WA’s first artificial reef to be trialled
WA’s first artificial reef to be trialled
Portfolio: Fisheries, Regional Development
- $1.86million Royalties for Regions boosts South-West reef project
- Additional $260,000 from recreational fishing licence revenue
- WA gains from 40-years artificial reef experience through MOU
The Liberal-National Government today announced the go ahead for a $2.12million initiative to establish the State’s first artificial reef trial on the South West coast.
Fisheries Minister Norman Moore said the South-West Recreational Fishing Enhancement Pilot Project was designed to increase available habitat for key fish species.
“If these structures meet their potential, they will benefit the local environment and local communities; complement Western Australia’s robust and adaptive fisheries’ management approach; and help ensure fish stocks are kept sustainable,” Mr Moore said.
Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls said the project, funded through the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program, would be established at Geographe Bay.
“Geographe Bay is a prime location that could benefit from the installation of purpose-built artificial reef structures,” Mr Grylls said.
“This trial is the first of its kind in WA and has strong community support from the Shire of Busselton and Recfishwest, the peak body representing recreational fishers.”
Recfishwest will work with the Department of Fisheries and the South-West community to identify priority locations for the trial structures.
The project announcement follows yesterday’s signing of an agreement between the State Government and the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency to share information on the development of artificial reefs and sustainable fisheries management, for mutual benefit.
Mr Moore said the Memorandum of Understanding would allow the Department of Fisheries and Korea Fisheries Resources Agency to identify and harness opportunities for research and development projects and facilitate the transfer of expertise, technology and capacity.
“This agreement represents a unique opportunity for our State to learn and benefit from work the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency has put into artificial reef development as we consider these structures as a potential option to help ensure future fish stocks are kept sustainable. At the same time, the agency will have access to WA advice and expertise on matters related to the management of fish stocks, including monitoring and assessment, fisheries compliance and aquatic biosecurity,” he said.
Mr Moore said the Federal Government’s proposed marine sanctuary within Geographe Bay may prevent it being used as a focal area for the trial.
“The State Government will be making strong representation to the Federal Government to ensure the bay is available for all users, including fishers,” he said.
Fact File:
- More details and FAQs about artificial reefs are available at http://www.fish.wa.gov.au
Fisheries Minister's office - 9422 3000
Regional Development Minister's office - 9213 7000
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damo6230
Posts: 2029
Date Joined: 07/06/08
good initiative
has worked well around the country and look at how many the NT have and the rec fishing industry there is booming.
just dont put it to close to bunghole as that mob aint worth it
dodgy
Posts: 4588
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Alot of the nt ones are being
Alot of the nt ones are being put in by a bunch of keen fisherman.
Make sure you fish the mv dodgy if you get a chance while your up there.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Redbucket
Posts: 160
Date Joined: 10/03/10
Up north down south what about here?
Up north down south what about here?
I was reading they were looking at setting them up in the Pilbara, now this regarding setting them up down south in Geo bay.
Is there any reason why they wouldnt trial some closer to the perth metro area?
harro
Posts: 1959
Date Joined: 07/02/08
where they gonna put it, in
where they gonna put it, in the middle of their new 'sanctuary' zone,
:::: Bass Hunter ::::
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
Probably Harro
I bet they put it on top of the Old tyre reef down here. Smack bang in the middle of the sancturary zone
Tony Halliday
Posts: 2500
Date Joined: 14/06/07
about bloody time, we just
about bloody time, we just four centuries behind the rest of the world in this field!!!
Tony Halliday: ~Meals on Reels ~
It takes a strong fish to swim against the current. Even a dead one can float with it
"It is always in season for old men to learn." Aeschylus (525-456 BC)
"In a mad world only the mad are sane." Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
quindieselbrad
Posts: 329
Date Joined: 01/09/10
agreed, bout time :)
agreed, bout time :)
Catchn dhuies off the smell of an oily rag :)
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
agree harro
Is it going to be a dive no take artificial reef or what?
