Strong enthusiasm from Mandurah’s waterfront residents will help Fisheries’ researchers, when they begin a year-long survey of crab and fish stocks in the Peel Harvey Estuary next month.
Department of Fisheries Supervising Scientist Dr Nick Caputi said around 2200 letters were sent to residents, who live along the canals in Mandurah, and more than 500 of them have committed to filling out log books that map fishing activity.
“This means that almost one in four of the residents that have direct access to the estuary are supporting us in finding out important information that will help us monitor and manage the sustainability of crab and fish stocks in this very popular waterway,” Dr Caputi said.
“It is heartening to know so many people are willing to fill out the log books we have sent them, so we can include that data with all the information we will collect for the upcoming Peel Harvey creel survey, which begins on 1 November (2007) and will continue for 12 months.”
Dr Caputi said because large numbers of residents had direct access to the estuary, the more traditional research methods of gathering information at boat ramps and on the water had to be complemented with other strategies for the new survey.
“Not only will we be utilising data supplied by canal residents, we will also do boat ramp and shore based surveys as well as gathering as much data as we can from houseboat users and people who fish from bridges in Mandurah,” he said.
“Our last comprehensive creel survey of the Peel Harvey crab fishery was conducted nine years ago and the significant increase in people moving into the Mandurah area over that time needs to be taken into account to determine if there have been changes in recreational catch or catch rates, or both.
“The Peel-Harvey is the most popular estuary for recreational fishing in WA’s South West and the blue swimmer crab is the most important recreational species (in terms of community participation rate) in the State, therefore, any sustainability issues associated with it are a high priority and very important to the community.”
Crab fishing recommences in the Peel Harvey Estuary on 1 November after a two-month closure, which was part of a range of new measures designed to help protect blue swimmer stocks.
From next month a new daily bag limit of 10 crabs and boat limit of 20 crabs will apply in the Peel Harvey and across the West Coast Bioregion (except Cockburn Sound, where a crab fishery is still subject to a specific closure).
