Compliance officers from the Department of Fisheries will be monitoring abalone fishing season in WA’s Southern Zone.
Western Australia’s Southern Zone abalone season will be under strict vigilance of fisheries officers to see if there is a boost in effort in the region following the abalone closure in the north of the State. The season opened from October 1 and will continue for more than seven months up to May 2012. Department of Fisheries Compliance Manager South, Steve Embling said it was yet to be seen whether the total closure to recreational abalone fishing from Moore River to the Northern Territory border would bring a larger number of fishers south this season.
According to Embling all fisher are informed that they will need to have an abalone fishing licence and observe the rules in place to ensure the sustainability of WA’s abalone fisheries. He also states that the officers have found the majority of abalone fishers do the right thing, but for those who don’t it can be a costly mistake. Many of the prosecutions since July last year attracted fines between $2,000 and $3,000 and there was one case where the total penalty was around $12,500.
He also said that depending on the species, abalone take between three and six years to reach maturity. He added that fishers should not disturb undersize abalone and we recommend that they also check the bag, boat possession and size limits and carry a gauge to measure the shell before they take an abalone off a reef.
