People heading to the Gascoyne and Pilbara to go fishing these school holidays are reminded to make sure they know the possession limits and labelling requirements for their catch or they could face big fines.
Earlier this week, three men, two from Perth and one from Kalgoorlie, were found guilty in the Carnarvon Magistrates Court of exceeding their combined possession limit of finfish fillets by more than 20kg and fined a total of more than $21,000 including court costs.
The offences occurred in May 2025 in Denham (Shark Bay) when Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development fisheries officers stopped the men at the Denham boat ramp and found them to be in possession of more than 50kg of filleted finfish including pink snapper, coral trout and baldchin groper exceeding the legal possession limit by over 20kg.
The finfish possession limit for an individual in the Gascoyne and Pilbara is two days bag limit of whole fish, or one days bag limit of whole fish plus 10kg of finfish fillets, or a combination of 10kg of finfish fillet and 10kg of pelagic finfish fillets with skin on.
All fillets must have the skin attached when at sea or being landed. Estuary cod, Malabar cod and barramundi cannot be filleted at sea.
Recfishers are also reminded when fishing as a group all packages of fish going into the same fridge or freezer must be labelled with the full name of the person who will be keeping the fish to determine the possession limits.
More information on the rules is available in the Recreational Fishing Guide available on the DPIRD website.
DPIRD Supervising Fisheries and Marine Officer Matt Clarke said while the majority of recreational fishers were doing the right thing and sticking to the possession limits, it was timely to remind fishers to brush up on the rules for the Gascoyne and Pilbara ahead of the school holidays.
"DPIRD undertakes regular roadside checkpoint operations along the Northwest Coastal Highway from Onslow to the Overlander Roadhouse, and on the main access roads in and out of Denham, Quobba and Gnaraloo to educate fishers about possession and labelling requirements," Mr Clarke said.
"Of the nine operations undertaken already in 2025, fisheries officers have stopped more than 1,000 vehicles with only 30 offences for exceeding the finfish possession limit and incorrect labelling of finfish fillets resulting.
"With the release of the demersal stock assessments last week, it is more important than ever to make sure you are sticking to your possession limit, particularly for demersal fish to protect the future sustainability of the State's fisheries."
More information on the latest stock assessments is available on the DPIRD website https://www.dpird.wa.gov.au/demersal-scalefish-resources