Willlo
Posts: 1490
Date Joined: 07/10/11
Hope they dont put on the
Hope they dont put on the little reefs ive already made ,they have been working pretty good so far.
Call Sign - BZ785
Haynes Hunter Prowler CC
wadetolley
Posts: 2258
Date Joined: 27/06/08
lol
Your right, dosnt take to many trips with a boat full of tyres, to make your own lump!
snappermiles
Posts: 2102
Date Joined: 05/11/10
im not sure how they call it our fist artificial reef
isnt there a tyre wreck down there already? plus the swan there are also two wrecks in warnbro sound that have been built! put it is a great idea!
ALL FISHERMEN ARE LIARS EXCEPT YOU AND ME! AND IM NOT SO SURE ABOUT YOU!
Shorty
Posts: 1549
Date Joined: 10/05/08
I worked on the Quindalup
I worked on the Quindalup artificial reef over 20 years ago,it took 20 of us 6 months full time,,certailnly not the 1st but things went down hill after that,,we had a great opportunity to put old tires somewhere (we used 20,000) but the greenies started screaming we do not know the affects of what these tires are having in the water and everything came to a grinding halt,,
Not sure what they will build them with but i am in favor of them.
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Trial Reef
As the headlines state it is to be a trial reef, and the way I read the report this reef is to be the ground breaker for rec fishers, as has been stated there are a number of wrecks that exclude all others except pressure heads to swim around and look at. The positioning of the reef I hope will be right in the proposed new sanctuary zone, why wouldn't it be nothing like being able to stick it into the federal lab government if the (the feds) say no you can't put it there this would no doubt give a lot of fishermen the humps as it would cause the project to be delayed, give the local businesses a sharfing as they will loose a lot of potential business the greens don't put their hands in their pockets to pay towards sanctuary zones.
I am of the view (at this stage) that it is a very good day for rec fishers so long as charter companies don't do a deal with the state gov and get exclusive rights to fish it., from what I have read on the subject it will take about 5 years before such structures may be fished.
snappermiles
Posts: 2102
Date Joined: 05/11/10
what i dont get is why it cost so much money
i am sure if they let us fishermen no there would be plenty of people that would be willing to lend a hand to get this project underway
ALL FISHERMEN ARE LIARS EXCEPT YOU AND ME! AND IM NOT SO SURE ABOUT YOU!
Billcollector
Posts: 2150
Date Joined: 16/05/09
Materials wouldn't cost that
Materials wouldn't cost that much but all the bullshit red tape will swallow most of the funds
allrounder
Posts: 1853
Date Joined: 10/11/08
That is it hey Billcollector
$260.000 from rec funds will pay for the reef the $1.86million will go on the BULLS#IT that goes on first.
They will pay someone to sit on the boat and watch and call it OH&S.
So tell me have you got your info from years on the water or hours on the internet?
StevieP
Posts: 256
Date Joined: 25/12/10
Where do i sign up for this
Where do i sign up for this job?
oh wait it'll be put out to "tender" and a relative will get it like all other councils/government contracts
harro
Posts: 1959
Date Joined: 07/02/08
I hope its gonna be big
because it,ll be fished out in an hour,
i mean they are making a sanctuary, then all of a sudden, a few hundred concret pots, stick some coral on it, pour a few baby snapper in and bamm, every man and his dog will be there, as there will be nowhere else to go anyway, then what, they,ll have a herring ban on it, stopping pple fishing it for months at a time,
really w.a , where the hell are the brains , put the money into fighting to keep our rights i say, and stopping the commonwealth from putting coastal towns and communities into a recession,
:::: Bass Hunter ::::
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Early Discussions Harro.
