Plans unveiled this week put fishing at the heart of the design for a new Ammo Jetty at Woodman Point in Cockburn Sound, showing fishers’ voices were heard loud and clear by the Department of Transport (DoT) when designing the new jetty.
This demonstrates the importance of fishers participating in these processes when we get the chance.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti revealed the new jetty will include a 50-metre long, three-metre wide T-head, more than doubling the fishing space in the deeper water at the end of the jetty. This will provide access to 10m deep water, which is the same depth as the end of the Busselton Jetty and deeper than the new Esperance Jetty. The jetty will also incorporate a significantly wider main deck.
This design was in line with feedback from the fishing community and recommendations made by Recfishwest in our role on the jetty design working group.
“During the consultation stage, we received more than 1,000 submissions from members of the public, which highlights just how important this project is to the community,” said Minister Saffioti
“The design means fishers can look forward to more space to drop a line in deeper water, and will benefit from the luxury of being able to fish with the wind at their back in all directions.”
CHECK-OUT AN ANIMATION OF THE DESIGN AND WHAT WE HAD TO SAY TO CHANNEL SEVEN NEWS!
More than 60 per cent of respondents to a DoT survey supported a wide jetty head/T-head design and the ability to fish on all sides of the jetty.
The next chapter in a rich fishing history
Speaking to Channel 7 News Recfishwest Operations Manager Matt Gillett said the jetty is a key land-based fishing spot for metro fishers particularly mums, dads and kids, who can now look forward to creating “more fantastic fishing memories for years to come”.
“The Ammo Jetty has a rich fishing history and has been a firm favourite with land-based metro fishers, for decades whether you fish for herring, whiting, squid, or salmon in autumn or maybe if you like to chase Spanish mackerel. Cockburn Sound provides it all and the Ammo Jetty provides land-based fishers with access to it.
“We’re very pleased that the recommendations we put forward were taken on board by the design team particularly around the jetty’s T-head. The original Woodman Point jetty had a T-head that allowed improved access to species like Spanish mackerel fishing and salmon fishing at the right time of the year.
“There will also be some other features we will see in the final plans I am sure resulting in fishers being able to get the best out of this facility.”
The Woodman Point Jetty popularly known as the Ammo Jetty, was originally built in 1903 for loading and unloading explosives. The jetty was opened for public access when the explosives magazines were closed in 1984
A working group led by DoT and comprising of the City of Cockburn, State Government agencies, Recfishwest and Fishability continues to guide the jetty replacement project which has now moved to the detailed design phase including cultural heritage, development and environmental approvals.
DoT says construction of the new jetty will start following the completion of these approvals and following the tender process. Construction is expected to take approximately 12 months, says DoT.
Matt said it was critical fishing access to structures like the Ammo Jetty is not just maintained but developed and increased.
“Any piece of fishing infrastructure whether it’s a jetty or a rock wall is vitally important to fishers,” he said. “In the case of the Ammo Jetty, it was falling into a state of disrepair, so we’ve very pleased with the outcome.
“Jetties are such a valuable community asset and every coastal town should have a jetty providing the ability for the community to access the great fishing experiences WA has to offer”
Find out more about the Ammo Jetty rebuild project on DoT’s website here
