Banana prawns

Banana prawns size and bag limit in QLD

No size limit. 10 litres per person or 20 litres per boat with 2 or more aboard. Heads stay on unless eaten immediately. No closed season.

Checked 8 Oct 2026 against the Queensland Government pages: size and possession limits and closed seasons.

Limits are possession limits: they count everything you hold, including any at home in the freezer. In yellow (conservation park) zones: max 2 lines and 2 hooks in total per angler. Green zones: no fishing. All QLD fishing rules

When to catch banana prawns in South East Queensland

• P peak season
• S in season
• – off season
• C closed season for at least part of the month

Tide: Southern bay reports: best around the tide changes.

Weather: not fussy about wind; rain and runoff help.

Seasons partly come from Coastwatch report mentions, not catch numbers.

Banana prawns by area

Not in our guide for Sunshine Coast, Moreton Island, Offshore Sunshine Coast, Offshore Moreton and Offshore Gold Coast.

Around Scarborough and the Redcliffe Peninsula

Our local Redcliffe Peninsula notes come from local fishing columns and reports, and for banana prawns they differ from the South East Queensland picture. Around Scarborough the best months are February, March and April, with May, June, December and January also worth a try. For tide, our local notes give no clear preference; across South East Queensland the best tide is the change of tide.

Deeper parts and middle reaches of the Pine and Caboolture rivers early in the season, then out into Bramble and Deception Bays (e.g. off the Caboolture River mouth). Look for groups of boats or use the sounder. Local sources don't describe a school-prawn fishery off Scarborough.

Where to catch banana prawns in SEQ

Rain-driven runs: the Brisbane, Pine, Caboolture and Logan rivers early in the season, then out into Bramble and Deception bays; the southern bay around Jacobs Well, the Southern Moreton Bay Islands and Jumpinpin (often the longest run); Gold Coast Broadwater and Coomera; Noosa River in some years. Look for groups of boats or use the sounder.

Banana prawns are mostly a boat fishery in South East Queensland.

Catch Signal forecast areas that rate banana prawns: Noosa River & Noosa Heads, Laguna Bay & Noosa offshore, Redcliffe Peninsula & Deception Bay, Bramble Bay, Pine River & Sandgate, Brisbane River, Central bay & Moreton Island west, Wynnum, Manly & Wellington Point, Cleveland, Peel & Straddie west, Victoria Point, Redland Bay & bay islands, Jumpinpin, Jacobs Well & Pimpama, Gold Coast Broadwater, Seaway & Nerang River, Burleigh to Point Danger, Ocean side of Straddie & Moreton.

Spots to try for banana prawns

Picked because the water each spot reaches suits banana prawns (our habitat match), not from catch reports. Each spot links to its place on the area page; tide times are for the place our forecast reads for that spot.

How to catch banana prawns: the gear

Cast net: max 3.7 m and max 28 mm mesh. Scoop net up to 2 m with a handle up to 2.5 m.

Good to know about banana prawns

Strongly rain-driven; numbers vary a lot between years. White spot: raw prawns must not leave the Caloundra-NSW border movement area unless cooked, and never use supermarket prawns as bait.

Open in the forecast

See banana prawns in the Catch Signal app: seasons for the area you fish, closed-season warnings and the best days this week.