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The Department of Fisheries today raised concerns over the robustness of pink snapper stocks along the west coast.
On the back of an announcement around the annual closure for pink snapper fishing in Cockburn and Warnbro Sounds, DPIRD Fisheries Management Officer Shane Walters had the following message for fishers.
“It’s important fishers understand pink snapper have variable recruitment with only one to two strong years each decade and the majority of the current West Coast pink snapper catch is attributed to a good recruitment year in 2005”
Mr Walters said recent research into pink snapper spawning activity in the Sounds and recreational fishing activity targeting pink snapper aggregations, prior to the spawning closure, may require a review of the closure to ensure the species nursery is adequately protected.
Recreational fishers have a long history of protecting pink snapper stocks on the west coast, with the implementation of the Cockburn and Warnbro Sound spawning closures being driven by recreational fishers after witnessing large catches of spawning fish during spring.
Recfishwest will continue to work with Fisheries to ensure that snapper stocks are managed appropriately to ensure the current level of high quality fishing remains.
A stock assessment for all west coast demersal scalefish, including pink snapper is due shortly.
Read the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Fisheries Division) media statement here.
Over the years there have been a number of proposals for a new harbour in Cockburn Sound. There is currently a taskforce (Westport) who aim to tell the government what the future transport needs of Western Australia will be and how to best achieve them.
The Westport taskforce will be holding three community information sessions across July and August in Fremantle, Kwinana and Bunbury and keen and interested fishers are encouraged to head down to let this taskforce know what you think. Due to venue limits, RSVP’s are essential.
Details of the upcoming information sessions can be found below:
Session details
Westport invite you to drop-in at any time during the two-hour sessions to speak with members of the Westport team.
Fremantle
Date and time: Wednesday 11 July 2018 – 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Venue: Stackwood – 10 Stack Street, Fremantle 6160
Kwinana
Date and time: Wednesday 18 July 2018 – 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Venue: Darius Wells Centre, Ken Jackman Room – Cnr Chisham Avenue and Robbos Place, Kwinana 6167
Bunbury
Date and time: Wednesday 1 August 2018 – 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Venue: Maker + Co – 75B Victoria Street, Bunbury 6230
Due to venue limits, RSVPs are essential. Please email or call 6551 6479 to register and indicate which session you wish to attend.
For more information visit the Department of Transport website here: https://www.transport.wa.gov.au/…/westport-port-and-environ…
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Recfishwest have secured a position on the environmental work group for the Westport taskforce so you can be sure this task force is well aware of the importance of snapper breeding grounds, seagrass nursery meadows, iconic wrecks and a number of other factors that make Cockburn Sound so important for fishing. Recfishwest has already provided a submission on the preparation of the Westport Strategy and we will provide submissions at every stage of the process until the final report is released towards the end of 2019.
Now is the time to provide input and ensure decision makers have the best available information with which to make the best possible decision. Should bad decisions be made because no one has given the taskforce the right information in the first place then we will only have ourselves to blame.
While we do not know what the final recommendation of the Westport taskforce will be, Recfishwest will continue to fight to protect the fishing experiences provided by Cockburn Sound just as we have been doing for decades.
A few people have asked where Recfishwest stand on an Outer Harbor.
To read Recfishwest’s position on the Outer Harbour issue see below:
Recfishwest welcomes today’s announcement from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) who are currently seeking comments on a proposal to introduce a spawning closure for pinkies in an area around the northern end of Bernier Island, offshore from Carnarvon.
A pink Snapper spawning aggregation in Cockburn Sound during their spawning closure.
The proposed closure addresses concerns over the sustainability of the oceanic pink snapper in the Gascoyne region and the fishing community are now strongly urged to have their say!
Pink snapper are the lifeblood of recreational fishing in the Gascoyne. These highly prized fish provide fantastic opportunity for both local and visiting fishers to tussle with a hard fighting, yet accessible sportfish that is also rated highly on the plate.
A recent stock assessment completed by DPIRD indicating a risk to snapper sustainability has been met with concern by both Recfishwest and the Carnarvon fishing community.
