- Release of 60,000 juvenile pink snapper in Cockburn Sound to support recovery of at-risk demersal species and future fishing
- Ongoing stock enhancement program aims to boost pink snapper stocks for recreational fishing ahead of fishery reopening in Spring 2027
- Recfishwest to host annual Snapper Guardians community event on 7 February
- Cook Government protecting and restoring the environment for future generations
About 55,000 hatchery-reared juvenile pink snapper have been released in Cockburn Sound as part of the Cook Government's stock enhancement research program. A further 5,000 are set to be released in February as part of a community event.
The pink snapper 'fingerlings' were reared and released by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) at itsFremantle Marine Finfish Hatcheryusing world-leading techniques.
The latest release is part of the 2023 State Government's one-million-dollar commitment to increase snapper stocking in the West Coast Bioregion as part of the West Coast Demersal Recovery package. The aim is to release one million pink snapper 'fingerlings' to boost recreational fishing opportunities.
Since commencing the research program in 2016, DPIRD has successfully released about 300,000 fingerlings into Cockburn Sound. Importantly, the natural rate of mortality means this program is designed to enhance stocks but not replenish them.
Cockburn Sound is an important spawning and nursery ground for pink snapper, however, the survival rate of pink snapper eggs in the wild is thought to be less than one per cent. In the hatchery, the survival rate to the early juvenile stage can be 20 times higher.
DPIRD aquaculture staff raise the pink snapper fingerlings in the hatchery after collecting fertilised eggs from wild spawning snapper aggregations in Cockburn Sound to maximise survival rates.
Importantly, the genetic diversity of hatchery-grown pink snapper released in Western Australia is the same as the natural population in Cockburn Sound, best suited to the local environmental conditions and supporting the sustainability of the fish population.
The community will also have an opportunity to get involved with release of the further 5,000 snapper fingerlings as part of Recfishwest's annual Snapper Guardians event on Saturday 7 February.
Comments attributed to Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis:
"This world-leading science and technique is helping enhance the sustainability of the State'sfisheriesand providing for future opportunities for recreationalfishing across Western Australia.
"The release of the juvenile pink snapper into Cockburn Sound builds on the current recovery measures and enhances future stocks for recreational fishers when demersal fishing resumes in the West Coast zone in spring next year.
"Over 10 years our aquaculture scientists have learned and refined their techniques giving spawned eggs a 20 per cent greater chance of survival in the hatchery. Yet, it can take 15 years for a snapper to reach maximum size and 5-6 years to reach maturity.
"With a survival rate of less than one per cent we must do everything we can to protect these at-risk species.
"Our stocking programs have also seen the successful release of 150,000 yellowtail kingfish in metropolitan waters from 2020 to 2024 and more than 60,000 trout in 2025 into freshwater rivers and dams to provide more recreational fishing opportunities."
