2009/786 Commercial value chain analysis of the Spencer Gulf and West Coast prawn fisheries – domestic retail and restaurants

By Craig Johns

The Spencer Gulf prawn fishery is one of the largest and most important fisheries in South Australia in terms of value of production. The availability of imported farmed prawns as a competitor/substitute in the domestic and export markets has significantly reduced the demand for, and therefore value of, wild caught prawns from the Spencer Gulf and West Coast prawn fisheries.

It was identified that the Spencer Gulf prawn fishery would take significant benefit from a detailed assessment of their current value chain to develop a strategy to improve the value of the fishery. The Value Chain Analysis (VCA) can provide the Spencer Gulf and West Coast prawn fisheries with a better understanding of the issues and opportunities in the current value chain from the consumer back to the fishermen.

By analysing in detail the chains that supply consumers with prawns through existing markets, Drake Food Markets and the Hilton Hotel, this project has been able to recommend a number of post harvest intervention and improvement activities.