Bag and Size Limits, Fishing Rules and Fish Identification.

The Western Australian Department of Fisheries sets the bag and size limits and other rules for recreational fishing in Western Australia.

WA is divided into four regions. Some different fishing bag and size limits and other rules are set considering the abundance of the fish, the fishing pressures and the needs of sustainability.

Most importantly, the recreational fishing limits and rules are to ensure that fish will always be available in the future so that your children and grandchildren can continue to enjoy recreational fishing. Recfishwest works actively to ensure sustainability and the future of recreational fishing for the benefit of future generations.

The following brochures for the four WA regions are available from the Department of Fisheries website links as shown below.

The species identification guides have photos and descriptions of the common fish in the regions. These are an excellent answer to "What's that fish?", and are an easy to carry fish identification reference book for recreational anglers.

West Coast.

The West Coast bio-region extends from just north of Kalbarri through to Black Point, east of Augusta.

NOTE:- The Minister for Fisheries has announced major changes to the fishing rules for the West Coast Region, to apply from 1 January 2009.

For more details see Recfishwest Media statement New West Coast recreational fishing arrangements

That page has the links to all the current and previous papers from the Minister for Fisheries, Department of Fisheries and Recfishwest's submissions.

The current rules for the West Coast region are in the following link to the Department of Fisheries website.

These will be updated by Dept of Fisheries to show the new rules before the changes come in on 15 October.

West Coast Fishing Bag and Size Limit Rules and other fishing information (link opens in a new window)

West Coast Species Identification Guide (link opens in a new window)

South Coast.

The South Coast bio-region extends from Black Point, east of Augusta, through to the WA/SA border.

South Coast Fishing Bag and Size Limit Rules and other fishing information (link opens in a new window)

South Coast Species Identification Guide (link opens in a new window)

Gascoyne.

The Gascoyne bio-region extends from the Zuytdorp Cliffs, north of Kalbarri, to the Ashburton River, south of Onslow.

Gascoyne Fishing Bag and Size Limit Rules and other fishing information (link opens in a new window)

Gascoyne Species Identification Guide (link opens in a new window)

Pilbara/Kimberley.

The Pilbara/Kimberley bio-region extends from the Ashburton River near Onslow to the Northern Territory/Western Australia border.

Pilbara/Kimberley Fishing Bag and Size Limit Rules and other fishing information (link opens in a new window)

Pilbara/Kimberley Species Identification Guide (link opens in a new window)

Recreational Fishing.

Check the WA Department of Fisheries Home Page (link opens in a new window) and the Recreational Fishing Page (link opens in a new window) for other interesting and important information about recreational fishing.

This page last updated 27 October 2008.