Fiery sunsets, salty water and a roaring fishing trade are in the DNA of Karumba Banana Prawns.
Wild-caught in the beautiful waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria in Northern Queensland, Karumba Prawns are highly sought after. You’ll find them on the menus of world-renowned Chefs, and sizzling away on backyard barbecues.
What makes them even better is that Karumba Prawns are the sustainable choice for Banana Prawns. We catch them in the MSC Certified and fully sustainable Northern Prawn Fishery. They’re Climate Active prawns, meaning they’re carbon neutral as certified under the Australian Government ‘Climate Active’ Carbon Neutral Program.
The Prawn
Karumba Banana Prawns are delicious, versatile prawns perfect for a range of uses.
Make them the centrepiece of a delicious curry or add some garlic and butter for a classic take on Garlic Prawns.
Karumba Banana Prawns are a good source of protein and are naturally low in fat.
The Fishery
The Northern Prawn Fishery is often referred to as Australia’s last ‘wild frontier’, and is situated across Australia’s top end.
The fishery extends from the low water mark to the outer edge of the Australian fishing zone. Its eastern extremity lies at Cape York in Queensland and stretches west to Cape Londonderry in Western Australia. The fishery covers approximately 880,000 km2, with less than 12% of that area being fished.
Austral operates 11 of the 52 licenced vessels in this fishery, which has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as sustainable and well managed.
Sustainability
Certified ‘sustainable’ by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Karumba Banana Prawns come from the world’s first certified sustainable tropical prawn fishery.
They are mainly caught during the months of April to July each year with the remainder of the year closed to fishing to ensure juvenile prawns have ample time to grow into adults and reproduce. Karumba Banana Prawns are now also completely carbon neutral, with Austral Fisheries being certified under the Australian Government Carbon Neutral Program.
The fishery has reduced fishing efforts from 312 boats in the early 1980’s to the current efficient fleet of 52 boats. Bycatch has substantially reduced as a result, and continued efforts to redesign nets and change operational aspects to further reduce impacts continues. Turtle bycatch is insignificant following new technology and designs for turtle excluder devices in the prawn nets which allow the escape of turtles and other large fauna unharmed and into the environment again. Prawn stocks are maintained at healthy, sustainable levels with annual scientific sampling and surveys, as well as multi-year scientific review of the status of the fishery.
Access Karumba Banana Prawns Chef & Trade Resources
Follow The Karumba Banana Prawns Journey
Be part of the Karumba Banana Prawns story, find out who is working with Karumba Banana Prawns and discover where you can try some yourself.
We’ve got a growing gallery on the Banana Prawns Instagram account of stunning, delicious ways Chefs are preparing them around the world, as well as shots from the Northern Prawn Fishery and our crew on board.
Source Karumba Banana Prawns
Austral Fisheries proudly catch and distribute Karumba Banana Prawns within Australia. To find out more about sourcing Karumba Prawns for commercial or personal use, please follow the link below to get in touch with our team.
