The Perth Thread - Part 4

[Scotland]

I haven't been fishing in years and don't know anyone in commercial fishing but have always wondered about the relative impacts of each. Ultimately it doesn't really matter who is responsible if the net result is overfishing but I would be annoyed as a casual weekend angler who respects bag limits etc. if 80% of the fish were being caught by trawlers and exported - for example.

Used to go crabbing a bit and the rules were pretty straightforward. Bag limit of 20 per boat or whatever it was at the time, little plastic gauge to measure across the carapace for size and you turned them upside down to have a look and then threw back any females with eggs. Don't want to awaken the spirit of a stalky moderator but let's just say there were cultural differences in following those rules.

 

[PunyHumans!!!]

I'm keen to walk the bald head trail.

Unsure if whale season or not.

I attempted the Bald Head trail last week...was defeated by it. Got right out the back towards the Head despite intermittent rain and raging south westerlies trying to sweep me into ocean going over the granite outcrops.

Took one look at the stairs going waaaaay down to the right and the tiny figures of those who were already ahead and thought...'nah this'll do' haha. Views were absolutely incredible and was amazed at the variety of wildflowers still blooming.

Will try to complete it at some point though.

 

[Scotland]

According to Recfishwest 90% of demersal fish caught in WA are caught by commercial fishing operators, so a full ban on recreational fishing does seem a bit of an over reach.

 

[Off The Couch]

According to Recfishwest 90% of demersal fish caught in WA are caught by commercial fishing operators, so a full ban on recreational fishing does seem a bit of an over reach.

And who do commercial fishermen blame

 

[Scotland]

And who do commercial fishermen blame

Israel?

I honestly don't know, but also what is the alternative is if fish stocks are as low as reported?

It all comes down to (mis)management. If you tell people stocks are low they can only catch 10 instead of 20 they complain. But if they keep catching 20 and then next year there are none then what?

This is from Reddit:

We did it for the rock lobster we can do it for other species. It was touch and go for a bit there with crays and I knew a couple of very old gruff lifelong fishermen that cried when the first new crays were spotted migrating down from their breeding sites. First there was just a few in the whites run which was exciting enough, even if it never recovered enough to allow the fishery to recommence there was a lot of emotion in the hope that there would be at least enough left to survive as a species. But then more came, and more, waves of the bloody things and the stocking level has remained stable. We did it with the rock lobster we can do it again if we work at it and are willing to make the same sacrifice for long term health of the fishery.

Now the rock lobster fishery is basically the gold standard of how a fishery can actually recover from even very dire straights, other fisheries use similar strategies around the world. Quite a few people thought for awhile that it would never recover and that a complete population collapse was either inevitable or underway already.

My family has been Cray fishers since at least the 50s, and also involved in other fisheries, a lot of the older fishermen were pretty sure the fishery was done for. And yet it did bounce back, and is managed extreemly well and sustainably, its also collaborative with the fishermen themselves often calling for lower quotas in a specific year or suggesting changes to season length based on demand or conditions. There is enormous buy in from the community as they saw the bad times and know that sometimes less is more and working smarter not harder with a quota rather then competitive catch is the way to go.

Sometimes a fishery can be managed to improve while it is active, but other times a complete shut down and reset is required to get numbers back up to where they should be. This needs to be done alongside research into the species habits and behaviours. Often there is very little known about the specifics of a given species, things like breeding patterns for example can have a massive impact on the ability of a species to recover and there are often things we can do alongside quotas and controlling fishing to assist a species recover.

We already have sanctuary zones which do help a lot but if we can identify other key areas that might remove non fishing pressure on the population then it will go a long way to help. There is extensive monitoring of all stages of the growth and development of the rock lobster and we need that for other species as well. The quota amount and other factors around the fishery are able to be adjusted season to season because we know in advance what is happening withing the population and how it operates. This year we had a record breaking amount of puerulus or baby lobster, so in 3-4 years all things going well there should be a record breaking whites run. This year however the industry itself was calling for lowered quotas a year in advance for 2025 because the data showed there were very low numbers of puerulus in the 2021 and 2022 season.

We need in-depth and ongoing data on at least key species in the fisheries, ideally it would be all of the species being fished commercially but currently we dont have anywhere near as much as we have for the rock lobster. Management needs to be adaptable and be able to adjust based on the conditions and population and for that we need data, and an understanding of what that data actually means for the species in order to forward cast. We have the experience in doing this, and technology enables much easier and less invasive monitoring then ever before, but this does take time, expertise, and money to get off the ground. If we want our fisheries to survive and thrive then we need to take the hit now for the future, not just so we can eat fish or for economic reasons but also to protect the amazing ecosystem we have right off our coast and the culture and lifestyle we have built around the coast and ocean. Our ocean and beaches wouldnt be great places if they experience ecosystem collapse.

Demersal fish might need longer to bounce back, especially some of the longer lived species who can take years to reach breeding age. We need a look at how we are removing the mature breeding population of a lot of these species when we have minimum catch sizes but no maximums. There are also species that are easier to sustainably manage as they are shorter lived usually smaller fish like sardines, herring hat maybe arent as sexy and majestic as a dhu fish but they are very good for you to eat and recreational fishers can still line fish from shore in the west coast region.

