The Abrolhos Islands, 60 kilometres off Western Australia’s midwest coast, is dealing with a serious issue that threatens to turn the lives of some of these fishermen upside down. For about three months of the year Abrolhos plays host to a fishing frenzy. It is told that more than 100 fishermen set up a life here catching lobsters, a sought-after delicacy which is exported all around the world.
Crayfishing in the West is a lucrative business, worth about $350 million. But for crayfisherman Peter Burton, who has been scouring the ocean for lobsters for nearly 40 years, tough new restrictions are crippling him. According to the WA Government the numbers of lobster are going to be dangerously low in the coming years. It is said that the weekends are now off limits for professional crayfishing in the Abrolhos, and fishermen can only use a fraction of the pots they are licensed to hold on their vessels.
Under new rules the government has introduced a “unit value” of 42 percent for the zone of coastline which includes Abrolhos, meaning that for every 100 crayfish pots a vessel is licensed to hold, only 42 may be used. It is said that the fishermen of the islands have lost days and lost pots, and of course there’s been fluctuations in price, which makes budgeting and the economics of it sort of a little bit erratic.
Now the Abrolhos is a playground for millionaires who spend a couple of months soaking up the lifestyle. This year they too are feeling the changes. The amateur fishers can only take six lobsters a day instead of eight. No one knows why lobster numbers are down. The fisheries department does not think it has anything to do with climate change.
