Monthly Archives: October 2013

Keep safe during the West Coast Zone abalone season.

Western Australia’s much-prized shellfish can be collected again this Sunday, when thousands of recreational abalone fishers take to the inshore reefs in the West Coast Zone for the first of five limited fishing opportunities.

The five separate one hour fishing periods will run from 7am to 8am only on the first Sunday of each month from November to March, with the first session due this weekend.

Bag and size limits are unchanged at 20 Roe’s abalone, with a minimum size of 60mm.

The West Coast Zone (WCZ) extends from Busselton Jetty to the Greenough River mouth including all islands within the zone (i.e. Carnac and Rottnest), but there is at present a permanent abalone fishing closure north of Moore River.

Department of Fisheries’ Principal Management Officer Martin Holtz said researchers had established that abalone stocks off the Perth metropolitan coast were beginning to return to normal growth rate after it slowed significantly during the marine heatwave and warmer water conditions in recent years.

“The stocks north of Moore River and in the Northern Zone abalone fishery will take a much longer to recover, because they suffered the major impact of the marine heatwave, so that part of the WA coast remains closed to recreational abalone fishing until further notice,” Mr Holtz said.

“During last season it is estimated that almost 19 tonnes of abalone was collected; catches were down due to poor weather conditions making fishing difficult.”

Mr Holtz said recreational abalone fishers needed to consider safety first at all times.

“When they are picking over the reefs or diving for abalone, fishers should look after their personal safety, make sure they keep an eye on the weather and sea conditions and wear appropriate clothing and footwear,” he said.

“Surf Life Saving WA will have helicopter, water and beach patrol along Perth’s northern beaches for each Sunday of the season and we ask fishers to obey any beach closures or safety directions from local council rangers or lifesavers.”

“Fisheries and Marine Officers will also be out and about, to ensure compliance with the rules.”

A licence is required to go recreational abalone fishing in WA. Licences can be purchased from the department’s website at www.fish.wa.gov.au. Fishing rules and safety tips are available in the Recreational fishing for abalone guide 2013/14; available online or from Fisheries’ offices.

A campaign, supported by the aquarium industry and retail pet stores, is underway to raise awareness among pet owners, on how to safely and responsibly dispose of unwanted pet fish.

Launched today, by Western Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley, the education campaign is part of the Department of Fisheries’ wide range of initiatives aimed at improving the State’s aquatic biosecurity defences.

Biosecurity Team Leader Victoria Aitken said the initiative, supported by the Department of Agriculture and Food and the Perth Cichlid Society, was aimed at advising people not to release unwanted fish, snails and plants from their aquaria into waterways, toilets, drains or the ocean.

“To help spread the word, we have produced ‘don’t dump that fish’ posters, brochures and fish bag stickers for aquarium shops around the State, in order to get the retailers help in educating pet owners,” Ms Aitken said.

“The wider community is a huge resource in the fight to prevent aquatic pests entering and establishing in WA and industry-supported programs, such as these, are a powerful way of engaging many people on aquatic biosecurity issues.”

Ms Aitken said, with millions of fish being transported around the globe, importation of aquarium fish was a major potential source of invasive species.

“Given the difficulties in eradicating species once they are established, our focus is on prevention by ensuring key stakeholders, such as the ornamental fish industry, have access to relevant information,” she said.

“If fish owners no longer want their fish, they are encouraged to give them to other responsible fish owners or an organisation with an aquarium, or to seek advice from their local pet shop.”

“If you are unable to find a new home for your fish, or if the fish are sick or diseased, please dispose of them responsibly and humanely, so your pet doesn’t become a pest.”

Advice on how to dispose of them is included in the new brochure, which can also be found on the Department of Fisheries’ website at www.fish.wa.gov.au/biosecurity.

Sightings of suspected aquatic pests should be reported to the department’s FISHWATCH service on 1800 815 507, or via email to biosecurity@fish.wa.gov.au, or through the free WA PestWatch app, which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store.

The Minister has announced a further amendment for this year only to recreational and commercial rock lobster season dates in a small area in the south east of the Eastern Region – see map below.

