The record attendance of 1,000 people at this year’s Snapper Guardians highlights the huge value the local community places in Cockburn Sound and the pink snapper stocks it supports.
Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “This massive turn-out from the community sends out such a clear signal as to how important the health of this waterway is to so many West Australians and the Cast of Thousands.”
Snapper Guardians’ popularity has always seen solid numbers of the community rolling up their sleeves to help hand-release thousands of juvenile pink snapper – but the 2025 edition sent our attendance records tumbling.
Recfishwest was blown away by the 1,000-plus mums, dads and kids who grabbed a bucket full of fish and helped us release 3,000 juvenile pink snapper – around 100 days old and between 7-9cm long – into their new home.
A big thanks to all of you who came down to help out including Ozfish Unlimited, and DPIRD’s Fremantle fish hatchery staff who collected the eggs, hatched and reared the fish for the release.
Check out the highlights from this special day in the video below!
Andrew said, “This turnout far exceeds what we were expecting, and it’s great to see passionate people give back to the environment which supports their fishing.
“Decision-makers and planners responsible for future industrialisation in these pristine waters need to take notice and reflect. The future of the Sound is in their hands and it’s simply too valuable to mess it up.”
Get around protecting the Sound
Snapper Guardians is just one of many Recfishwest-led initiatives working towards improving habitat and fish stocks which build better environments. It’s one of the targets in our election manifesto, and this is crucially important for Cockburn Sound.
This sheltered waterway on Perth’s doorstep is home to one of the largest aggregations of pink snapper on the West Coast and crucial nursery habitat for species like herring, whiting, crabs and squid – and with industrialisation threats to the area, we all need to rally together to protect it.
Are you passionate about protecting Cockburn Sound? Visit savecockburnsound.org.au to see what you can do.
