Proposed south coast marine parks

As one of WA’s great recreational fishing landscapes, the south coast is hugely important for tens of thousands of recreational fishers, providing spectacular fishing opportunities from both shore and boat.

That’s why Recfishwest is strongly encouraging the south coast fishing community and anyone who fishes along the coast to get involved to get their views and voices heard as part of the State Government’s plans for new marine parks on the south coast that will stretch 1000km from Bremer Bay all the way to the South Australian border.

Plans for the proposed marine parks were released on 16 February 2024 and will be open for public comment until 16 June 2024.

Recfishwest's views on what's been proposed

Some of the proposed no-fishing zones in the Government’s South Coast Marine Park plans are completely illogical and unjustifiable.

Proposing no fishing zones in front of caravan parks, boat ramps and along several popular beaches demonstrates marine park planners in Perth are out of touch with the south coast community.

We stand firmly for sustainability, however, we cannot support the marine parks in their current form.  None of the evidence we have seen supports the need to implement no fishing zones over the top of places where people have fished for generations, and they simply cannot be justified.

The Government must genuinely engage with the local community – if they had done this in the first place, they would not be proposing to implement these zones where they have.

Recfishwest encourages all fishers with an interest in this coast to study the details and engage in the consultation process. 

CLICK HERE TO SEE RECFISHWEST’S INITIAL VIEWS ON THE PROPOSED NO FISHING ZONES IN THE MARINE PARKS

CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR TIPS AND ADVICE ON GETTING YOUR VIEWS ON THE MARINE PARKS PROPOSALS HEARD BY THE GOVERNMENT BY MAKING A SUBMISSION

See a map of the proposed marine parks here - the zones shaded in green are proposed no fishing areas.

Find Out More

What you can do

It is vital that fishers who fish the south coast make their voices heard in the consultation process. You can do this by:

Read our South Coast Marine Park updates below

16 February 2024, Recfishwest calls on Government to listen to local fishers and re-think illogical and unjustifiable no fishing zones

Recfishwest says that some of the proposed no-fishing zones in the Government’s South Coast Marine Park plans released today are “completely illogical and unjustifiable”.

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “Proposing no fishing zones in front of caravan parks, boat ramps and along several popular beaches demonstrates marine park planners in Perth are out of touch with the south coast community.

“We stand firmly for sustainability; however, we cannot support the marine parks in their current form.”

Read the full story here

18 January, 2024, Fantastic kids fishing clinics turn-out highlights importance of fishing on the south coast

Every one of our 10 SunSmart Fishing Clinics Southern Tour was completely booked out this year, highlighting once again how popular and important fishing is on our south coast.

More than 350 excited kids took part in the clinics running from East of Esperance all the way along the coast to Augusta – with all participants enjoying learning about fishing basics, looking after the environment and being SunSmart.

This was a record attendance for the tour with record numbers of fish caught and released by the young eager anglers to match!

Read the full story here

18 December, 2023, South Coast Marine Park public consultation postponed until early 2024

The Minister for the Environment Reece Whitby has pushed back the date for the release of the proposed south coast marine park plan for public consultation to early February next year.

It was widely anticipated that the plans would be released before the end of 2023, but Minister Whitby, speaking on ABC Regional Drive, announced the decision to delay the release until next year.

He said, “I understand that people go away on holidays and have other issues on their mind and want to get away and relax a bit. So, I think an appropriate time would be in the New Year after the school holidays. I think early February is about the right time.”

Read the full story here

29 September, 2023, Esperance land-based comp shows exactly why fishing access must be maintained on the south coast

If you want a perfect example of why land-based fishing access and experiences need to be protected on the south coast – then the recent Esperance Land Based Fishing Club‘s Open Classic competition rang the bell loud and clear.   

With 130 avid fishers competing, their hopes of snagging some impressive competition prizes rested on their cherished land-based fishing spots producing the goods for solid catches of fish species that thrive along the south coast – and it was another cracking year.  

The club offered fantastic cash rewards for the heaviest fish across 13 species, meaning all competitors had equal opportunities to bring the heaviest fish to the weigh-in and leave with heavier wallets. 

Read the full story here

7 September, 2023, Prepare to go into bat for our most valuable fishing spots on the north metro and south coasts

Recfishwest understands plans for both the new South Coast Marine Park and the extension to Marmion Marine Park are to be released for public comment as early as October.   

And it’s going to be crucial for the tens of thousands who fish along the north metro and south coasts to stand up and make their voices heard to protect access to some of the most valuable and popular fishing spots in these areas. 

In recent months, we’ve highlighted the south coast community’s concerns around the consultation process going off the rails and the potential loss of some of the region’s fishing and beach access through a potentially heavily unbalanced marine park design. 

