Don’t forget the seasonal closure for demersal finfish starts today in the West Coast Bioregion, from Black Point east of Augusta to the Zuytporp Cliffs north of Kalbarri, and continues until 15 December (inclusive).
You cannot fish for, take, bring onto land, or be in possession of demersal finfish on a boat within the West Coast Bioregion during this period. If you catch a demersal finfish from a boat or from shore in this area during the closed season, you must return it to the water immediately with the least possible injury to the fish.
This annual closure is one of the management measures in place to reduce the recreational and charter catch of popular species including WA dhufish, pink snapper and baldchin groper by 50%, to allow them to recover by 2030. Alternative management arrangements are also in place to reduce the commercial sector catch by 50% to allow this resource to recover by 2030.
The West Coast demersal scalefish resource is currently halfway through a 20 year recovery plan and while there are some early signs of recovery, there is still a long way to go. A stakeholder based working group is currently developing a draft harvest strategy with the intent of releasing the draft in coming months.