FISHERMEN tip plenty of prawns for Easter in the Redlands thanks to healthy harvests from Moreton Bay.
The news has come after Biosecurity Queensland wraps up its latest round of white spot disease testing in prawns.
The disease first broke out in the Logan River in late 2016, with aquaculture farms destocked and the river closed for fishing.
The disease spread to Moreton Bay but no signs of the infection have since been found.
More than 1000 samples taken between Redcliffe and south of the Logan River in August and September last year returned negative readings.
A Biosecurity Queensland spokeswoman said testing would be undertaken every six months until south-east Queensland waters were declared free of the disease.
At the earliest, this would be by August 2019 should no other infected crustaceans be found.
White spot causes infected crustaceans to die prematurely.
Trawler operator Michael Wood said infected prawns were safe to eat when cooked but healthy harvests meant bigger hauls.
He said there would be no shortage of wild-caught Moreton Bay prawns for Easter, with fresh prawns stockpiled ahead of the holiday.
The Biosecurity spokeswoman said white spot monitoring would continue in the Brisbane and Logan rivers as broader monitoring of the state’s east coast began.
All sites tested last year between Mooloolaba to Cairns proved negative for the disease.
For more information about white spot disease, visit Biosecurity Queensland’s website.