Read the full story here

3 August, 2023, Recfishwest on the south coast and in the news calling for marine park consultation to 'get back on track'

Dr Andrew Rowland, Recfishwest CEO, and Operations Officer Sam Bock were recently on the south coast listening to the concerns of local fishers about the potential impact of DBCA’s proposed marine park.

Stretching along 1,000 km of coastline from Bremer Bay to the WA/SA border, many local fishers told Andrew and Sam that the marine park already has a predefined political outcome and will be an unnecessary overreach coming out of Perth.

These concerns have been stoked by the bad publicity surrounding the consultation process to date.

Read the full story here

4 July, 2023 Concerns mount over beach driving bans and dog exclusions in proposed south coast marine park

Being able to drive on the beach to your favourite fishing spot to wet a line is what makes living on the south coast so great.

And for those with dogs, taking your canine friend along for the ride merely adds to the enjoyment.

However, we are hearing increasing concerns from south coast fishers that these freedoms (which are already restricted on some beach stretches) could be under serious threat in the proposed south coast marine park with DBCA’s track record in park management.

Read the full story here 

31 May, 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 of the marine park’s Community Reference Committee (CRC), to community engagement officers, a growing chorus of voices have publicly criticised the direction the planning process has taken in the last few months (see some of their comments in the news and on social media below).

“There is mounting concern that our freedom to fish beaches and offshore areas prized by generations of south coast residents and visitors is on the line, “ said Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland. “With our own experiences of it to date, we share the community’s concerns that the planning process for the marine park has gone sideways.”

Read the full story here 

16 March, 2023 Esperance’s premier fishing comp highlights importance of fishing to south coast

If you want an example of how important fishing is to the south coast – look no further than Esperance and last weekend’s (March 10-12) sensational Esperance Deep Sea Angling Club’s (EDSAC) Esperance Archipelago Offshore Angling Classic. 

With Samson fish tipping the scales at more than 22kg along with spectacular harlequin fish, snapper and breaksea cod — it’s no wonder more than 600 people came down to the weigh-in at Esperance’s biggest fishing comp and enjoyed a fantastic weekend of fishing and socialising!  

There were 275 competing anglers on 83 boats taking part in the competition – making it one of the biggest boat fishing tournaments if not the biggest in WA.  

Read the full story here

13 July, 2022 Take our Marmion Marine Park and South Coast Marine Park online surveys!

13 July, 2022

If you fish between Trigg and Two Rocks in Perth’s north or between Bremer Bay and the South Australian border on our southern coast, Recfishwest is strongly encouraing you to take our respective marine park surveys and get your voice heard in their planning processes.

The Marmion Marine Park is set to extend its northern boundary from its current base of Trigg to Burns Rocks up to Two Rocks.

Read the full story here 

28 October, 2022 Recfishwest receives great feedback from fishing communities on proposed marine parks

28 October, 2022

One of the fishing community’s greatest challenges is maintaining access to high-quality fishing experiences across Western Australia.  

Be it from industrial development, the deterioration and subsequent closing of jetties and platforms, or marine park zones that prohibit fishing, recreational fishers face a constant uphill battle in being able to access the experiences we all love and cherish. 

In the case of marine parks, Recfishwest has been at the coalface this year as we advocate strongly for a fair and reasonable outcome for fishers in two marine parks currently going through the consultation process.  

Read the full story here 

7 December, 2021: Help recreational fishers have a strong voice in the development of a south coast marine park

7 December, 2021

As one of WA’s great recreational fishing landscapes, the south coast is hugely important for tens of thousands of recreational fishers, providing spectacular fishing opportunities from both shore and boat.

Recently, the McGowan Government announced plans to create a marine park on WA’s south coast, potentially stretching 1,000km from Bremer Bay all the way to the South Australian border.

The Government’s community engagement approach for this marine park involves the establishment of Sector Advisory Groups (SAGs) to provide advice and recommendations to the marine park planning process.

Click here to read the full story.

8 October, 2021: Find out more and have your say on shaping a future south coast marine park

8 October, 2021

As one of WA’s great recreational fishing landscapes, the south coast is hugely important for tens of thousands of recfishers, providing sometimes spectacular fishing opportunities from the shore and from boats alike.

From nannygai, harlequin and yellowtail kingfish from the Southern Ocean depths to metre-long mulloway, salmon, herring and skippy from pristine beaches, there is something for everyone on the south coast, providing also a coastal escape for hard-working families from the Wheatbelt and Goldfields regions.

That’s why Recfishwest is strongly encouraging the south coast fishing community to get involved and get their views and voices heard as part of the State Government’s plans for a new marine park on the south coast.

Read the full story here.

Recfishwest acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land and sea, and pay our respect to Elders past, present and future. We recognise the strength, resilience and capacity of traditional custodians in managing and caring for the land and sea. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to life in Western Australia.