South Coast Marine Parks

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What is it

The Western Australian Government proposed to create a marine park on the South Coast stretching more than 1,000km from Bremer Bay to the South Australian border as part of their Plan for Our Park initiative to increase the size of WA’s conservation estates by 25 per cent.

Why it matters

Fishing is an integral part of the South Coast community’s culture.  Fishing is vital to many south coast towns’ economies and provides huge social benefits. Many of these towns started as fishing communities, and fishing remains an essential part of the local identity.

Marine parks often incorporate areas called “sanctuary zones” in which fishing is banned.  Access to other areas can also be reduced in marine parks through restrictive management practices such as prohibiting driving on beaches or closing off access tracks.

Recfishwest believes recreational fishing is largely compatible with the conservation objectives of marine parks and is an activity that must be recognised as a key value when developing marine park management plans.

Any loss of access and should be avoided where possible and must be based on evidence that fishing poses an unacceptable risk to the conservation objectives of the marine park.

What Recfishwest is doing

In November 2024, the State Government announced its plans for the South Coast Marine Parks following a long, concerted campaign by Recfishwest and the fishing community.

Recfishwest was pleased that the Government had listened to thousands of recreational fishers and accepted more than 80 per cent of the key points raised Recfishwest’s South Coast Marine Parks submission.

Marine parks should aim to improve recreational fishing experiences with no overall loss of the enjoyment of the activity.

Driven by this principle, Recfishwest’s involvement in the South Coast Marine Parks  began in late 2021, and included the following actions and activities:

  • Recfishwest formed and chaired the Recreational Fishing Sector Advisory Group from October 2021 – March 2023.
  • Attended six meetings of the Community Reference Committee, providing advice related to recreational fishing matters.
  • Undertook a survey in which fishers could identify areas of greatest interest along the south coast marine park boundary. Recfishwest supplied DBCA and DPIRD with a heat map of important fishing areas to help inform the planning process.
  • Undertook many trips to talk to local fishers on the South Coast and nearby communities, including Esperance, Ravensthorpe, Hopetoun, Bremer Bay and Kalgoorlie.
  • Relocated a staff member to Esperance at appropriate times to assist fishers during the submission process.
  • Created a dedicated webpage and newsletter used to inform fishers of the potential impacts of recreational fishing as well as assisting fishers in putting forward a submission to Government.
  • Ran an extensive communications and advertising campaign calling on the Government to rethink its proposed “illogical and unjustifiable” no fishing zones including regional TV, billboard and newspaper ads.

What can you do

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