Tag: Cockburn Power Boats Club

Community’s joy at Cockburn Sound’s crabbing comeback

Having fished in Cockburn Sound for 57 years man and boy, Cockburn Power Boats Club member Don Beisley is thrilled to have the chance to go crabbing with his grandkids in the Sound this summer.

This opportunity means three generations of his family will have enjoyed catching blue swimmer crabs in the Sound.

Don (pictured below with son-in-law Tony crabbing on the Swan) was one of thousands celebrating this week’s fantastic news that Cockburn Sound is to reopen for crabbing this summer for the first time in 10 years.

Don Beisley and his son-in-law Tony will soon be able to carry their joys of crabbing on the Swan River to Cockburn Sound, with crabbing given the green light in the Sound from 1 December!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT – HOW WE BROKE THE COCKBURN SOUND CRABS REOPENING NEWS

“I’ve nothing but good memories of catching crabs in the Sound with my dad and my uncle when I was a kid, chugging out in their old school clinker boat,” recalled Don. “We’d take what we’d need for a feed, and they tasted great! But it was all about getting to do it with my dad and uncle – it was such fun!

Don continued, “When I got older, my wife and I took our kids out crabbing, and they loved it too. They still talk about it today as grown-ups. Now, I’m rapt to be able to share this experience with my grandchildren this summer.

“I was over the moon to hear the news – it’s such a magical place right on our doorstep. It’s pretty special, isn’t it? So, well done to you guys – it’s a great result for everyone.”

And when Don’s grandkids do go out crabbing with Don, it will be with crab nets they had a hand in making!

“We make our own nets for crabbing in the Sound,” Don revealed. “We get the frames made and sew all the mesh by hand. It’s all about the size, depth, and color of the mesh. Now, we’ve got the grandkids helping out with making the nets too!”

Picking up the thread. Don showing his grandchildren the art of crab net making!

Cockburn Soundbites

Here’s some of the other reactions to the great news for metro crabbers.

“Awesome outcome, thank you.” – Ted Russell

“Oh yes thank you very much for your info. Now no need to driving far for chasing crab thank you” – Henrix Clavecilla

“Excellent work really looking forward to it. It’s been a long time. Be great for the family and the kids. Thanks, Recfishwest!” – Jason and Karen Kuzmanich

“Great news, Recfishwest, Well done” – Barbara Ross.

“OMG! Been waiting since 2014! Awesome! Caught some nice feeds there,” – Murray Sofield.

“Awesome news for the upcoming seasons…Thank you to Recfishwest and the various departments involved in preserving, rebuilding and managing this important fishery” – Crackpots Marine Supplies.

Bumper Snapper Guardians 2023 kicks off ‘super-stocking’ week

What an awesome turn-out for Snapper Guardians 2023 – with the biggest crowd in the event’s history coming down to help us release juvenile pink snapper into Cockburn Sound!  

What’s more it kicked off a ‘super-stocking’ week which has seen 40,000 juvenile pink snapper and 15,000 yellowtail king fish released into metro waters in less than seven days!  

With COVID unfortunately disrupting the community attendance at the event in 2021 and 2022, Recfishwest was delighted to see hundreds of fishing families turn up to roll up their sleeves and help release 5,000 juvenile pinkies to show how much they value this iconic species, the Sound and the fantastic fishing experiences it supports on Perth’s doorstep.  

A big Recfishwest thanks to the 400+ attendees that helped us release 5,000 juvenile pink snapper into Cockburn Sound for Snapper Guardians 2023!

CHECK OUT OUR LIVE FACEBOOK FEED FROM THIS YEAR’S SNAPPER GUARDIANS

This was followed by another 35,000 pink snapper released between Fremantle Sailing Club and the Cockburn Power Boats Club earlier this week, while 15,000 yellowtail kingfish were also released on Wedneday between the same locations to spice up future fishing experiences in metro waters.  

“The fantastic response we had to Snapper Guardians 2023 shows the community’s care and passion for Cockburn Sound and the fantastic, safe, accessible fishery it supports is stronger than ever before,” said CEO Dr Andrew Rowland. “A big shout out to everyone who came down from the community to support this year’s event.” 

“Fishing is always better when the fish are biting and we don’t just want to see sustainable fisheries – we want abundant ones. That’s why it’s great to see the Government’s commitment to fish stocking initiatives like the pink snapper and yellowtail kingfish programs. 

Check out the behind-the-scenes footage from the DPIRD Fremantle hatchery and the kingie cannon firing new yellowtail kingfish into their new home on the YouTube link below! 

“We want to see more of this in the future and a well-developed scientific monitoring program that can give us a better understanding of the effectiveness and potential scalability of these popular iniativies,” added Andrew.  

A big Recfishwest shout out also to the team from DPIRD’s Fremantle hatchery, who collected the pink snapper eggs in early November of 2022, hatched and reared the pinkies in their aquaculture tanks through the most vulnerable stage of their lives, before transporting the 90-day-old fish down to Jervoise Bay, Woodman Point for release into their new home.  

The team at DPIRD’s Fremantle hatchery collected the pink snapper eggs back in November of 2022, hatched and reared them until they reached 90-days-of-age and transported 5,000 down to Cockburn Sound for release during Snapper Guardians!

We would also like to thank our community fish stocking partners Daiwa, for helping us make this event possible.  

Rest assured, with the State Government promising more funding and support for future stocking events such as Snapper Guardians, we will ensure this great event continues for many years to come and becomes even bigger and better.  

Were you one of the Snapper Guardians who rolled up your sleeves over the weekend? Check out some of the action and big smiles from our latest event below and thank you to all attendees who put on the bathers and snorkels to help make the 2023 Snapper Guardians event one for the ages.