The area from Whale Head east to Coal Point (on the east coast of Bruny Island) excluding the D’Entrecasteaux Channel will now open for recreational fishers from 9 November. From Whale Head east to Penguin Island will now open to commercial fishers from 18 November.  See all recreational season dates.

Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson today announced new fishing arrangements for mulloway to help rebuild stocks to a sustainable level in NSW.

“Mulloway stocks across NSW are currently assessed as being overfished and a recovery program is required to assist with rebuilding the population,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“The new rules, for commercial and recreational fishing sectors, are based on scientific advice and information sourced from extensive consultation with the fishing community.

“To assist in this recovery process the recreational bag limit for mulloway will be reduced from five to two fish.

“The minimum legal length for both recreational and commercial fishers will be increased from 45 centimetres to 70 centimetres.

“The new rules do not include a total ban on take. A total ban would have driven a faster recovery, however, it was considered preferable to balance the rate of recovery with the impacts on recreational and commercial fishers.

“The NSW Government extensively consulted with the fishing community on arrangements to recover mulloway stocks over several months and received strong support,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

Other changes to commercial fishing include:

• Commercial Estuary General fishers using meshing nets will be permitted a by-catchpossession allowance of 10 fish between 45 to 70 cm in length, to avoid wastage;

• A 500 kilogram limit for commercial Ocean Hauling endorsement holders.

“The objective of this recovery program is to assist the sustainability of the species which will in turn contribute towards ensuring quality recreational fishing and long-term viable commercial fishing,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“It is important that all fishing sectors play a role in these new arrangements to ensure the population has a rapid recovery.

“Monitoring of commercial landings of mulloway will continue to measure the impact of the new arrangements on commercial catches and stock levels.

“New research programs, such as the state-wide recreational fishing catch survey, will be implemented in conjunction with the new rules to improve information on the recreational catch.

“This recovery program will be kept under regular review to ensure its effectiveness in building stock levels and will be required until the mulloway stock reaches a sustainable level,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

The new rules will be implemented 1 November, 2013.

For more information contact the local fisheries office or click here.

Main photo image courtesy of Steve Starling, NSW.

Western Australia’s recreational rock lobster fishers will be able to drop their pots from 15 October, with the season opening four weeks before the traditional start date of 15 November.

The reason for this is to provide greater opportunity for recreational fishers to take their share of the catch.

See the Recreational fishing for lobster guide 2013-14 for more details.

A two-month closure on the recreational take of demersal scalefish; such as pink snapper, baldchin groper and WA dhufish, is in place from today (Tuesday, October 15) and will continue through to Sunday, December 15 inclusive.

The two-month closure is part of a package of measures introduced by Fisheries in 2010, after consultation with recreational fishers and they are supported by Recfishwest.

The management measures are aimed at halving the recreational catch of demersal scalefish in the West Coast Bioregion (against 2005/06 levels) and were deemed necessary, following independently-reviewed scientific evidence, which indicated that key demersal species were being overfished and required immediate action to ensure long-term sustainability.

A separate package of measures aimed at commercial fishers was also introduced and has effectively reduced the commercial catch to the target levels.

“The good news is that preliminary research monitoring has showed that the management arrangements have been effective, and recreational and commercial fishers are both playing their part in ensuring the fishery has a sustainable future,” said fisheries manager Martin Holtz.

“The soon to be completed analysis of the first State-wide recreational fishing survey (conducted during 2011/12) and a stock assessment of key demersal scalefish species are eagerly anticipated and will provide the next step in evaluating the effectiveness of the management measures.”

If you catch a demersal finfish during the closed season you must return it to the water as soon as possible with the use of a ‘release weight’.

The other good news is that fishing is still allowed for a range of nearshore species such as whiting, squid and tailor which are highly popular with recreational fishers.

The West Coast Bioregion includes the area north of Kalbarri (27 degrees south) to east of Augusta (near Black Point).

Fishers are reminded to familiarise themselves with the full list of demersal finfish species in the state-wide Recreational fishing guide 2013, on pages 6-11.

The fishing guide can be downloaded at www.fish.wa.gov.au or collected from Department of Fisheries’ offices or Information Outlets.