WA’s prized fisheries: Rock lobsters hit rock bottom and dhufish declining

A jewel in the crown
It seemed just a few years ago that West Australia boasted some of the healthiest fisheries in Australia and the world. The Western Rock Lobster fishery was the jewel in the crown, being Australia’s highest value fishery and the first in the world to gain Marine Stewardship Council certification as an allegedly environmentally sustainable fishery.  Managed since the 1960s, the rock lobster fishery has the longest-running management plan of any fishery in Australia. It was the pride and (financial) joy of the WA Department of Fisheries.

There are no sanctuary or “no-take” areas large enough to protect populations of rock lobsters or dhufish on the west coast. Western Rock Lobster. Photo: Tim Nicol

How things can change
But all this changed recently as the number of juvenile lobsters plummeted to the lowest in 40 years of study. And still worse, this recruitment failure remains unexplained scientifically.

The Fisheries Minister, Norman Moore, responded to this dive in juvenile lobsters by cutting lobster catches to only 5,500 tonnes for this year and the next two - by restricting the number of pots and days fished.   Catches usually average 11,000 tonnes each year.  The drop in catches has lead to a 40% fall in the number of lobster boats since 2006-7 and communities up and down the WA coast are feeling the effects.

Connected by habitat in marine ecosystems
The limestone reef ecosystems that support western rock lobsters also have fishy inhabitants such as the iconic dhufish and other bottom dwelling fishes. Five of these fish species, now named the ‘Vulnerable 5’, are also in serious decline. 

The commercial catches of these species have been halved, and recreational fishers now catch the most. Traditional recreational fisheries management has failed our dhufish and the Vulnerable 5: bag and boat limits have become successively stricter in an effort to curb the catch. Now, at one dhufish per person per day, management has nowhere to go. But the recreational fleet continues to grow larger and the technology to catch them gets better.  Our fishes have nowhere to hide.

No where to go? Go no-take!
There are no sanctuary or “no-take” areas large enough to protect populations of rock lobsters or dhufish on the west coast. No wonder these fisheries are in trouble. But ‘no-take’ marine sanctuaries have scientifically proven benefits to our fisheries.  A new scientific study on the Great Barrier Reef found that no‐take sanctuaries benefit fish populations within and overall they benefit ecosystem health and resilience.

In WA, the two very small areas closed to rock lobster fishing (Kingston Reef at Rottnest Is) and finfish fishing (Reef Observation Areas, Abrolhos Islands) showed that West Australian marine species respond in the same way – they increase in size and number in no-take areas. No-take areas become engine rooms for fish production and their eggs and larvae spread outside the no-take areas.

No-take sanctuaries really are a ‘no brainer’ but the fishing industry continues to play its tired old game of opposition…

Marine sanctuaries don’t cost the earth.
A recent report (available from www.allenconsult.com.au) calculated the value of creating marine protected areas and found that marine protected areas improved ecotourism businesses by 20% and the short-term cost to fisheries were far outweighed by the long-term benefits to them.

So what is the government waiting for?
Despite all the evidence, the WA government continues to drag its feet on creating marine sanctuaries for our declining marine species.

Please write to or call Premier Barnett today and urge him to preserve our coastal lifestyle and seafood forever by creating a network of large marine sanctuaries along the WA coast.
Email: Premier.Barnett@dpc.wa.gov.au
Ph: (08) 9222 9888

You can also show your support for marine conservation in person by attending our latest Summer Sanctuary Series event - a sandcastle competition at Scarborough beach. Click here for details!

Want to volunteer for the Marine Sanctuary campaign? Contact Jenita here >>