In good news for metro anglers, the ban on southern garfish from Lancelin to Myalup is due to be lifted from Friday 1 March.
The ban was implemented in 2017 after an assessment by the Fisheries Department showed southern garfish stocks were “in significant decline” in Cockburn Sound and the wider Perth Metropolitan waters. Now Fisheries Minister Don Punch has lifted the ban with stocks “recovering to sustainable limits” according to a media release sent out by the Minister’s office today.
Recfishwest Operations Manager Leyland Campbell said, “This is good news for metro anglers and it’s something Recfishwest has been pushing for once the stocks had returned to sustainable levels.
“Securing access to this fishery again is a great example of adaptive management and recreational fishers should be congratulated for their part in sticking to the rules and supporting the recovery.
“Gardies are a great bread and butter fish popular with a wide range of anglers including mums, dads and kids – so it’s great to see them back in the metro fishing mix.
“Cockburn Sound is a great place to catch a gardie thanks to its safe and accessible waters and seagrass beds for those wanting to give it a go.”
Ongoing monitoring of southern garfish stocks will be undertaken through DPIRD’s recreational Statewide boat fishing survey and the Metropolitan Monitoring Program. Click here for more info
Fishers are also being encouraged to donate their southern garfish frames through the Department’s Send Us Your Skeletons program.
Southern garfish is part of the statewide mixed species bag limit of 30 per person per day. Other species in the mixed species bag limit include whiting, mullet and blue mackerel.
Click here to check out the Recfishwest fishing rules app for more information
See the Minister’s media release here
Feature image courtesy of Hooked Up magazine
