Western King Prawn Penaeus latisulcatus is distributed throughout the Indo–West Pacific, and is one of the coastal shrimp species, having low catchability in tropical waters, forming minor fishery in India and Australian waters. In Australia P. latisulcatus is considered as one of the important commercial fishery as the market value of this species is high. This species is the dominant penaeid prawn species in the WA and SA fisheries, representing about 65% and 100% of their total catches respectively (Carrick 2003).

No research has been conducted on Western King Prawn biological stock structure in Western Australia or Queensland, and status in these states is therefore reported at the management unit level. In South Australia, one study of the genetic structure of Western King Prawn found no differences between the three fisheries; however, each fishery functions as an independent population, with distinct adult and juvenile habitats, and independent variations in recruitment and abundance. Each fishery in South Australia is therefore assessed and managed as a separate management unit (Fletcher and Santoro 2014).

There are three commercial prawn fisheries in South Australia: 1) Spencer Gulf Prawn Fishery (SGPF); 2) Gulf St Vincent Prawn Fishery (GSVPF); and 3) WCPF. All exclusively target the western king prawn. The South Australian shrimp fisheries mainly depend on P. latisulcatus which comprises 62% of the shark Bay shrimp catch, 46% for the Broom shrimp catch and 43% of the Exmouth Gulf shrimp catch (Carrick 2003).