Jon Ford told that the government has extended the public submissions on a package of proposed changes to recreational fishing for some of the State’s most popular and vulnerable oceanic fish species. Public opinion about the future management of recreational fishing for these vulnerable iconic fish in the West Coast Bioregion is must. According to Ford the government has released a Ministerial Position Paper on March 28, detailing 11 recommendations aimed at saving some of WA’s most vulnerable iconic fish, especially the so-called ‘Vulnerable 5’: dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper, breaksea cod and red snapper.
Ford said that Western Australia is facing unprecedented pressure from overfishing and so there should be new approach to managing recreational fishing. He added that significant changes to commercial fishing have already been introduced in recent months, including a ban on the commercial catch of scalefish and sharks in the metropolitan fishing zone.
Ford opined that it is better to preserve the resources in a more sustainable way or some of these fish species could vanish. According to him it is high time to act now and everyone has a role to play to save our fish to ensure we have fish for current generations, as well as fish for the future. He told that the commercial fishing sector has played their part and now it’s time for the recreational fishing sector to step up to the plate.
There should a balance between pleasures and recreational and so the recommended changes have been released to achieve this balance between the social value of recreational fishing and the need to save our fish for the future. Ford said that 11 recommendations were designed to achieve a 50 per cent reduction of the key species in the West Coast Bioregion.
