Changes to Demersal Season
Submitted by Piggy on Wed, 2025-12-03 09:17
It's happening... released this morning and on ABC radio
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I go boating not fishing
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Piggy
Posts: 580
Date Joined: 24/08/12
On the Dpird.wa website.....
On the Dpird.wa website..... Can't post link
I go boating not fishing
Piggy
Posts: 580
Date Joined: 24/08/12
On the Dpird.wa website.....
On the Dpird.wa website..... Can't post link
I go boating not fishing
sea-kem
Posts: 15183
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Some good things in there
Some good things in there though, commercial buy outs and no West coast bioregion commercial fishing.
No changes to gascoyne Phew!
https://www.dpird.wa.gov.au/environment-and-sustainability/sustainable-fisheries/western-australias-demersal-scalefish-resources/?accordion=accordione584c3b48f3e4de3ba6124ee989580e2
Love the West!
piscetor
Posts: 245
Date Joined: 13/05/16
ban?
But it appears you can still go fishing of the beach for them.WTF! a ban should be a ban, the beach fishers don't even need a rec license. A bit of bull shi^%$t if you ask me.
Filletmaster
The Saint
Posts: 489
Date Joined: 30/01/13
I agree Andy, a couple of
I agree Andy, a couple of positives there.
Lets hope they don't bring in more restrictions when people start targeting other species and travelling outside West Coast region.
Here's a link to the ABC News article:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-03/perth-wa-strict-fishing-ban-commercial-recreational-fishers/106095814
MT
Posts: 59
Date Joined: 19/08/11
2 year demersal fishing
2 year demersal fishing ban.
Watch that get extended out again in future exactly as happened in South Australia after the initial snapper fishing ban came in there.
Sea goat
Posts: 1035
Date Joined: 26/03/17
yeah, i do wonder about
yeah, i do wonder about this.
it wouldnt suprise me if we get to the spring of 2027, then are told the recovery hasnt been good enough, will be extended another 2 years etc. lets hope not!
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18227
Date Joined: 11/03/08
The Gascoyne and pilbara are
The Gascoyne and pilbara are going to get hammered more than usual.
Imo they stuffed it up with the last lot of changes eliminating the minimum size on some species and allowing 4 dhuies on a boat.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
still trying
Posts: 1093
Date Joined: 27/06/17
I don't think they fucked up
I don't think they fucked up I think that we fell for it and gave them what they were looking for on a silver platter.
rather be fishing
uncle
Posts: 9623
Date Joined: 10/02/07
Could be
Right Guy
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
shane78
Posts: 83
Date Joined: 10/12/14
So we can catch whiting,
So we can catch whiting, herring, wrasse, skippy etc etc from the shore and don't need a license but because we own a boat we have to pay for a license...... seems fair think I might start selling drones!!
Reefsta
Posts: 383
Date Joined: 03/08/19
Until late 2027, meanwhile
Hoping the demersals respond well and we get to chase them again in the spring of 2027. Meanwhile, can some please post a guide to catching KGs, skippy, spaniards and tuna in the metro area!.
davewillo
Posts: 2652
Date Joined: 08/09/16
Or GPS coordinates!
Or GPS coordinates!
