Hotbite Magazine article - Recfishwest in your region

The past few months have been an extremely busy period for Recfishwest, so this month I thought it would be a good idea to provide a summary of some of the issues that Recfishwest have been working on in the four fisheries bioregions of Western Australia. Western Australia is a huge place and given Recfishwest's limited resources it can extremely difficult at times to address all the issues associated with recreational fishing in the bioregions.

1. West Coast

1.1. Swan River Cobbler
Recfishwest continues to seek support for a ban on the take of cobbler in the Swan and Canning Rivers.

The reported commercial take of cobbler in the Swan/Canning Rivers has declined significantly from substantial catches of 10 tonnes per annum in the late 1980s to very small catches of less than 100kg (0.1 tonne) per annum since 2001. The Swan/Canning commercial catch of cobbler is incidental, the fishery predominantly targets blue swimmer crab, black bream, bony herring and mullet and to a lesser extent whiting.

The fundamental concern is the declining population of cobbler in the Swan/Canning system and a total ban of the take of cobbler is just a start. The predominant driver for their demise has been identified as a loss of breeding habitat and water quality issues, which Recfishwest will continue to work towards improving. Recfishwest is currently developing the idea of a community workshop on Swan River issues in conjunction with the Swan River Trust and the Swan Catchment Council.

1.2. South West Salmon
Recfishwest will be meeting with the Minister for Fisheries in October to discuss South West salmon as an agenda item. Recfishwest will pursue an update on proposals for next year's season, in particular regarding commitment to commercial salmon fishing closures during the Easter holiday period. The resolution of this issue is a priority for Recfishwest.

1.3. Shire of Capel Beach Access Plan
The Shire of Capel proposed in their Beach Access Plan to exclude recreational fishing from large stretches of coastline and place further restrictions on vehicle beach access for recreational users and boat launching in the Shire of Capel.

Recfishwest's submission stipulated that the responsibility of fisheries management and the subsequent legislation lies solely with the Department of Fisheries under the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA). Recfishwest believes Local Government should not be using the Local Government Act 1997 to enforce what is essentially fisheries management issues. The Shire of Capel has now decided not to implement the proposed restrictions on shore based anglers and will remove existing restrictions on beach fishing in the Capel Shire.

To have this proposal overturned was an extremely good result for recreational fishers and was a collaborative effort between Recfishwest, Department of Fisheries and Local Residents in the Shire of Capel.

1.4. Bennett Brook Taskforce
Recfishwest, is a member of the Bennett Brook Taskforce charged with overseeing the Department of Fisheries response to a feral pest inundation (cichlids) in Bennet Brook. However control activities in relation to the Bennett Brook area were recently suspended following objections raised by representatives of the Nyungah Circle of Elders. Cichlids aggressively compete with native fish species and if allowed to spread into the upper reaches of the Swan River, the impacts could be catastrophic. It is important that remedial action against these pest species gets back up and running. Recfishwest believes the Department of Fisheries have acted responsibly on this potentially damaging introduction.

1.5. North Mole Clean Up
Recfishwest, through Board Member Craig Bibra and Staff coordinated a community driven clean up at the North Mole in Fremantle. Interested recreational fishers were invited to get along on Sunday 6th August and help out with the clean up initiative. The overall response was good with the high turn out indicative of a resounding success. More than 40 concerned recreational fishers from Recfishwest, Volunteer Fisheries Liaison Officers and the general public all chipped in to do their bit to help clean up the litter at North Mole. With nearly a full multi-skip being collected on the day, Recfishwest is planning to adapt the idea to have more clean ups of fishing locations around the metropolitan area. With glow stick packets being one of the prominent forms of rubbish, Recfishwest reminds all recreational fishers to take their rubbish home with them when they finish fishing.

1.6. Marine Parks
Marine Parks have been a hot topic of debate in recent months as raised in my October article for Hotbite. Recfishwest has completed its submission on the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park Indicative Management Plan (IMP), with the full submission being available at www.recfishwest.org.au . Recfishwest is in the process of finalising its submission on the Geographe Bay/Leeuwin-Naturaliste/Hardy Inlet Marine Park IMP due on 15th December. Recfishwest urges all recreational fishers to check out the IMP and provide comment.

2. South Coast

2.1. South Coast Estuaries Proposal
Recfishwest has concerns with the proposal by the Department of Fisheries to move the Hardy Inlet fishery from the West Coast to South Coast without including the fishery in the preferred licence target of 15 licences in the South Coast Estuarine Management Plan.

At present commercial estuarine fishers on the South Coast are still well above the licence target of 15 and appear to be making little progress in reducing the number of licences.

Recfishwest believes an integrated approach to South Coast estuary management is the best way forward. As the popularity of recreational estuary fishing increases, particularly the explosion of lure fishing for black bream, it becomes increasingly important that recreational fishers are given input into commercial management decisions that will impact on their quality of fishing.

2.2. Proposed Walpole Nornalup Inlets Marine Park IMP 2006-2016
Recfishwest was part of the Focus Group for the Proposed Walpole-Nornalup Inlets Marine Park. Input from the broadly represented group was productive in seeing a reasonably well balanced IMP for the proposed Marine Park. Comments are due 1st December. Recfishwest encourages recreational fishers to comment on this proposal. Positive comments are just as important in supporting outcomes for this proposal. Recfishwest commends the mountain of work local resident Mark Halse has contributed to the development of the IMP as recreational fishing representative on the Focus Group.

