Tag: HARVEY DAM

State Government funds election commitment with $3 million habitat boost for WA marron fishery

Western Australia’s iconic marron fishery has received a welcome boost, with the State Government following through on its election commitment to invest in marron habitat enhancement in the South-West. 

Marron habitat enhancement is something Recfishwest asked all political parties to commit to ahead of the State election in March and we are pleased to see the Government has listened and recognised the health, social and wellbeing benefits of marroning to the community.   

Announced as part of the 2025-26 State Budget, the $3 million initiative will fund the installation of habitat structures in Harvey, Logue Brook and Wellington dams — key locations for the annual four-week marron season.  

The project is due to get underway later this year.  

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said the investment was great news for the 10,000-plus licensed marron fishers who take part in the unique freshwater fishery each year. 

“These habitat enhancements will support marron breeding and recruitment, helping secure the future of the fishery and improving the experience for thousands of fishers who head out during the short, but special summer marron season,” he said.

“Marroning isn’t just about what you catch. It’s about family and mates, the camping, the stillness of the bush, the thrill of the hunt, and the connection to our waterways that we all share. It’s a uniquely WA experience and it deserves to be protected and improved for future generations.

“Enhancing marron habitats in these dams will help future-proof this celebrated fishery and potentially pave the way for a longer marron season – something Recfishwest is very keen to see given the value of this fantastic fishery to the community.” 

See all the Government’s fishing election commitments here 

Improved habitat will provide more shelter for feeding and breeding, helping to future-proof the fishery.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), in collaboration with Recfishwest and Water Corp, will oversee the design, installation and monitoring of the new habitats. These will provide vital shelter and improved breeding conditions for marron, supporting sustainability and fishery resilience. 

Recfishwest has long championed habitat enhancement as a tool to improve fishing experiences and outcomes for fishers and communities alike. 

Importantly, this investment is a smart response to a changing climate. With changing rainfall patterns, our dams are going to play an increasingly vital role in supporting marron fishing opportunities.  

“Many of these dams are currently habitat-limited – so it’s great to see the Government recognise that enhancing in-dam habitat is key to maintaining healthy marron populations and great fishing,” said Andrew 

“By providing more places for marron to live, breed, and shelter from predators, habitat enhancement directly improves resilience and fishing outcomes.

“Understanding how a changing climate will affect key fish stocks, and acting early to protect our experiences – is good policy and a positive signal of long-term thinking that deserves acknowledgment.

“This announcement also gives us confidence the Government intends to follow through on its broader fishing-related election commitments. We’ll be keeping the pressure on to ensure every commitment is delivered and that fishing stays front and centre in how our State’s natural assets are managed. Thanks for being part of the cast of thousands. Together, we’re making fishing better in WA.”

Want to help make our fishing even better? Join us as a member or make a donation to Recfishwest today.  

Top marroning tips and a welcome marron habitat enhancement commitment by the Fisheries Minister

On behalf of the Cast of Thousands, Recfishwest welcomes Fisheries Minister Don Punch’s announcement to improve marron habitat at Harvey, Logue Brook and Wellington dams if his party is re-elected.

Improving marron habitats will give increased productivity and provide juvenile and breeding marron with greater protection, improving the quality of marroning for WA’s 10,000 licensed marron fishers.

Marron habitat enhancement is something Recfishwest has asked all political parties to commit to ahead of the election and it’s good to see the huge social, health and wellbeing benefits fishing gives West Aussies are already being recognised in this way.

In the lead-up to the 2025 State Election, Recfishwest has developed a manifesto calling for investments into fishing over the next four years from ALL parties to ensure our great fishing experiences are safeguarded for generations to come.

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “This is good news for WA marron fishers because improving marron habitat will provide juvenile and breeding marron with more protection – increasing productivity and the quality of marroning.

“We’re pleased Labor has listened to what we have asked for on this and it’s good to see the huge social, health and wellbeing benefits fishing gives West Aussies already being recognised in this way. 

“We look forward to seeing other fishing commitments being made by all political parties in the next few weeks running up to the election.”  

More shelter for juvenile and spawning marron will benefit fishers with more abundant marron and a more robust fishery.

Marron mania get its claws into West Aussie fishers 

The marron season kicks off today and runs til noon on 5 February is set to snare the interest of thousands of mums, dads and kids, who will eagerly grab their gear and venture to our picturesque freshwater dams and rivers to try and grab a delicious feed. 

Recfishwest crustacean ‘tragic’ – and Operations Lead Matt ‘the marron whisperer’ Gillett, says marroning is one of the great South-West fishing experiences and is relatively easy for mums, dads and kids to do.  

“In addition to a marron licence, all you need is to fashion a snare out of some plastic-coated wire and attach to a five-to-six-foot pole – a fishing rod will work – some chook pellets for bait, a head torch to spot the marron and you’re good to go. You can still catch marron with drop nets, but the old fashioned snare is the best way to go,” said Matt.  

“It’s such good fun and so popular in the South-West. That’s why we’d really like to see commitments to invest in the future of this iconic fishery from all political parties that will support and enhance fishing experiences through habitat enhancement and ongoing stocking programs.” 

