Anglers urged to heed annual closure

The annual West Coast Bioregion demersal fishing closure began on Tuesday, October 15.

Popular demersal fish stocks in the West Coast Bioregion are under a 20-year recovery plan.

The annual demersal fishing closure is one of a number of measures introduced to manage annual recreational and charter catches at levels that allow WA dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper and other demersal scalefish species to recover by 2030.

The closure zone runs from north of Kalbarri, south past Geraldton and including the Abrolhos Islands, down the West Coast to the Perth Metropolitan coast and Mandurah and further to take in Bunbury, Busselton and South West coastal areas as far as Black Point, near Augusta.

Up to and including Sunday, December 15, recreational fishers are prohibited from taking or landing demersal finfish in the West Coast Bioregion. If they do happen to catch one, any demersal scalefish must be returned to the water as soon as possible.

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While most fishers do the right thing because they want demersal stocks to recover, fisheries officers from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) are monitoring seasonal closures around WA and will not hesitate to take the necessary action.

Compliance actions vary from warnings to low and high-level infringement fines, as well as prosecution in court for very serious offences.

DPIRD Fisheries Management Officer Shane Walters said the aim of the annual closure, introduced in 2009, has been to reduce the annual recreational and charter catches of demersal scalefish by at least 50 per cent on the West Coast.

"It is important that recreational and charter fishers continue to play their part by maintaining annual catches below recovery benchmarks, to ensure these important species recover," Mr Walters said.