Spawning and fecundity of the western king prawn, Penaeus latisulcatus Kishinouye, in Western Australian Waters

The microscopic and macroscopic changes which occur during ovary development to spawning have been investigated for P. larisulcatus. The latter stages (3 and 4) of development and the act of spawning have been found to be confined to single intermoult periods, with spawning being possible during each of a series of consecutive intermoult periods. Fecundity was found to vary significantly with the size of the individual, with the number of eggs ranging from approximately 105000 (123 mm total length female) to 650000 (217 mm total length female) at each spawning. The use of an index of population fecundity in combination with estimates of spawning frequency to document spawning seasons is discussed. Using the population fecundity method the two northern populations have been shown to have a year round spawning season, with maximum spawning occurring from autumn to spring. while the southern population was shown to have shorter seasons over summer. A relationship between ovary development and temperatures in excess of 17ºC is suggested as the probable cause of the differences in duration of spawning seasons along the Western Australian coastline.