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West Australians anglers – both commercial and recreational – face tough new restrictions as popular species along the coast plummet to “severe” levels.
A forum held with government and fishing industry representatives on Monday heard previous restrictions hadn’t been enough, with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development warning overfishing of demersal species was preventing their recovery.
Dhufish are key target species for recreational anglers in WA and are endemic to the state.Credit: David Allan-Petale
WA dhufish spawning biomass is 85 per cent depleted; northern snapper is 83 per cent depleted; and southern snapper is 80 per cent depleted, according to the department.
This meant all three species were regarded as at “severe risk”.
Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis said “tough decisions” loomed for regulation of WA fishers.
“The commercial sector, the recreational sector, the charter boat sector have all been amazing in sticking to the rules and making sure they only take what they’re allowed to take,” she said.
“What we now know, though, is that hasn’t been enough. Previous restrictions haven’t been enough.
“The latest science is showing that a lot of our fish species, our demersal fish, including the iconic dhufish, are under threat in many parts of Western Australia.”
However, Jarvis said, “there is no doubt we are going to have to make some tough decisions soon”.
“We just can’t go on having these species under severe threat in parts of Western Australia,” she said.
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The department, in an update on the west coast demersal resource, stated overfishing of snapper and dhufish was ongoing and preventing the species’ recovery.
“Sustained commercial and recreational high fishing pressure on these long-lived species ... has
reduced the number of older breeding fish that are critical for replenishing the population,” the update read.
Greens MP Sophie McNeill warned species like dhufish risked becoming “functionally extinct in our lifetime”.
“For a fish to be sustainable, it must have more than 30 per cent biomass, but we heard today that the department is recording only 7 per cent biomass for Dhufish in the Perth metro area,” she said.
“It’s very clear that management practices over the last 20 years have failed.
“Temporary closures have not worked, they have just resulted in people fishing harder when those closures are lifted, seeing no improvement in stock numbers.”
However, opposition fisheries spokeswoman Kirrilee Warr laid the blame at Labor’s feet, accusing the government of “nearly a decade of neglect and mismanagement”.
“The government has had years to act to protect one of our state’s most valuable natural assets, but with four ministers since 2019, fisheries has been treated as an afterthought by a Perth-focused Labor government,” she said.
Warr said Monday’s roundtable was a “positive step in the right direction”, but one which came far too late.
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“They should have been working closely with stakeholders like the WA Fishing Industry Council, Recfishwest, Traditional Owners and the scientific community from day one,” she said.
Warr urged Jarvis to listen to expert advice, including the newly announced Exmouth Gulf Marine Park.
“Drawing arbitrary lines on a map won’t save our fisheries,” Warr said.
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