PGFC member and lure tragic
piscetor
Posts: 245
Date Joined: 13/05/16
KG skippy and other crap fish
The stragglers seem to produce some good KG and behind the FF with burly usually brings on the skippy, inside the FF (@)-@@ meter mark you will get sand whiting by the bucket load. Spaniards Rotto as well as dolphin fish, Cockburn sound turn up a few Spanairds as well. I've seen spaniards behind the reefs at cervantes in april
Filletmaster
Bazza59
Posts: 5
Date Joined: 08/10/16
how many boats will go up for sale now
After 13 and a half years of not being able to fish for demersals, I finally bit the bullet and bought a boat big enough to chase them again. Before a lot of you say its the same for everyone, I have been on a disability pension since 2011 and have no savings or super, so for me to go out and get a loan to buy a boat is a HUGE financial burden. After a couple of fishless trips out (as I only returned to WA after my accident and had no waypoints or local knowledge to go on) the State Government hits us with a ban on demersals. Now throw in the fact that I live 2 and a half hours drive from the ocean and as such can only afford a deepsea trip once a month and sometimes not even that, and all of a sudden it's a case of, why the F^#K did I buy a bigger boat. I have had to forgo the few small things that I could indulge myself with, to be able to meet the repayments on the boat, when, had I known what was going to be put in place, I would have just stayed with my little tinny. Hopefully, I will be going out with another member of this group soon, and maybe pick up a couple of spots from him where I can catch some decent kg or yellowfin whiting to make future trips with my own boat, better than forking out $120 plus in car fuel, then boat fuel,and bait etc and still come home fishless, like what has happened since I bought the boat. Also the fact I won't need local knowledge to drag lures around looking for Spanish Mackeral but since buying the boat the water has been too cold for them, so thats something of a positive to look forward to in coming months. I just wish that they could put some fads in closer than what they are, so us smaller boat owners can get a crack at mahi mahi and the like. When I was a lot younger and living in NSW, I could hook marlin and large yellowfin tuna (just) inside of Sydney heads in less than 35 metres of water and around Indonesia they get mahi mahi in as little as 20 metres of water, so its NOT a case of, they need to be 20-60 Nm out to sea to be in deep enough for those species.
Well thats my bit of a whinge on the subject
Bazza
Sea goat
Posts: 1035
Date Joined: 26/03/17
bugger. im certainly gonna
bugger. im certainly gonna have to change up my fising a bit. i dont really get that excited about herring and whiting, so will need to develope my knowledge on pelagics a bit. maybe target some kingfish etc. makes winter fishing look a bit bleak tho. no fads, no pelagics, no crabs etc, and not realy great for rotto trips either.
Reefsta
Posts: 383
Date Joined: 03/08/19
Will it make a difference?
Not really seeing that the a for 18 months or so will make a massive difference.Good to ease the pressure though and maybesee a few more go on into the next size class. Fish that are size now will suffer less fishing related mortality and likely many will still be around, so that should see more spawning, but not sure if that will flow through to more recruits. One thing is that the abundance of fish in the 48-50cm sizes will likely be over 50cm by the time we can fish demersals again, although for me the sweet spot with pinkies is the 65-75cm range.
davewillo
Posts: 2652
Date Joined: 08/09/16
The real positive is the
The real positive is the commercial buyout. At least that will have some meaningful impact on demersal catch. If rec fishing is allowed in 2 years time you would have no chance of getting a bait past the snapper!
PGFC member and lure tragic
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18227
Date Joined: 11/03/08
Watch for the price hike at
Watch for the price hike at local fish stores that sell local fish. Going to go through the roof. fish like dhuie will jump to double
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
biggerfish
Posts: 671
Date Joined: 02/03/09
Will be hard pressed to find
Will be hard pressed to find dhu in a fish shop if there's no commercial fishing south of Kalbarri
Play hard fish harder
Jim
Posts: 1352
Date Joined: 05/05/06
Leaving it open for charters
Leaving it open for charters out of the metro is bit a joke in my opinion, I'm guessing to keep country towns turning over dollars?
This plan is too harsh and a reduced dhufish boat limit of 2 would be better.
I hope the inshore snapper fishing is put on the table for us, let's see if the government backed recfishwest can make it happen.
There's is definitely no shortage of pinks of all sizes.
Bend over
piscetor
Posts: 245
Date Joined: 13/05/16
charters
Tagged fish only. ???? does not compute.
Filletmaster
sea-kem
Posts: 15183
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Something to ponder with our
Something to ponder with our fishing licenses, now that we are only able to catch fish that shore based fishers can catch why in hell are we paying for a license.
