P. merguiensis in Kaimana waters after the moratorium implementation, considering this species’ previous intensive fishing pressure. The study was conducted from April 2018 to December 2020 using 15,227 measurement samples. The optimal fishing season was observed from July to September, while the peak spawning season was detected between August and November. The carapace length (CL_c) was significantly increased, suggesting the improvement of the banana prawn population over three years of trawling ban implementation. However, the exploitation rate (E) from 2018 to 2020 was 0.7%, and the SPR was 17%, implying that the prawn stock was still in an overfished condition. Therefore, fisheries management needs to regulate the efforts of trammel net fishers to avoid further fishing pressure in Kaimana waters.