Matt’s magic marron snaring tips 

  1. Pick a night with less wind to help spot the marron feeding on the chook pellets easier. 
  2. Marroning on a waning moon or new moon is better.
  3. Pick the highest quality head torch you can.
  4. Don’t put the chook pellets out too early otherwise the ducks might nab them! Don’t put them out too far out either…the marron will come close to the bank for a feed. 
  5. Look for a stretch of bank where logs and rocks are submerged in the water – it’s the kind of habitat the marron like. 

South-West dams such as Harvey, Glen Mervyn, Waroona and Logue Brook all play an increasingly important role in supporting good marron catches. It’s crucial that we investigate different opportunities to improve these waterways and enhance the stocking program amid increased pressures on marron populations. 

Recfishwest wants to ensure fishers can continue to catch marron in our South-West for many, many more years to come and we are dedicated to achieving our vision of expanding the current month-long season towards year-round marron fishing.  

Fisheries Minister fixes DPIRD’s Harvey Dam marron stocking blocking with 100,000 juveniles to be released

After a long three-year stocking hiatus, Harvey Dam is finally set to see 100,000 marron make a splash into its waterways in 2023. 

The announcement by the Fisheries Minister Don Punch fixes a decision by DPIRD to prevent marron being stocked into Harvey Dam as part of a stocking program funded by the Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund and launched by the Premier Mark McGowan at the dam in 2019.  

Read the full media release from the Fisheries Minister here.  

Harvey Dam is the most popular recreational marroning location in our South West and provides an ideal habitat for marron spawning and growth.

Over the last few years, the team from Aquafarms, supported by Recfishwest, helped release 300,000 marron into the popular Waroona and Logue Brook dams.  

Large numbers of marron were also supposed to be released into Harvey Dam last year as part of this project, but one month before stocking DPIRD advised Recfishwest that, approval to stock Harvey Dam would not be provided.  

DPIRD’s rationale for refusing permission to stock Harvey Dam was largely based on two-decade old research. However, this rationale did not extend to Logue Brook or Waroona Dams, leaving local marron fishers confused and disappointed that the premier marroning location of a recreational-only fishery was missing out, despite assurances it would be a focus of the stocking project.  

Recfishwest raised our concerns directly with the Fisheries Minister and is pleased that he cut through the red tape put in place by DPIRD to ensure marron would be stocked in WA’s premier marooning location as intended.

This photo, taken in December 2019, was the last time marron were stocked into Harvey Dam, shortly after Premier Mark McGowan announced the RFIF-funded marron stocking program.

A sensible outcome  

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “We thank the Minister for listening to Recfishwest and overcoming needless Government bureaucracy to right this wrong – it’s a sensible resolution that ensures a good outcome for the community.  

“By working with the Minister and DPIRD, we hope to achieve a similar sensible resolution for the west coast demersal fishery and avoid the extensive social and economic damage the Government’s initial proposal for a nine-month ban would cause. 

“Marron is an icon of the South-West and marroning is a hugely popular pastime, with Harvey Dam the most popular marroning location.  

“The marron season brings in thousands of freshwater fishers from around the state to the pristine South-West waterways, helping inject millions of dollars back into our regional tourism economies.  

“Stocking initiatives like this can future-proof the marron fishery and take us closer to our vision of year-round marroning.” 

Breeding from the marron captured at Harvey Dam has already begun, with restocking expected to start as early as June next year.

Check out our marron fishing tips on our ilovefishing website. 

Marroning in Harvey Dam is hugely popular, especially when larger catches like these are made possible thanks to the dam’s ideal conditions.

Improving the Recreational Marron Fishery Through Stock Enhancement

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) in conjunction with Recfishwest, will be investigating the benefits of stocking juvenile Marron into recreational dams in Western Australia.

Staff at the Pemberton Freshwater Research Centre (PFRC) have begun a new captured Marron breeding program.  This program is based on recent advice provided from a Marron research project conducted by Ecotone and funded by the Commonwealth Government through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) that looked at ways to improve the sustainability of WA’s iconic Marron fishery.

If the captured Marron breeding program is successful, a trial stocking program is planned which will see thousands of tiny “craylings” (juvenile Marron) released into Harvey Dam, a popular recreational Marron fishing location, only one and half hours South of Perth.

FACT FILE:
• Number of recreational Marron licenses 2016 season was 11,366.
• Wellington Dam and Harvey Dam are the most popular fishing locations.
• The estimated 20,000 individual days of marroning in regional locations provide a significant economic boost to regional towns in the South-West.
• In 2015 fishers caught an estimated 70,000 Marron despite research showing more than 100,000 Marron could have been sustainably harvested during this period.
• Research and development is focussed on improving the resilience of the fishery whilst enhancing the experience of the States many marroners.

If you’re passionate about Marron, do yourself a favour and follow Marron Matters on Facebook.

Conservation Marron Stocking- Full Media Release

Picture: Marron eggs (left), once hatched they turn into ‘Craylings’ (middle & right)