The four dates for jumping in the drink to collect a feed of abalone this summer have been announced!  Nearly 17,000 of WA’s licensed abalone recfishers will be able to gather Roe’s abalone between Guilderton to Busselton on the following four days.   Saturday, 9 December from 7-8am Saturday, 13 January from 7-8am  Saturday, 3 February from 7-8am   Saturday, 17 February from 7-8am  If bad weather causes the cancellation of one of the abalone dates above, a backup day will be made available.  The best preparation and fishing practices for improving your safe ..read more

Thanks to a buzzing crowd of around 500 mums, dads and excited kids along with stunning weather, the second edition of Pemberton Trout Festival went down as our biggest family-friendly trout stocking event to date!   Taking place at Big Brook Dam foreshore and picnic area on Sunday, 5 November, with the unique backdrop of giant Karri trees, hundreds of smaller rainbow and brown trout fry, mid-sized yearlings and larger broodstocks more than 50cm in length were gently released into the crystal-clear water to celebrate our South-West freshwater fishery.   Thanks to the dedica ..read more

This year’s whites run has been forecast to happen in late November according to one of WA’s leading rock lobster scientists.   However, the eager anticipation over this summer’s cray season is being overshadowed by community concerns that the proposed extension to Marmion Marine Park could see thousands locked out of some of the best prime cray fishing ground close to north Metro boat ramps.   According to DPIRD Principal Research Scientist Dr Simon de Lestang, this year’s whites run is expected to kick off around late November to early December.   This is welcom ..read more

Recfishwest believes Minister for Fisheries Don Punch’s decision to ban the use of wire trace 800m from shore between South of Mandurah to Two Rocks goes too far.  We agree that fishing for large sharks in the Metro area does not meet communities’ expectations around responsible fishing.   However, the Minister’s decision will unnecessarily impact on fishers who choose to use small wire trace to fish for species like tailor and mackerel either from the shore or trolling lures close in out of boats.   Fishers use wire trace to fish for Spanish mackerel either fishing fr ..read more

It’s been a very busy October for our Recfishwest crew and nearly 180 kids who had a crack at fishing in our Metro, Mid-West and Pilbara region’s fishing clinics and competitions!   Recfishwest is always pleased to see the next generation of fishers having a fine time wetting a line and catching a wide range of great West Aussie species off our jetties and pristine beaches, with herring, whiting, tarwhine, skippy, bream and many others providing top-quality fishing for our youngsters and their families.   Check out some of the kids’ fishing clinics and competitions which to ..read more

In a great win for fishers, following Recfishwest’s successful FADs trial program, the State Government has committed to maintaining a Statewide FADs network for the next three years with the north Metro FADs already deployed. The four most northern Metro FADs have gone in around 30 nautical miles off the coast out from Hillarys and Two Rocks. CHECK OUT THE NORTH METRO FADS COORDINATES AND ALL OTHER FADS INFO HERE  The rest of the Metro FADs between Mandurah and Rottnest are due to be in position by the first week of November – subject to weather conditions and logistics. The table below ..read more

The Accenture Mackerel 5000 held in Dampier in mid-October needs to take a bow, it just produced some of the most jaw-droppingly big Spanish mackerel ever seen in a West Aussie fishing comp!  Recfishwest’s Fishing for Science team ventured up to the sun-kissed Pilbara town for the competition on October 15, backed with the support of Woodside North West to collect more Spanish mackerel samples to be used by DPIRD to inform the future Pilbara’s Spanish mackerel stock assessment.  It resulted in a mighty 65 narrow-barred Spanish mackerel heads being kindly donated b ..read more

Recfishwest is excited to announce our two community trout stocking events have confirmed dates for 2023 – with Troutfest occurring this Saturday, 21 October at Drakesbrook Weir, Waroona and Pemberton Trout Festival at Big Brook Dam on Sunday, 5 November! From 10am-1pm on Saturday, mums, dads and kids will have the chance to release radiant rainbow and beautiful brown trout into Drakesbrook Weir to celebrate WA’s freshwater fishery and the $37 million economic contribution spent each year from freshwater fishers in our South-West and Peel regions. Along with the community having the chance to ..read more

Five years ago, all that was there was the barren sandy seabed.  Today, the area is teeming with vibrant colour, exotic coral and hundreds of marine species, including an array of fish species like trevally, coral trout, cod and mangrove jack.   What has caused this dramatic transformation? The deployment of the six large, repurposed steel structures and nearly 50 concrete purpose-built modules that makes up King Reef – the fastest developing artificial reef in Australia!  This latest spectacular video footage by underwater photographer Violeta J. Brosig from Blue Media Exm ..read more

Recfishwest was pleased to hear Environment Minister Reece Whitby talk up the importance of Cockburn Sound and its seagrass habitat at a recent partnership agreement signing between Cockburn Power Boats Club (CPBC) and Ozfish for the Seeds for Snapper initiative that Recfishwest was instrumental in developing.   At the signing which took place at Woodman Point earlier this month, Minister Whitby admitted, “Over many years, we haven’t always exactly looked after Cockburn Sound. The seagrass has depleted dramatically…there are multiple uses and pressures on this valuable ecosystem and ..read more