Cadmium toxicity is species dependent and there is currently no data on its effects on juvenile western king prawns (M. latisulcatus). M. latisulcatus is an economically import species, supporting fisheries in both the Spencer Gulf and Gulf St. Vincent. The habitat of juvenile M. latisulcatus is the coastal intertidal, making them particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances and pollution e.g. stormwater run-off. The acid sulphate soils in the region, which when disturbed can lead to the leaching of heavy metals, including cadmium into the environment are also of concern. In order to establish benchmarks for future health and monitoring basic toxicity data such as LC50 through a 96 hour trial and LT50’s for Cd. Histology of the gills and hepatopancreas was also used to assess the degree of damage caused at various concentrations of Cd. Lipid peroxide was used to assess the level of stress caused by short term non-lethal exposure.