7, four- to five-day cruises were undertaken using the vessel "Jacqueline D" in Albatross Bay, Gulf of Carpentaria between August 1986 and November 1988, using a random stratified trawl survey to measure fish species composition and abundance. Four depth zones between 7 and 45 m were sampled during both day and night. Approx. 890,000 fish of 237 species were collected, of which the bulk were made up of 25 species. The dominant families were Leignathidae, Haemulidae and Clupeidae, with Sciaenidae and Dasyatidae important at night. Leiognathus bindus was the most abundant species, while Caranx bucculentus was the most frequently caught (96% of all trawls). The suite of fishes was separately analysed for occurrence of prawn predators.