Recfishwest believes it is important to protect this Pink Snapper breeding stock. We are pleased to see this proposal does not impact on fishing for other species, such as coral trout and red emperor.
Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland has indicated that closures to protect spawning pink snapper have worked well in both Cockburn Sound and the inner gulfs of Shark Bay and has commended the local Carnarvon community for their input on this issue so far.
“We’ve never understood why spawning closures haven’t been implemented for the Carnarvon fishery when they have been so effective in Cockburn Sound and Shark Bay for decades,” he said.
“The current proposal takes on board feedback provided by community members through a working group process and it’s now time for the broader community to have their say.
“The people of Carnarvon love fishing and genuinely care about healthy fisheries. Local fishers have shown an overwhelming willingness to be part of the solution for recovering the pink snapper fishery.
“Recfishwest will continue to work to ensure the government clearly understand the views of locals and visitors who enjoy fishing in the Gascoyne.”
Hundreds of families turned out to release thousands of juvenile Pink Snapper on the 10th of February at Snapper Guardians 2018. The perfect weather conditions allowed kids and parents to get right in the water and watch their fish swim off into the wild.
So far over 100,000 Pink Snapper have been grown out and released through the Snapper Guardians program.
This program is continuing to build community stewardship for one of WA’s iconic species.
Cockburn Sound’s Pink Snapper stocks are one of the most important fisheries in WA as these waters are home to the largest spawning aggregations of snapper on the West Coast.
“Fishing for Pink Snapper off the Perth coast is continually improving and there’s no reason why this fishery couldn’t be the best Pink Snapper fishery in Australia.” Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland.
Photo courtesy of Julie Van Oosten Photography.
Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly was once again on the beach seeing first-hand how important this event is to the community, especially the children, many of whom got the chance to release their very first fish providing a positive experience that will stay with them for a lifetime.
Minster Kelly with Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland releasing some juvenile Pink Snapper.
“It was fantastic to join the hundreds of mums, dads, kids and avid fishers down at the beach for such a fun and important recreational fishing initiative.
Recreational fishing is an important part of WA’s way of life and an important economic driver. Which is why the McGowan Government supports recreational fishing projects through the Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund.
Each and every licence holder contributes to this fund with 25 percent of recreational licence fees placed into this fund.
I congratulate Recfishwest and Fisheries staff at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development for their hard work on this project.”
Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland expressed what his team are working so hard to protect.
“As your peak body organisation representing you, it’s our role to stand up and protect important waterways around WA such as Cockburn Sound’s Pink Snapper spawning grounds.” Dr Rowland said.
Photo courtesy of Julie Van Oosten Photography.
“We know there’s been a long running history of competing uses in the sound and getting the balance right will always be a challenge. Programs like Snapper Guardians play an important role in highlighting the importance of Cockburn Sound to our sector.”
“The team at Recfishwest would like to thank the hundreds of families that came down and did their bit for Pink Snapper in Cockburn Sound. We’re always thrilled to see the community rolling up their sleeves and making a difference!”
Photo courtesy of Julie Van Oosten Photography.
Snapper Guardians 2018 was made possible through funding from the State Government and the ongoing support of the WA community.
Images of thousands of pink snapper forming incredible spiraling vortexes on the surface have recently gone viral!
These vortexes are huge spawning schools of snapper and are something that, up until the last few years, Australian fishers have rarely seen before and there is a very good reason why we are only just rediscovering this natural phenomenon!
Many species of fish return to the same location every year to spawn.
Image: This diagram shows what is happening inside the snapper vortex.
For pink snapper, there are a few particularly special locations that we rely on every year to ensure the future of the wild stock for this species. Cockburn and Warnbro sounds are the largest and most important spawning grounds for pink snapper in the entire West Coast Bioregion.
The late 1990s saw West Australian snapper fishers become increasingly concerned with the targeting of spawning fish in Cockburn Sound. Snapper come into the sound in great numbers through winter to begin their annual spawning activities in spring. This provided fishers with an easy opportunity to target these fish in a relatively calm, accessible location right on the doorstep of the metropolitan area.
