Western Australia’s unique and popular wild catch marron fishery is in trouble as lack of rain and low water levels are causing problems for the fishery. In the marron fishing season the licenced fishers will be allowed to go marroning from 12 noon on Saturday 8 January 2011 to 12 noon on Saturday 5 February 2011.
South West Bioregions Manager, Kevin Donohue said, while there was no change for the 2011 season, the department would be carefully monitoring the catches for the season and, if low rainfall continued next winter, options would need to be discussed with stakeholders. He also said that the low water levels make the marron stocks more vulnerable to capture.
He appealed the fishers to maintain a sustainable fishery in abiding by all the rules that apply, including bag and size limits and returning all berried (with eggs) females to the water immediately. He told that it is very important to protect the breeding of marron as it takes four years to reach legal size and they are fish for the future.
According to Donohue it was also extremely important that marron fishers venturing into the often beautiful and now very dry bushland areas, close to waterways in the South West, were extra careful during the season. All marron fishers must also have an up-to-date marron licence. The licences can be purchased online, from the Department of Fisheries website.