This isn't ideal, and it is painful, but it is needed. Like with the rock lobster recreational fishers have fewer limits placed on them as it is recognised that they have less impact on fish stocks and one of the best ways to get buy in and cooperation is to have people actually care and be invested in the outcome. I really hope this is enough to see numbers bounce back, and maybe we might see a few more recreational line fishers enjoying themselves like we saw with the rock lobster, when you are involved and it impacts you personally you become invested. I would personally like to see more encouragement of recreational shore fishing, and education on how to do so sustainably its such a big part of our culture here and actually getting out into nature builds a sense of place and a desire to protect what you have.

It hurts for sure, but either we take a few years break to allow recovery now or we will be having an enforced break forever. We tried drastically reducing quotas for a few years and other changes and it hasn't been enough, a drastic reset and reasses is needed if we have any chance.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Surely there is a section where they breed fish to catch for commercial fishing use.

 

[rocker_oz33]

I attempted the Bald Head trail last week...was defeated by it. Got right out the back towards the Head despite intermittent rain and raging south westerlies trying to sweep me into ocean going over the granite outcrops.

Took one look at the stairs going waaaaay down to the right and the tiny figures of those who were already ahead and thought...'nah this'll do' haha. Views were absolutely incredible and was amazed at the variety of wildflowers still blooming.

Will try to complete it at some point though.

LoL sounds like a good day .

Ive had a few of them on the tracks .

 

[Off The Couch]

Surely there is a section where they breed fish to catch for commercial fishing use.

Horrendous
Take a look a Tassel in Tasmania

 

[rocker_oz33]

Horrendous
Take a look a Tassel in Tasmania

What do you mean?

I thought they where going good.

Im not up to date on the fishing .

So pun intended im out of my depth here.

 

[Off The Couch]

Israel?

I honestly don't know, but also what is the alternative is if fish stocks are as low as reported?

It all comes down to (mis)management. If you tell people stocks are low they can only catch 10 instead of 20 they complain. But if they keep catching 20 and then next year there are none then what?

This is from Reddit:

My BIL is a cray fisherman and he would agree with the poster. It cleaned out the industry - lot of old timers retired and sold their licences - many of them to a well known local multi millionaire. Recreational pots weren’t impacted

Demersals are obviously under threat and need saving and if this is the best option then so be it. I couldn’t care less that recreational fishing only accounts for 10%. Just as it was with those blaks you saw not abiding by the “rules”, I’m sure we’ve all seen those sm posts where the boys, beers in hand, are proudly showing off their well over limit “catch”

They tried implementing changes back in 2023 and it obviously didn’t work so this is the next step.

Those desperate to fish will just do what they’ve always done and load up the 4wd, head north and continue destroying the dunes and coastline

 

[Billy ray]

what about the poor shops that sell bait!
maybe they can reskill to lay racing track

 

[Scotland]

My BIL is a cray fisherman and he would agree with the poster. It cleaned out the industry - lot of old timers retired and sold their licences - many of them to a well known local multi millionaire. Recreational pots weren’t impacted

Demersals are obviously under threat and need saving and if this is the best option then so be it. I couldn’t care less that recreational fishing only accounts for 10%. Just as it was with those blaks you saw not abiding by the “rules”, I’m sure we’ve all seen those sm posts where the boys, beers in hand, are proudly showing off their well over limit “catch”

Blaks? No ma'am. Without wanting to put shit on other cultures there are a lot of people here now who come from places where sustainability isn't really a consideration. Which is what happens when you have tens if not hundreds of millions of people living in relative poverty. Abalone season is one hour from 7am four times a year. If it wasn't policed like Victoria during covid the entire population would be wiped out in a morning. I had "lobster" once in West Africa and it was no bigger than a prawn. I felt uncomfortable that someone had caught it and had I known I would've got something else, like "meat" stew.

Bag limits are one thing, but respecting size and breeding patterns etc. is another. If I can get 20 size crabs in an hour on the estuary that to me says there are lots of them about and is no reflection on my skill at throwing a pot into the water and pulling it up a few minutes later. I would still follow the bag limits anyway but I would rather take 25 size than any that were undersize or females with eggs. At the end of the day with demersals it's still (reportedly) 10% being taken by recreational fishers. So if every single one of them is doing the wrong thing and every commercial operation is doing the right thing the impact is still about the same. Which sucks for the latter but I don't know what the alternative is - maybe cutting the commercial catch in half for a year or two? If there is a problem you need a real solution, so I am pleased the govt at least had the stones to step in and do something. The amount of frittering around the edges we do with climate change and 'de-carbonising' does my head in.Fingers crossed it has a positive impact in 2-5 years as per the cray industry.

 

[Kram]

From what I've seen even the most meatheaded and bogan of recreational fishermen have a massive level of disdain for anyone that doesn't strictly abide by the catch rules.

 

[JackOutback]

According to Recfishwest 90% of demersal fish caught in WA are caught by commercial fishing operators, so a full ban on recreational fishing does seem a bit of an over reach.

The recreational ban is only until 2027.

 

[Beerfish]

PTA have done an outstanding job to get the trains back up so quick with the ac/dc concert on tonight.

 

[Plugger35]

PTA have done an outstanding job to get the trains back up so quick with the ac/dc concert on tonight.

Thankfully it didn't take all night long.

 

[Forward Press]

The WA government(s) can be legitimately criticised for a lot of things, but I think their history of managing fisheries (Labor and Liberal) can be commended. It is simply not possible in most parts of the world, but those here mostly abide by the rules and this allows stocks to recover and continue providing enjoyment and an income for future generations.

They f***ed up with shot hole borer but that was probably mission impossible to keep them out of WA forever.