Spencer Gulf King Prawns

About King Prawns

King Prawns are nocturnal animals as  ie; they are more active at night. They are benthic dwelling animals which means they live on the seafloor. During the day and in bright moonlight, King Prawns burrow into the seabed sedimentation. They are more active and spend more time foraging during the dark period of the moon phase, thus favouring the dark of the moon.

This prawn species is generally a warm water or tropical species.  The King prawns found in South Australia are remnant population that are maintained in the warm waters of the Spencer Gulf, Gulf of Saint Vincent and adjacent to the small bays along the West Coast of South Australia.  The Gulfs and Bays experience a temperature variation of 12°C between summer and winter periods.

Unique Cold Water Flavour

Although warm temperature is an important driver for the prawn population, stimulating growth, movement, reproductive and foraging activity, Spencer Gulf King prawns are unique in that they live through a cold winter in the Spencer Gulf waters, which creates a unique characteristic of deep complex flavours and improved shelf life.

The species is most active during the summer months to early winter. Prawn fishing in the Spencer Gulf takes place (November to December and March to June) when the King Prawns are active, making fishing more efficient.