THE Department of Fisheries and Recfishwest are continuing their educational campaign to ensuring fishers don’t take undersized crabs or more than the daily bag limit, when crabbing in Mandurah.
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Department of Fisheries south metropolitan region compliance manager John Breeden urged the many recreational fishers expected to descend on the Peel Harvey Estuary during the Australia Day long weekend to go crabbing, to stick to the rules.
“The crab season is more advanced now and more of the blue swimmers have reached legal size, but fishers need to measure them properly to be sure,” he said.
“Fisheries and Marine officers patrolling the Peel Harvey Estuary still come across people who haven’t measured the crabs they have caught and in those situations they quite often find there are undersized crabs amongst the crabs that have been collected.
“Any blue swimmer crab caught that is less than 127 millimetres carapace width needs to be returned to the water promptly and left to moult and grow into a legal-sized crab.
“The maximum number of crabs anyone can take in a single day in the Peel-Harvey is ten.”
Mr Breeden said infringement fines for rule-breakers would be issued and offences like taking undersized crabs, which are totally protected until they reach legal size, were serious matters that could lead to prosecution and potential court fines of up to $5000 plus an additional mandatory penalty of $40 per crab.
“Recfishwest have this summer provided free crab gauges to help recreational fishers comply with the rules and those gauges have been well-received when handed out by Fisheries officers, however, fishers shouldn’t rely on getting a free gauge as they must have a gauge when they commence fishing and ensure they use it," he said.
Fishing rules are available in the Recreational Fishing Guide 2014.
Guides are available online – fish.wa.gov.au – from departmental offices or information outlets.
