- WA demersal reef fish including iconic species like dhufish, snapper and red emperor are overfished and at risk of collapse
- WA Govt's commitment to reforms is the best chance in more than a decade to rebuild the West Coast Region Demersal Fishery and good news for WA's iconic fish
- Commitments to new spatial protections vital to protect breeding fish to help populations recover
Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis' commitment to long-overdue reforms to protect and rebuild Western Australia's most vulnerable demersal fish populations shows leadership and has been welcomed by the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS).
After more than 15 years of failed management and continued overfishing, the latest scientific assessments show populations of iconic species like dhufish and snapper at severe risk across the WA coast, with 93% of dhufish in waters off Perth now gone.
The reform package includes changes to various commercial and recreational fisheries across the west coast.
AMCS Sustainable Seafood Program Manager Adrian Meder said:
"Minister Jarvis has shown the leadership this fishery has needed for a very long time. These reforms give the best chance in years to rebuild key demersal stocks and start undoing more than a decade of decline.
"The latest science has shown dhufish in the waters off Perth are heavily overfished and on a trajectory towards localised extinction. While more work is needed to ensure that the right areas are given lasting protection to recover fish populations and ensure these reforms are effective, our kids will now have the chance to enjoy healthy demersal fish populations in the future.
"A key part of this package for the West Coast Region is the commitment to develop lasting spatial protections for demersal fish. These areas are critical to protecting mature breeding fish that are vital for future fishery recovery. The recovery they drive will enable the fishery to reopen sooner and allow more fishing than would be possible under the management approaches tried to date.
"These changes will mean real adjustments for fishing communities. But they are necessary to secure healthy fish populations, support thriving marine ecosystems, and ensure that the dhufish - an iconic species found nowhere else on Earth - is around for future generations.
"Once truly sustainable populations are rebuilt, Western Australians can look forward to seeing many more dhufish in the waters off Perth. That's a future worth stepping up to make some sacrifices for now."
The Government has also acted to close the damaging Pilbara Fish Trawl Fishery, which along with overfishing its target demersal reef fish has had an unacceptable impact on bottlenose dolphins and sawfish. Available data indicates the trawling method used in this fishery was drowning a dolphin every two weeks. That level of bycatch is completely unacceptable in 2025, particularly for a species as valued by the community as bottlenose dolphins. Fishers are able to transition to the Pilbara Trap and Line Fishery where these fishing methods already used in Pilbara waters have no serious impacts on dolphins or sawfish.
