Recreational fishers will now have more chance to catch WA rock lobster next season as the authority has reduced the size from 77 to 76 millimetres. Department of Fisheries’ Senior Management Officer for Rock Lobster Graeme Baudains said Recfishwest recently approached the Minister for Fisheries, to discuss ways to boost lobster catch opportunities for the recreational sector.
Baudains told that the Minister has acted to change fishing regulations to allow for the reduced minimum size for the recreational sector. The reason behind reducing the size is to help the State’s recreational rock lobster fishers achieve the five per cent catch allocation assigned to the sector under Integrated Fisheries Management. For commercially-fished western rock lobster the minimum size remains at 77mm.
Baudains said the Minister had also indicated he would consider more changes in the future, if needed, to further increase the recreational catch level within its overall allocation. He added that both the Minister and the department are committed to a management framework that provides the opportunity for both the commercial and recreational sector to catch their allocated shares of the sustainable catch level.
