Researchers and managers from the Hillarys-based Department of Fisheries have updated the anglers for new fishing regulations which was discussed related to the fishing of popular demersal scalefish and some near-shore species, like herring and tailor. In this new regulations there are two new licence categories introduced, the removal of the recreational umbrella licence, changes to existing recreational fishing licence fees, a two-month seasonal closure to the take of demersal scalefish in the West Coast Bioregion by recreational fishers and additional bag limit changes to medium risk and lower risk species.
Supervising scientist Brett Molony provided the details of the new regulations as per the research conducted by the department into WA’s fish stocks that led to the tough measures in the recreational and commercial fisheries to ensure sustainability. He said that the research indicated that unless catch was reduced, some WA fish species such as dhufish, pink snapper and baldchin groper, faced serious threat.
According to him the fisheries scientists look at the age structure of fish caught, other biological information, and data from recreational and commercial fishing to determine the level of exploitation of a species. He also told that there is no doubt the sustainability of these species is at significant risk from reductions in the abundance of older fish.