Surely the thing to do would be either extinguish FBL's or make it an across the board scope of all fisher folk.
Love the West!
straith
Posts: 430
Date Joined: 25/11/13
well at least for now it
well at least for now it seems they are listening to recreational fisherman and placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of commercial fisherman.
For a long time it seemed theyd ignore the obvious data showing where the real threat if it does in fact exist to fish stocks.
I wonder how much of that money is going to be allocated to expanded recources for fisheries inspectors?
Its one thing to put rules in place, its another thing entirely to police them.
Maybe the increased drones wont be from beach fishing but instead have a fisheries stamp on the side.
Personally I feel for commercial fishing employees and their families, basically end of the industry,
much the same as when timber industry got the chop.
Get used to it people, this is the new overpopulated world...
hezzy
Posts: 1523
Date Joined: 27/11/09
my take on todays media
my take on todays media release by minister is positive ,,
20 months ,,, that will go quick , it is far less than it could have been if they went with 3 or 5 years,,
what it means in real terms is that with no commercials after 1st jan in west coast zone and no recs fishing for 20 months , it will translate to hundreds of tons of fish left out there to spawn over two summers , all the fish both sectors wont catch or kill in those two spawning years is huge to the breeding stock , left alone undisturbed to just do there thing all along the coast from kalbarri to augusta ,, all in one media release
that imo is of epic proportions ,,,and then after 20 months we get to enjoy the result ...alone ,, no pros , no gill net ,
huge shift in how the demersal in west coast are valued,, it also then makes any future management easier as we are now the sole custodians of those fish and their sustainability into the future .. just us and our next generations ,,its all now on us and how we fish and behave out there on the water ... the 20 month wait time might provoke some to rethink catch and release , and evaluate how much fish we actually need to catch every time out in the boat ,,how iconic it is to have such premium fish right on our doorstep to take from and sustain ourselves and them ,,, that imo is no small thing in this current world
im shocked their is a total buy out of all pros , i honestly thought there would be a place for a smaller commercial presence with quotas ...
for anyone sooking about the 20 months and licensees and fees ...just think how many commercial guys tonight have just lost their job as of jan 1st ,, hopefully the gov will give them fair compensation , but for generational fishing families this is a huge emotional curve ball i dont think many saw coming ..total bombshell , their way of life and lifestyle income, business etc all just gone as of todays' media release
for nayone who has or is still whinging about recfishwest being a gov puppet ,, well today you can thank much of their work along with others for getting the minister and her colleagues to make this massive shift in how demersals are managed for the future betterment of us recs ,,
ever since around the mid 80s removing demersal gill net has been high on many agendas for recs,, today its happened ,, just huge .. you dont always get awin ,,but today once people chew this over they should be happy to take the 20 months and enjoy other fishing options until its reopened
.. todays change will go down as one for the ages imo
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
sunshine
Posts: 2679
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Nothing said about deep drop species specifically
So what is the go on them. Nor mention of way more fads.
Alan James
Posts: 2276
Date Joined: 30/06/09
Deep drop species
fall within the demersal umbrella Gordon.
sunshine
Posts: 2679
Date Joined: 03/03/09
Thats what i thought but refer to Fisheries website
And they specifically refer to the usual "suspects" with no mention whatver of the deep drop species indeed the Premier specifically referred to 5 iconic species when fronting the media so what do you take from that
Alan James
Posts: 2276
Date Joined: 30/06/09
...
Anyone who believes what a politician says is a fool. Read the regulations.
Markie
Posts: 2164
Date Joined: 06/08/10
The ol "at least there's
The ol "at least there's some positives " we gone
uncle
Posts: 9623
Date Joined: 10/02/07
Hope it's not crays and crabs
Next, was looking forward to some snapper fishing before pulling the pots in the morning
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
sea-kem
Posts: 15183
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Why would they go for crays
Why would they go for crays and crabs Unc? They are being managed beautifully atm , everyone is getting good bags.
