If you fish for reef species in Western Australia, June 1 brought a noticeably shorter list of what you can take home. The state government has trimmed daily bag limits and raised minimum sizes across a range of demersal species, part of a long-running push to rebuild stocks under heavy pressure.
At the centre of the changes is the mixed demersal bag limit, which drops from five fish to four per person, per day, in waters outside the West Coast Bioregion. West Australian dhufish — the prize of the southern reefs — is now capped at a single fish.
Several other species pick up their own per-species limits. Pink snapper, red emperor and the tuskfishes, including baldchin groper and bluebone, are each held to two fish. Coral trout, coronation trout and western blue groper stay at one each. Nannygai remain a little more generous on the South Coast, with four fish per person per day allowed outside the mixed demersal limit.
Minimum sizes have shifted as well. Both pink snapper and red emperor must now measure at least 45cm, ensuring more fish spawn before they can be kept.
The reasoning sits in the biology of these fish. Demersal reef species grow slowly, live for many years and breed at a measured pace, which means a depleted population can take a very long time to recover. Bag limits, size limits and seasonal closures are the standard tools managers use to ease that pressure before stocks fall too far.
In practice, the new rules mean smaller hauls and bigger legal minimums on two of WA's most-targeted fish. The two-fish caps on snapper, red emperor and the tuskfishes also stop any one prized species from being hammered, even within a legal mixed bag.
Before heading out, anglers should confirm the current limits for their bioregion, because penalties apply for going over. And WA is far from alone: fisheries managers across southern Australia are tightening rules on snapper and other demersals, with comparable restrictions rolling out in South Australia and elsewhere. The bargain is the same one being put to anglers everywhere — keep a little less today for the chance of better fishing tomorrow.
