Recreational Fishing Regulations for the 'Vulnerable Five'

The Vulnerable Five - dhufish, baldchin groper, breaksea cod, pink and red snapper.

Father and son, fishing off WA's coast. Photo: The Wilderness Society WA Collection

An election promise by the Barnett and the Liberals winning Government put an end to unpopular proposed seasonal closures for the Vulnerable 5.  Instead, the new Minister appointed two eastern states experts to review the socio-economic impacts of the ban and the science, both original and updated, used in the stock assessments.

The reports are due to the Minister in April.  Meanwhile, unrestrained fishing of our iconic species continues to deplete our fish stocks making their recovery harder: restrictions necessary to save these species will have to be stricter and in place for longer.

Recreational and commercial fishers need to move away from blaming each other, accept that their actions over the last 10 years has resulted in such alarming declines of our favourite fishes and take some responsibility for their recovery.