As stewards of the marine environment, fishers of the day were uncomfortable with the amount of snapper being caught during the spring spawning period and approached Recfishwest to advocate for a spawning closure to protect these important breeding fish. It was the first closure driven by recreational fishers to ensure long-term protection for a species which they held so highly.
In 2000, the then-Fisheries Minister Monty House supported the recreational fishing sectors call for the protection of the spawning snapper and implemented a fishing closure in Cockburn Sound from September 15 to October 30. This decision was the catalyst for what is now one of the most highly regarded fisheries management arrangements in WA.
After 17 years and a few changes to the spawning closure, including the extension of the closure into January as well as the inclusion of Warnbro Sound, pink snapper are now amassing in numbers never seen by many local fishers. This has led to many fishers witnessing the spectacle that is spawning snapper for the first time in their lives.
As the snapper come together to spawn they begin to circle in the same direction close to the surface until they form a dense spiral of fish. The power of these fish is such that it creates a vortex in the centre of this aggregation. For many species of surface spawning fish, it is thought that this vortex assists the eggs in rising towards the surface more quickly than they would without the help of the vortex (Heyman et al. 2005). While these snapper vortexes are a natural phenomenon, they are something that most fishers across Australia have never seen in their lives.
While pink snapper have always spawned in Cockburn and Warnbro sounds, it has only been the last couple of years that this phenomenon has begun to be seen again and it is largely thanks to local fishers that we can witness this again.
Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland remembers the day this snapper closure first came into play and commended the fishing community for driving the important decision.
“If it wasn’t for the foresight of a proactive fishing community 17 years ago, the story may be a little different, it’s something we all should be proud of,” Dr Rowland said.
The spiralling vortexes of snapper and great snapper fishing outside of seasonal closures suggest the stock is continuing on its road to recovery. As populations slowly return to a healthy level, who knows what we will discover next about this important and fascinating species.
Check it out for yourself, this footage was taken during this year’s spawning season by the team at www.ilovefishing.com.au
Read our world first project supporting Pink Snapper recovery:
Check out the latest Pink Snapper egg collection video from October 2017, where fertilised eggs are collected to contribute to our Snapper Guardians Program.
References:
Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations: Biology, Research and Management. 2012. Sadovy de Mitcheson. Y., Colin. P., Fish and Fisheries Series 35.
Spawning aggregations of Lutjanus cyanopterus (Cuvier) on the Belize Barrier Reef over a 6 year period. 2005. Heyman, W., Kjerfve. B., Graham. R., Rhodes. K., Garbutt. L. Journal of Fish Biology (2005) 67, 83—101
Recfishwest recently joined the team from the Australian Centre for Applied Aquaculture and Research (ACAAR) on their mission to collect fertilised snapper eggs for this summer’s Snapper Guardian’s project.
Recfishwest habitat officer Michael Tropiano joined ACAAR where they successfully collected enough fertilised eggs to once again stock Cockburn Sound with one of WA’s most important recreational fishing species.
WATCH: Check out the video below to see some of the action as it happened:
Pink snapper are found throughout the world, however, in the West Coast Bioregion of Western Australia, there are a few particularly special locations that we rely on every year to ensure the future of the wild stock for this species.
A spawning school of pinkies in the Sound!
Cockburn and Warnbro sounds are the largest and most important spawning grounds for pink snapper in the entire West Coast Bioregion and the health of these systems has a close linkage to the ongoing health of the wild stock of this species.
While all spawning in the same location makes for simple protection of spawning snapper (the closure in the sounds protects spawning snapper from 1 October – 31 January), for these fish, releasing all their eggs in one location does have the potential to be a risky strategy.
For any fish egg to hatch, and survive all the way to adulthood is a struggle against the forces of nature. For pink snapper, in particular, it’s the first few months when the eggs are most vulnerable.
Whether a snapper egg hatches and survives these first few perilous months is almost completely dependent upon the environmental conditions. Most years, unfortunately, the environmental conditions aren’t quite right and only a small number of snapper actually hatch and survive. Luckily there are a few times every decade when the perfect conditions line up with spawning time and there is a boom year with a huge number of snapper hatching and surviving.
Image: Bongo nets skimming the surface collecting snapper eggs.