Love the West!
Rob_Seed
Posts: 213
Date Joined: 09/04/08
Absolutely gutted!
It's sad its come to this. Im concerned they will drag it out longer based on poor data, but who knows. Perth boat fisho's are fairly limited when it comes to other types of fishing. There's kingfish that are semi reliable I guess, summer pelagics, bread and butter species but we all know that Perth is no mecca for the pelagic runs. Any boats under 6m are going to be hit hardest as we can't get out to the fads often at all. Mismanagement for years and now we are here, shame on fisheries, shame on dpirb, I feel for the feeder businesses aswell its a sad day indeed. I haven't done as much reading as I should have!
Just one more cast
still trying
Posts: 1093
Date Joined: 27/06/17
My new licence is now paying
My new licence is now paying for me to catch crabs and squid, just paid my sons not knowing about any of this what do you do I don't believe we will be fishing again in 2028
rather be fishing
little johnny
Posts: 5366
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Only the start
Once something in it never gets better. Down south going to get flogged now. Still pros down there. They will be rubbing there hands( massive price increase) on there bycatch ( dhues. Pinks and big reds). Mullly and gummy here I come
sunshine
Posts: 2679
Date Joined: 03/03/09
My thoughts exactly
My favourite gummy spots looking super attractive and way less fuel use.
And a quick question, WHY THE HELL are we being assailed with Recfishwest adds every ten minutes on tv and who the hell is paying for them
hezzy
Posts: 1523
Date Joined: 27/11/09
ye of little faith johnny ...
ye of little faith johnny ...
i was in the board room when norman moore liberal fisheries minister told us that the rec cray bag limit was going down to 6 and the size was being increased to 77mm ,, and he did it ...then after some time and lobbying by us the recfishwest advisory group the bag limit was increased back to 8 , size went back down to 76 mm, then after some more time and more lobbying by us we got a year round cray season not 7 months ,, then again we recommended to be able to go from 4 pots per boat to 6 with shared gear id ,, and it was done ,, as the crays recovered we asked for and got back plus
herring fishery is the same it was flogged to death on the south coast by commercials wit g traps ..recs got cut back from 30 per person to a bag limit of 12 for 7 years , as the stock recovered and migrating schools got bigger , it was increased back to 20,, should have been more , back to the 30 , but fisheries did asneaky trick they did a survey and asked fishers what they though was enough ,, voters said 20 so thats what we got .. im confident it will open as advised ,, thing is now its soley down to recs to look after it ...question is will they ?/can they ? wont be able to blame pros anymore ,,
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Saulty2
Posts: 670
Date Joined: 28/05/10
IMO total mismanagement
incompitance comes to mind.started with powers that be introducing law release weight to be used { normally you do the research then implement } took them 7 years to work out that dhuis / baldies etc. dont release well , followed by no size limits and extra 2 dhuis that could be kept , then extended fishing to cater for school holidays,that was hypocritical ! and of course now ban till 2027 , time will tell but ban will be more like 5-7 year ban . credability ? nahhhh.
sea-kem
Posts: 15183
Date Joined: 30/11/09
What actually gives you the
What actually gives you the idea it will be 5-7 years? I'm curious.
Love the West!
uncle
Posts: 9623
Date Joined: 10/02/07
That's what has
Happened in south Australia, so who knows
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
Saulty2
Posts: 670
Date Joined: 28/05/10
just a hunch
its going to take more than 2 years to repair mismanagement that has occurred , polititions want to be re elected , crab closure lasted for more than 2 years in cockburn sound .... shark bay near on closure / restrictions same ....not sure how long it takes for demersals to grow to legal size but pretty sure itl take more than 2 years JMO thats all
Saulty2
Posts: 670
Date Joined: 28/05/10
was double post
double post
little johnny
Posts: 5366
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Seen what they did
To pinks in the sound. Started with small bans. Then totally stopped it. Crays yeah good . Herring yeah . Time will tell
little johnny
Posts: 5366
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Double
.
timboon
Posts: 2964
Date Joined: 14/11/10
Howdy Lads, Its been a
Howdy Lads,
Its been a while, I hope evryone is well!!
