MEDIA RELEAESE

The annual closure to pink snapper fishing in both Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds begins on Monday and will now last for a full four months.

From 1 October to 31 January each year it will be illegal to be in possession of pink snapper while fishing in the waters of Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds, during the closed season, however, pink snapper taken outside of the Sounds may be transported through and landed within Cockburn or Warnbro Sound during the closed season.

Department of Fisheries Principal Management Officer, Nathan Harrison said the closure that applied to commercial and recreational fishers (including catch and release), was necessary to protect stocks during spawning, which had been quite variable in the past.

“For example, the variability of the spawning in the Sounds led to an extension of the closure last year when it became obvious pink snapper were still spawning and were in a highly vulnerable situation,” he said.

“Cockburn Sound is the most important known spawning ground and nursery habitat for pink snapper in the West Coast Bioregion and, according to our researchers, juveniles remain there for up to 18 months.”

Mr Harrison said a recently completed stock assessment of pink snapper on the West Coast indicated this highly valued species was being overfished.

“Last week, Fisheries Minister Jon Ford announced the longer closure to help carefully manage the sustainability of this ‘at risk’ demersal scalefish species,” Mr Harrison said.

“Pink snapper is a slow-growing and long-lived species. Its slow growth rate makes the species less able to recover from overfishing and rapid environmental change.

“They can live to 30 years or more and this long life increases each pink snapper’s chance of reproducing successfully, so it is vital to keep a balance of older and younger fish in the West Coast population for their long term sustainability.

“In the past, pink snapper have been caught weighing almost 20 kilograms and measuring over a metre long. These days it is rare to see pink snapper weighing more than 10 kilograms.”

See the attached map for the closure area and for more information (including a fact sheet on pink snapper) see the Department of Fisheries’ website at www.fish.wa.gov.au