Wetline Review worth the wait, but what does it now mean for rec fishers?

I posed the question in my article in the April edition, "Will the Wetline Review be worth the wait?" I can now gladly say it has been.

On the 29 May the Minister for Fisheries released his final outcomes of the Wetline Review, marking a monument day in fisheries management for Western Australia.

The day was significant as it marked the announcement of a formal management framework for the commercial wetline fishing, the last remaining 'open access' commercial fishery in Western Australia.

For those that may not have read the April article and are not familiar with wetline fishing, it is essentially the commercial hand-line and/or drop-line fishing for demersal species such as dhufish, pink snapper (excluding Shark Bay), goldband snapper, baldchin groper etc. Currently any Licensed Fishing Boat (LFB) that operates under a Commercial Fishing Licence (CFL) can 'wetline'. This essentially allows the open access for all CFL holders to fish for demersal species without any restrictions on the number of fish that can be taken. The development of formal management for this fishery is of particular significance to most recreational fishers because of the importance of the above mentioned species.

The open access of commercial fishing to these species has been at the detriment of the quality of the recreational fishery for a number of years. The commercial fishery has been fishing well above its Target Commercial Catch (TCC) whilst in the same period the recreational sector has taken significant bag limit reductions to ensure sustainability of the resource. The TCC for the West Coast demersal managed commercial fishery is estimated to be about 760 tonnes. The actual commercial catch has been in excess of 1000 tonnes for several years now (1155 tonnes in 2002/3 and 1288 tonnes in 2003/4) and the general belief is that the fishery is under significant pressure.

The Wetline Review will finally bring the wetline fishery under formal management, fostering a small, professional and profitable commercial finfish fishery as opposed to the current open access fishery.

Recfishwest is especially pleased with the controls on the take of fish by boats that do not qualify for a specific wetline entitlement. Not allowing the take of any fish, or the carrying of any gear for taking finfish whilst undertaking a commercial fishing trip will allow for more effective compliance. However, a licensed fishing boat will still be permitted to fish solely for recreational purposes, provided the commercial operator nominates by a predetermined period prior to commencing the trip and does not have in possession rock lobster pots or other specified commercial fishing gear on board the boat.

This has been a change from the Minister's draft outcomes released for public comment in December 2006, which made an allowance for a personal consumption limit for finfish on boats not gaining entitlement. Recfishwest's submission to the draft outcomes paper questioned such a concession given the impact it could have on the resource when extrapolated across all commercial fishing licences and the precedence set in all other managed fisheries e.g. the wetline fishers can't catch rock lobster, so why should rock lobster fishers be allowed to catch finfish. Also the compliance cost for this concession would have been excessive.

With the announcement of formal management for the commercial Wetline Fishery there now comes an increased onus on recreational fishers to adopt an even greater responsibility for managing the recreational share of the resource in the future. Recfishwest has long had the stance that we would not support further reductions in the recreational take until the commercial fishery comes under management. That time has now come and we must now start to consider how best we can ensure long term sustainability of the resource.

A week after the Minister for Fisheries, Hon Jon Ford, announced his outcomes of the Wetline Review he was asked the following question in parliament by Hon Murray Criddle.

"Following the minister's announcement for arrangements for the wetline review final management framework for the west coast and Gascoyne demersal small scale fish resource for commercial fishermen -

(1) When will the minister announce a package for the recreational fishing sector?

(2) Can the recreational fishers expect a substantial cut in the allowable catch"?

In Response Hon Jon Ford said;

"It will be about three or four months before an initial announcement is made on the adjustments to the recreational catch, which will target five popular indicative species in particular, such as dhufish, groper and the like, with a view to making substantial changes within 12 months."

"A preliminary adjustment will look specifically at a precautionary principle of a number of species of fish and then a review process will result in a discussion paper with suggested management plans, which will include an invitation for the commercial sector to comment."

"We think we will probably need an overall adjustment on a number of major species of about 50 per cent. I am still waiting for advice on that. It will be three or four months before the initial announcement is made, followed by a 12-month consultation process at the end of which a decision will be made."

As many of you may have seen, this sparked an instantaneous media response making front page news in the West Australian the following day under the headline "Anglers face much tougher limits on WA's most popular fish". Whilst Recfishwest was aware that the recreational sector should expect tighter management restrictions once the dust had settle on the Wetline Review, to have the proposition thrust upon us a week later caught us by surprise.

Having not seen the scientific report that the Minister has based his proposed 50% reductions in the recreational bag limits it is difficult to pass comment on whether these reductions are the necessary management tool.

If the state of the resource is in as bad a shape as the Minister says it is, recreational fishers, as they have done many times in the past, may have to take it upon ourself to take on tighter restrictions if it ensures sustainability of the resource.

The Minister plans to shortly release a discussion paper for public comment on the proposed management arrangements for recreational fishing on the West Coast. One thing you can guarantee is that Recfishwest will be providing detailed comment on what will be in the best interest of the sustainability of the resource whilst maintaining the social value of fishing.

If you haven't already joined as a member of Recfishwest now is an important time as ever. The next couple of years will be definitive in the future of recreational fishing in Western Australia and it is important you be kept informed and represented. I urge that you join us as a Recfishwest member and be kept up to date on issues affecting recreational fishers.

There is much more to come on this issue. Watch this space!!

Kane Moyle
Policy Officer



This page last updated on 13 September 2007.