Tag: ammo jetty

Popular fishing jetties around WA set to benefit from the budget

Jetties are the heart of local coastal communities, providing accessible fishing for everyone and essential nearshore habitat for a range of important fish species.  

In good news for fishers, numerous jetties around WA will receive some love, following the Government’s recent budget announcement.  

From one of the Metro’s most popular land-based fishing spots at Ammo Jetty, to the Mount Henry Jetty in the Canning River and the Bunbury fishing platform that caters for fishers with mobility issues – these are just a few landmarks set to receive millions of dollars in improvements for fishers to utilise and enjoy.  

To help us advocate for more and better jetties, please take a couple of minutes to take our jetty survey below. We want to know what jetties and platforms are most important to you and what makes a good jetty. Everyone who completes the survey will go in the draw to win a Shimano Sienna 2500 flick rod and reel combo that is perfect for their favourite fishing jetty!

Some of the jetties the Government has committed to investing in include:  

  • Ammo Jetty – $20 million in total to be injected into completing the design and construction of a new jetty, which will include a 50-metre long, three-metre-wide T-head, which will double the current fishing space in the deeper water at the end of the jetty to the benefit of fishers. Recfishwest is on the Ammo Jetty Working Group and has had input into the design of this one to ensure it is best optimised for fishing. 
  • Mount Henry Jetty – $1 million to replace the existing jetty 
  • Bunbury fishing platform – The Government has set aside $4 million for a new fishing platform in Bunbury following the closure of the Bunbury Service Jetty.  
  • Extension of the northern breakwater at Jurien Bay Boat Harbour – $17.5 million will be invested on improving water quality at the marina, mitigating against the fish kills in the harbour and  opening up more fishing opportunities off the extended rock wall.   

In addition to the measures to support jetties announced in the budget, the Government also recently committed $5 million to build a new small boat facility to replace the defunct Taylor Street Jetty in Esperance. The plan is for the currently closed jetty to be demolished and replaced with a 70m pontoon jetty, with a 50m wing for use by the Port of Esperance, and a 20m section open to the community (as pictured below).  

A new breakwater spur will also help enable year-round access as it should protect the area during storm events, allowing fishers to wet a line more easily and comfortably. 

Southern Ports new draft design of the Taylor Street Jetty in Esperance, which shows improved land-based fishing options and protection for fishers.

We welcome these commitments from the Government, but we want to see more! 

The pleasure and value jetties provide is priceless and every coastal town or those located next to an estuary deserves a town jetty for local and visiting fishers. Jetties are the first places people learn to fish and they offer everyone the opportunity to access deeper water and a wider variety of species than is usually available from shore. 

On behalf our cast of 700,000 recreational fishers, Recfishwest will continue to advocate for investments in fishing infrastructure such as jetties to boost land-based fishing access and fishing experiences.  

Recfishwest on the road – highlights from October’s fishing clinics and kids fishing competitions across WA!

It’s been a very busy October for our Recfishwest crew and nearly 180 kids who had a crack at fishing in our Metro, Mid-West and Pilbara region’s fishing clinics and competitions!  

Recfishwest is always pleased to see the next generation of fishers having a fine time wetting a line and catching a wide range of great West Aussie species off our jetties and pristine beaches, with herring, whiting, tarwhine, skippy, bream and many others providing top-quality fishing for our youngsters and their families.  

Check out some of the kids’ fishing clinics and competitions which took place over the last few weeks below and if you want to find out more about our SunSmart fishing clinics across WA, check out our SunSmart Fishing Clinics Webpage!  

City of Cockburn Youth Services fishing clinic – Ammo Jetty 

Early October saw Recfishwest join forces with the City of Cockburn Youth Services at one of Perth’s most iconic land-based fishing spots – the Ammo Jetty.  

Run in partnership with the City of Cockburn, the weather lined up beautifully and 24 kids thoroughly enjoyed hooking up to multiple tarwhine, herring, whiting and juvenile tailor.  

Kudos to the City of Cockburn for ensuring young people within this program are supported, engaged and valued and we look forward to running more of these fishing clinics in future.  

Ammo Jetty in Cockburn Sound producing the goods! Big thanks to the City of Cockburn Youth Services crew who ensured 24 young people experienced the joys of fishing off one of Perth’s most popular land-based fishing spots.

Kalbarri Kids’ Whiting Competition 

One of WA’s biggest annual kids’ fishing competitions returned to the Mid-West coast on 5 October – the ever-popular Kalbarri Kids’ Whiting Competition! 

Taking place over the September-October school holidays, Recfishwest attended the second day of the competition where 126 kids were ankle deep in crystal clear water on Chinaman’s Beach, with a steady flow of top-quality catches rolling through.  

With quad bikes transporting kids along the beach and impressive prizes up for grabs for a mix of easily accessible species, the Recfishwest crew were kept busy de-hooking catches, taking snaps, teaching the kids how to handle fish with care and gently releasing them to fight another day.  

Organised by the Kalbarri Offshore and Angling Club and supported by one of Recfishwest’s Community Grants – this fabulous community event has drawn thousands of kids and their families over the years to have a crack at catching the town’s celebrated yellowfin whiting. 

Check out some of the snaps from the Kalbarri Kids’ Whiting Competition below! 

We love this competition and so did the kids in Kalbarri! Recfishwest was proud to support the Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club’s Kids’ Whiting Competition for another year, which draws hundreds of excited youngsters to Chinaman’s Beach for the great fishing and prizes on offer.

Nickol Bay SunSmart Fishing Clinic

Prior to our Recfishwest crew attending the Accenture Mackerel 5000 competition in Dampier on October 15 for our Fishing for Science program, they coordinated a SunSmart Fishing Clinic on the sand in front of Hampton Harbour Boat & Sailing Club.  

Despite the hot conditions, 28 kids and their parents joined Recfishwest in spending two hours having a flick and cooling off within the bay’s turquoise waters, with Vince Amico from Karratha Adventure Sports lending a helping hand and with support from the Nickol Bay Sportsfishing Club.   

Before the fishing action kicked off, Recfishwest taught the kids about safe SunSmart practices, proper fish handling, fishing regulations, sustainability and safety guidelines around wetting a line in WA’s beautiful Pilbara region.  

To keep the smiles on the kids’ faces, all participants received a Recfishwest sticker and lure to help promote chipping away at developing their fishing skills.  

Big thanks to the kids below who enjoyed wetting a line with us at the Nickol Bay Fishing Clinic!  

Teaching kids how to be SunSmart and how to catch top -quality fish in the pristine Pilbara waters!

“It’s been a very busy October full of fishing clinics and competitions across WA and throughout all of these events, every kid had a smile on their face and had an awesome time along with plenty of memorable catch-and-release experiences,” said Recfishwest Senior Operations Officer Sam Russell.   

“Hopefully they’ve been bitten by the fishing bug and it becomes a lifelong passion that gives them and their families years of enjoyment and all the well-being and health benefits fishing provides.”