State Marine Parks & What They Mean for Your Fishing

Love them or loathe them there are a number of state marine parks that are in the process of being implemented. These include the Ngari Capes Marine Park and six new marine parks in the Kimberley at Eighty Mile Beach, Roebuck Bay, Horizontal Falls, Camden Sound, North Camden Sound and North Kimberley.

Before any changes to the fishing rules in these marine parks can take effect they need to be gazetted under the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984 (CALM Act) and then complementary legislation has to be made under the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA).

Consequently, there is a time lag between classification of marine park zones and restrictions on where you can fish taking effect.

Under the CALM Act, authorisations (fishing licences) issued under the FRMA prior to the classification of a marine park remain valid (and rights unaffected) at least until the authorisation expires or is due for renewal.

What this means for you is that once a marine park has been gazette under the CALM Act there will be no changes to the fishing rules within the park for 12 months.

This means that fishing prohibitions will not be introduced under the FRMA until 12 months after the marine park zones are classified under the CALM Act.

This approach ensures that any fishing licences that were current at the time the marine park zones were gazetted can be used to their full extent.

Once a marine park has been gazetted under the CALM Act, fishers will be able to renew their licences and continue fishing throughout the marine park in accordance with their authorisation until the 12 month transition period ends. At the end of the 12 month transition period, fishing licences will remain valid but fishers must then comply with the new marine park fishing rules.

Read Recfishwest’s Position Statement on Marine Parks here.

Continue Reading

June 01, 2023

Recfishwest calls for Government fishery rethink with 78 charter fishing businesses on the brink

Following Government fishery management changes, 78 charter operators are facing the prospect of losing their businesses in the coming months with fishers aboard their vessels no longer able to fish for demersal…

Read More

May 31, 2023

Families flock to Denham to celebrate fishing in the Gascoyne at Shark Bay Fiesta

The hundreds of visitors from across WA and Australia, who ventured to Denham for the week-long Shark Bay Fiesta to celebrate all things fishing swelled the population of the coastal town by half!   For around 850…

Read More

May 31, 2023

Marine park planning mess stokes fears of south coast social and economic fall-out

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction’s (DBCA’s) marine park on the south coast has been in the headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. From shire council presidents, to leading members…

Read More

May 31, 2023

Fremantle Sailing Club saving money and potential lives with Recfishwest’s Community Grant

Recfishwest is proud to see one of the 16 recipient organisations receiving a Community Grant in 2023 – the Fremantle Sailing Club (FSC) – is saving money and potential lives by using a Recfishwest Community Grant…

Read More

May 30, 2023

Spotting sharks on your sounder to help reduce bite-offs

“The taxman”, “the men in grey suits” or just plain old “bloody sharks.” Whatever you call them, sharks biting off your prized catch as you bring it into the boat can be the bane of many fishers’ fishing trips…

Read More

May 05, 2023

West coast demersal $10m support package – a golden opportunity to support better decisions that cannot be missed

As the dust settles on the new fishing rules for west coast demersals, Recfishwest says the Government has got to get right the way $10 million of public money is spent on supporting the fishery. The Government…

Read More