Demersal $10m support package

The WA Government has heralded its $10 million funding boost, as part of the west coast demersal management changes package announced in December, as “the biggest investment in the recovery of a fishery in WA history”. However, there has been little detail provided of exactly how the money will be spent other than the following breakdown given to Recfishwest by DPIRD and given in question time in the WA parliament.

West coast demersal $10 million support package break-down:

• Voluntary Fisheries Adjustment Scheme (VFAS) – $2.5 million

• Public education and awareness campaign –$1.75 million

• Science and monitoring –$1.8 million

• Statewide FADs –$1.5 million

• Snapper restocking –$1 million

• Digital catch reporting for recreational fishers

– $674,000

• Charter tourism business diversification – $500,000

• Charter sector management reform – $260,000 tailor will start to become resident along reef breaks and gutters.

Kyle celebrated his birthday on the beach dropping baits from the Cuta Copter finding a couple of perfect pan snapper.

Tarwhine have been abundant off some of the beaches, in bay and off the jetty. Often there are flathead, and flounder.

Big cobbler have been along the shallows, in periods of low swell and tide walk along with a hand spear and bright light. The delicate meat is a real treat.

Recfishwest believes it is crucial that the Government closely involves the recreational fishing community and industry in the design and delivery of the package.

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “This is a significant amount of public money and the

Government has got to get it right this time. Invested properly, this money can go a long way in redressing the fundamental inequity in the way this valuable public resource is managed.

“It can plug significant knowledge gaps that can inform much better management of the fishery and promote better fishing behaviours that can speed up the recovery and… lead to optimising the social and economic benefits these fish provide for our community. This, after all, is the goal of fisheries management enshrined in WA law.”

The VFAS commercial licence buy-back scheme earmarked for $2.5 million of the package will provide operators compensation to voluntarily reduce the number of commercial fishing units.

“We are keen to understand how the VFAS will work, given it can potentially pave the way to a fairer and more equitable sharing of the overall sustainable catch between recreational, charter and commercial fishing sectors,” Andrew said. “This is long overdue with 64% of the west coast demersal catch currently reserved for private profit, and only 5% of demersal fish caught in WA waters taken by recreational fishers.”

Other elements of the support package, including the science and monitoring, and digital catch reporting investment, can help plug some of the knowledge gaps scientists and fishery managers have around west coast demersal scalefish.

Examples of these are to what extent the recovering Gascoyne pink snapper stock underpins numbers of those fish in the north of the west coast bioregion, and how climate change might be impacting on spatial movement of the west coast demersal stock overall.

“Combined with clearer recreational catch data, better scientific understanding of dhufish, pink snapper and other prized demersals will help DPIRD fishery managers make… more informed management decisions when the latest west coast stock assessment is due next year,” said Andrew.

“A comprehensive education and awareness campaign can also have a positive impact on fisher behaviour, reducing postrelease mortality, spreading fishing effort away from west coast demersal species and ultimately speeding up the recovery. This campaign needs to involve fishers as well as charter operators and tackle stores.”

Andrew said the charter fishing sector has been neglected in the new management package, putting significant pressure and risk on the $110 million the sector contributes to the economy every year, and the 830 jobs it supports.

“Twenty tonnes of the available 375 tonnes is not in line with significant benefits this sector provides to the Western Australian public,” he said.

Recfishwest will continue to ask the questions of Government that need to be answered on how this money is invested, and how a fairer, more equitable way to manage the fishery can established.

“This is a golden opportunity to set things right,” said Andrew, “but it has to be done right and it has to be done transparently – it’s simply too important a chance to squander.” - Recfishwest