• Spring recreational demersal fishing period doubled to four weeks
• Commercial and charter sectors to receive support from purchased entitlement
• Changes made possible by the success of the Cook Government's $4.1 million West Coast Demersal Scalefish Interim Managed Fishery Voluntary Fisheries Adjustment Scheme

Commercial fish supply to local markets is being supported, and charter and recreational fishers will have more opportunities to fish for pink snapper and dhufish, thanks to the success of the Cook Government's $4.1 million voluntary fisheries adjustment scheme (VFAS) for commercial operators.

The adjustment scheme requested by the commercial fishing industry is a key initiative of the $10 million West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource (WCDSR) recovery support package.

The scheme allowed commercial wetline fishers to voluntarily sell units of entitlement (available fishing hours) and their associated Fishing Boat Licence back to the Government.

Due to high demand from commercial fishers wanting to voluntarily relinquish entitlements, the Government increased the funding available from $2.5 million to $4.1 million.

A total of 12 offers were accepted by commercial operators, equating to approximately 38.5 tonnes of demersal scalefish annually - 18.5 tonnes will be reallocated to other commercial fisheries that primarily target non-demersal species but were facing potential restrictions.

This will support the continued supply of locally caught, affordable, quality Western Australian seafood to the hospitality sector, and WA consumers.

Closures to the recreational fishery will be partially eased, with an additional 10 tonnes per year provided to allow recreational fishers with more time on the water. The spring opening will be doubled from two to four weeks between 16 September and 14 October (inclusive) each year.

From Monday, 1 July 2024, the allocation for the charter sector will also be increased by 50 per cent to 30 tonnes annually - recognising the importance of this industry to regional WA communities, and the tourism opportunities it provides.

To provide an immediate boost to the charter sector, an additional 1,500 tags will be distributed to eligible charter operators for the remainder of the current season. This year, the number of charter operators eligible for tags will also increase by 50 per cent from 21 to 33.

These changes do not affect the 375 tonne benchmark set for the recovery of the demersal scalefish resource by 2030.

The new access arrangements for the recreational and charter sectors will be reviewed once the resource has fully recovered.   

More information on demersal recovery is available from fish.wa.gov.au/demersal

Comments attributed to Fisheries Minister Don Punch:

"I am pleased to be able to announce the changes we have made to support ongoing commercial seafood supply which benefit the Western Australian community. They also give charter and recreational fishers more opportunities to catch demersal scalefish - including pink snapper, WA dhufish, baldchin groper, and breaksea cod - in the West Coast bioregion.

"This is a genuine win-win-win scenario in very difficult circumstances for this critical fishery, and I'm pleased that we were able to achieve this outcome through a voluntary scheme delivering a very fair price to commercial fishers.

"The changes recognise the importance of charter and recreational fishing to our regional communities, and help us to continue to balance the fishing experience with ongoing recovery.

"Recfishers are still encouraged to consider switching their fishing activities to target non-demersal species such as tuna, tailor, whiting, crabs, and squid to give demersal fish a rest, and the opportunity to recover."

Comments attributed to Lara Dalton MLA, Member for Geraldton:

"Recreational fishing provides great social and economic benefits for Geraldton and along Australia's Coral Coast.

“I have had many conversations with recreational fishers and charter operators and am confident these new access arrangements will help strike a balance between recovery of the Demersal scalefish and the growth of the local marine tourism industry.

“The success of the VFAS also helps support commercial supply of non-demersal species which is important for restaurants and retail to the public.”