Well said Hezzy, I also only see this as a positive moving forward.
I am shocked they didn't close the spawning period to all and sundry, bring in rec quotas/catch recording ( yes I'm aware they are bringing that in ) but keep the pros.
It is huge they have got rid of the commercial guys!
Google suggests there was 291 T of Dhu caught commercially in WCBR.
That is 30,000+ fish per year not coming out of the ocean...
I do feel for the pros as many are saying the fishing has been the best they have ever seen these past few years so it doesn't really make sense.
TB
Rob H
Posts: 5889
Date Joined: 18/01/12
The sad thing is they are
The sad thing is they are saying now that it's been great, but kept quiet during the lead up.
I suspect WAFIC bet everything on recreational getting all the pain and it's backfired spectacularly
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Rob_Seed
Posts: 213
Date Joined: 09/04/08
Yep agree timboon
I've never seen it as good as it has been in the last year. Doesn't make sense to me.
Just one more cast
Willy
Posts: 220
Date Joined: 10/04/08
Not a conspiracy sort but.....
I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories, but a couple of years ago, I was told about project 30/30.
I googled it, Bugger me, it is a real thing. Essentially the Labour government have locked up 30% of Australia as marine parks, national parks Native title by the year 2030.
Then projct 50/50 will commence
Willy
Jarrahland
Lefty 44
Posts: 179
Date Joined: 04/12/17
It's very real. And
It's very real. And everywhere.
Jsmolly
Posts: 193
Date Joined: 10/04/12
Given we'll all have nothing
Given we'll all have nothing to do lets put some rope on the boat, some nice big hooks and cull the bronzies over the next 2 years.
This will then have a double impact on increasing demersal stocks and ensuring when its open the taxman's share is reduced too as nowhere can I even see this as being mentioned as a contrubuting factor, which clearly it is!!
Markie
Posts: 2164
Date Joined: 06/08/10
Good idea, not bad eating
Good idea, not bad eating either. Just bloody hard to deal with sometimes
Bazza59
Posts: 5
Date Joined: 08/10/16
sorry was a double post
sorry was a double post
Rob H
Posts: 5889
Date Joined: 18/01/12
As many of you know here I
As many of you know here I am a supporter of commercial fishers in general, having worked and owned licences and many friends who still do.
I have been involved with the last lot of changes on the RFW committee where we got done over.
Heres my take on it.
I'm in NZ at the moment but my phone blew up with messages when this was announced as I was on a flight.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Rob H
Posts: 5889
Date Joined: 18/01/12
As many of you know here I
As many of you know here I am a supporter of commercial fishers in general, having worked and owned licences and many friends who still do.
I have also been involved with the last lot of changes on the RFW committee where we got done over by DPIRD who misrepresented much of what we put together with them.
Heres my take on it.
I'm in NZ at the moment but my phone blew up with messages when this was announced as I was on a flight.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
uncle
Posts: 9623
Date Joined: 10/02/07
Well said
Rob, never understood the pull these pew types have had over all things fishing in wa
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
Rob H
Posts: 5889
Date Joined: 18/01/12
.
It's WA Labor.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Roughas
Posts: 69
Date Joined: 24/08/17
First, I feel sorry for the
First, I feel sorry for the average Joe who doesn't fish (believe it or not some people don't!), but likes a meal of fish now and then. The price will surely sky rocket, although we may import a lot more from the east or overseas. Second, I don't know where in hell they get their stats regarding Pinky numbers being so parlous. Third, I'd like to see the new rgulations when we come out the other side of the closure. Any bets?
Markie
Posts: 2164
Date Joined: 06/08/10
Read something about all the
Read something about all the new wind turbines... can someone elaborate