A little bit of knowledge goes a long way Harro. I had a meeting with the RFW guys several months ago and what was mentioned was an area of 600 hectares set aside for these reefs which is a bit on the small size but will do for now and considering the Koreans spend 60 mill. a year on artifical reefs it makes the 2.1 mill. hardly adequate but at least it's a start and should give our fishery scientists some indication as to if they're value for money and tick the boxes so that future projects can be fully funded. The thing that attracts me most of all is that it gives rec-Fishers some sort of ownership of Geo. Bay because sites off Dunsborough, Busso. and Bunbury was also mentioned and we can tell the Greenies to bugger off. I should point out this was early discussions and I've now been asked to form a reference group with some sort of urgency so that the fisheries guys and RFW can meet with the local fishers and see if we can find a suitable sites and it won't be in any bloody Sanctuary Zone if I have my way. I also mentioned to the CEO of fisheries almost a year ago that they need to be stocked with fish from onshore hatcheries, species like Yellow Tail Kingies and Mulloway that we already know can be hatched similar to what the Uni. guys do with restocking of the Blackwood river with Black Bream. The target species will not be the demersals that are protected with closures but it will give fishermen in the West Coast Bio-region an alternative fishing experience while those closures are in place so we don't have to put our boats up on blocks. My opinion is that YTK's and Mulla. are good fish to catch and worthy of the effort that is required to underpin the reasons for having Artificial Reefs.
chris raff
Posts: 3257
Date Joined: 09/02/10
so thats about 6sq
so thats about 6sq kilometres...any indication as to what they intend on using making the reef...cheers
“Intelligence is like a four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.”
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Yeh G'Day chris raff
The Koreans use steel towers 18 metres high up on legs but i believe we'll have concrete blocks. There's science out there that say's if you run a small elect. current through steel you can achieve in 12 months what nature takes thousands of years to get as far as calcium carbonate build up on structures in the ocean so you can see the potential for creating something special is mind boggling. Exciting hey.
chris raff
Posts: 3257
Date Joined: 09/02/10
Thanks Howard
yeah sounds great if they can get it happening...sooner rather than later, bring it on I say the more the merrier...cheers
“Intelligence is like a four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.”
Salmo
Posts: 913
Date Joined: 15/08/05
thank Norman Moore
he has been the best fisheries minister we have had .....full stop
yes he brought in the boat licence but look what you got for your money.....
Expect for announcements soon!!!
Seaquest
Posts: 1142
Date Joined: 22/10/09
Wow 6 sq kilometres. Was
Wow 6 sq kilometres. Was thinking it was going to be one small reef but a large area of multiple reefs sounds awesome.
Should attract a large variety of species. Great idea and will benifit the community in so many ways.
Hopefully will bring the bay back to what it use to be like before it was destroyed by the trawlers of the past.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
What a great
plus these will be for the bay especially having some up to 18m high.
The only threat these structures will have is Trawlers and Gill netters getting caught up on them.
Co-inside the placement of these strucures with the total closure to all commercial activity from 5nm west of Cape Natto all the way to Mandurah 15nm off shore.
just a thought.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Trawlers and Gill Netters.
I don't think the Commercial guys will be so much of a problem as i've found them to be understanding with some of the issues i've had with them but it is the charter boat operator down here that causes me the most concern. We were fishing off the cape a few weeks ago and he anchoured right next us and lines went out every-where and he used our berley and fished the fish we had attracted around our boat and that really pissed me off. It's a big ocean out there and there's no need for that sort of behaviour and you just know they'll give these structures a hammering to make a buck. Maybe they should be contributing something towards their construction. Just a thought.
Man Overboard
Posts: 957
Date Joined: 16/01/10
Name and shame Howard
Name and shame Howard
Willlo
Posts: 1490
Date Joined: 07/10/11
If all this happens it will
If all this happens it will be fantastic,imagine not having to do an 80 mile round trip to go jigging and have your line stretched. There are no significant structures especially out from Bunno,except a dive wreck. Bring it on the more the merrier i say.
Call Sign - BZ785
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