2.3. Whaler Shark Maximum Size Limit for West and South Coasts
Recfishwest has been asked to provide comment on a proposal from the Minister of Fisheries on the introduction of a maximum size limit for whaler sharks on the South and West Coast. Recfishwest believes the commercial sector is solely responsible for the critical state of dusky whaler sharks in the West Coast and South Coast regions of Western Australia and this view is supported by historic annual catch data.

Recreational fishers take considerably less than 1% of the total take of dusky whalers in Western Australia but we are being asked to ban the take of all whaler species over 1.5m while allowing the commercial sector to continue to target and sell all whaler species except dusky whalers when they are the sole cause of the sustainability issues. Recfishwest strongly opposes this proposal on these grounds.

3. Gascoyne

3.1. Halt the Salt Campaign Update
The Halt the Salt campaign is a unique alliance of the Conservation Council, WAFIC, Kailis Bros, and Recfishwest with support from Federal level peak recreational and commercial fishing and conservation bodies to oppose the world's largest salt mine from being established along the Eastern edge of Exmouth Gulf. The mine will stretch an equivalent distance of coast as Rockingham to Yanchep

The Straights Salt ERMP will be released for a public comment period shortly, probably by the time this hits news stands. The potential for this project to significantly impact on marine recruitment in the Exmouth Gulf should be reason enough to prompt concerned recreational fishers to support the campaign. Details are available at www.haltthesalt.org

As a member of the Halt the Salt campaign, Recfishwest attended a workshop looking at current research and priorities for future research in Exmouth Gulf on the 27th September at Murdoch University. Research being carried out in the Exmouth Gulf has highlighted the biological importance of this area and further strengthens the argument against the Straits Salt project.

3.2. Northern Regional Fishing Clinic Tour
Recfishwest recently completed its second annual Northern Regional Fishing Clinic Tour. Fishing Clinic Coordinator, Michele Jennings commenced the Tour with clinics in Geraldton, Kalbarri and Shark Bay and continued northward completing clinics in 12 coastal towns as far north as Derby and Kununurra.

The clinics were attended by in excess of 1000 children through school and community fishing clinics. Messages presented included; the Fish Today for Tomorrow message, the SunSmart message, the Addicted to Fishing Not Drugs message and general promotion of care and respect for the marine and coastal environment and proper fish handling.

Response and feedback to the clinics was very positive and many local schools and Shires are hopeful that the clinics can become an annual event. The tour also presented the opportunity for Recfishwest staff to meet with local anglers to discuss regional issues.

4. Pilbara/Kimberley

4.1. Kimberley Plan Towards 2015
Little progress has occurred since the Department of Fisheries Kimberley Plan Stakeholder meeting in Broome on 28th June. Recfishwest is part of the stakeholder group. It is anticipated that a draft plan for public comment will be released in November 2006.

4.2. Burrup Peninsular Plan Recfishwest Submission
Recfishwest recently provided comment on the Department of Environment Management Plan for the Burrup Peninsular. After consulting with local recreational fishers, Recfishwest's submission focussed around the potential impact on community access to popular shore based fishing and boat launching locations on the Burrup Peninsula. Furthermore, the potential for the introduction of an access fee for the public to enter the Burrup Peninsula Conservation Reserve was opposed by Recfishwest.

4.3. Barramundi and Threadfin Accord
Recfishwest remains dedicated to an objective assessment of the issues and the appropriate evaluation of the recreational needs for this common property resource. Recfishwest was notified earlier this year of the Department's plan to form local groups to provide advice on future special management for Barramundi. Recfishwest supported the local process as the first step towards resolution. Recfishwest did however anticipate remaining involved in the wider Barramundi Accord process and reserved the right to be involved in all discussions should the proposed local process reach an impasse, or fail.

More recently it has become apparent that little progress toward a local agreement is forthcoming for the Roebuck Bay area. Recfishwest recently raised concerns regarding the local process in Broome. Recfishwest awaits notification of any progress in that direction. Recreational fisher concerns principally regard intra-sector zoning and spatial arrangements for the Kimberley Gillnet and Barramundi Fishery prior to any proposed VFAS or sale of existing licences. Reports regarding the Ord River local agreement have been more favourable from a recreational fishing perspective.


On a strategic matter, Recfishwest recently met with the Integrated Fisheries Allocation Advisory Committee (IFAAC) and the Department of Fisheries to discuss priorities for Integrated Fisheries Management as a 10 year plan. Prior to the meeting a questionnaire was sent out to corresponding members asking for their top five priorities for IFM. Recfishwest's priorities were South West Salmon, West Coast Inshore, Demersal Gillnet and Longline Fisheries, Australian Herring and Mackerel.

Recfishwest has proposed a three tiered approach to future priorities, being;

• Bioregional for demersal fisheries
• Species specific e.g. mackerel, blue swimmer crabs, mud crabs
• Inshore/estuary e.g. Peel/Harvey and south coast

This approach was well received by the members of IFAAC.

As you can see Recfishwest deals with a broader range of topics than what we are sometimes given credit for. For only $22 a year you can become a member of Recfishwest and help get involved.

Article written for the Hotbite Magazine, November 2006 issue
Written by Kane Moyle, Policy Officer, Recfishwest.



This page last updated on 17 January 2007.