The strategy to spawn all in the one location and the huge natural variations in their spawning success, coupled with the fact that the pink snapper stock is still in a recovery phase, means these snapper are literally putting all their eggs in the one basket…
Given the importance of pink snapper to Western Australian fishers and knowing the risks associated with their spawning strategy, there was an investment in 2015 into a trial project to see if it was possible to create a pink snapper insurance policy.
The idea behind the trial was to test if it was possible to collect a very small number of eggs from the wild (the amount spawned by only two or three snapper) and grow them large enough to potentially release, plus test the genetics to ensure they would reflect that of the natural population.
If this trial was successful (as it was), then it would provide an insurance policy in case something happened or the conditions turned out to be unfavourable for their survival in the sound year after year. The idea was that once these insurance snapper were to reach a size where they were no longer dependent on favourable environmental conditions to survive, they could then be released back into the wild to support the natural recovery of this species. As with all insurance policies, you hope you never have to use them, however in 2015 there was a large fish kill in Cockburn Sound and the insurance policy was called upon in its first year.
Image: School of spawning Pink Snapper spotted on the sounder.
The trial project proved to be a success and is now known as Snapper Guardians and has been running for three years. Over the last few weeks, the staff from ACAAR have been out working into the late hours of the night to try and to collect just enough eggs to create this year’s supply of insurance snapper. The good news is, it looks like they have been able to collect enough eggs to again begin running Snapper Guardians. The latest news is that snapper eggs have just hatched and are being carefully reared at their hatchery in Fremantle.
The plan this year is to again release the snapper back into the wild once they are big enough to survive on their own. Stay tuned for more details on how you can lend a hand in the community release day early next year.
Fact file:
• The Snapper Guardians program has already released 100,000 baby pink snapper back into the wild.
• The original trial project was funded through the Recreational Fishing Initiatives fund and was run by ACAAR with support from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and Recfishwest.
• In 2016 the WA State Government committed funds to continue the program running for two years.
Following the success of last year’s Snapper Guardians program, Recfishwest and the Australian Centre for Applied Aquaculture Research (ACAAR) team are at it again having just collected a new batch of Pink Snapper eggs from spawning aggregations in Cockburn Sound. This year’s program looks to raise and release 100, 000 juvenile snapper by the end of summer. After monitoring the snapper over the past few weeks, the moon phase, weather and spawning aggregations were ideal for attempting an egg collection. With astounding success, the eggs were collected in one night, achieving the desired amount for the project in one attempt. Not only is this great news that the program can be underway early, but also a good suggestion that large numbers of healthy breeding Pink Snapper are abundant.
In the wild, the number of snapper eggs that reach maturity is very low, especially during early egg, larval and juvenile stages when they are particularly vulnerable to predators. By collecting wild eggs and assisting them through these early life stages, the Snapper Guardians program greatly increases the likelihood of these eggs surviving to adulthood. This means more Pink Snapper in our waters and better fishing experiences for Western Australians.
The next stage in the project is growing out the juvenile fish. ACAAR staff will then mark the juvenile snappers’ otoliths (fish ear bones) with a dye so that the stocked fish will be identifiable when caught in the wild. Once the fish have been marked and grown out to a certain size they will be released early next year.
Earlier this year 50,000 juvenile Pink Snapper were released into Cockburn Sound and Warnbro Sound after being nurtured through their most vulnerable larvae and early juvenile stages. ACAAR were responsible for conducting the egg collections and guiding them through their growth stages with their world class aquaculture facilities.
The project is funded by the West Australian Government, who recently committed $300, 000 to fund Snapper Guardians over the next two years.
These are exciting times for West Australian fishers and Recfishwest with ACAAR, is proud to lead this world first program. Snapper Guardians proves that investing in effective fisheries science can have an astounding effect on improving the quality of sustainable fishing for all in the community.
Recreational fishers have a long history of protecting pink snapper stocks on the west coast, with the implementation of the Cockburn and Warnbro Sound spawning closures being driven by recreational fishers after witnessing large catches of spawning fish during spring.
After monitoring the snapper over the past few weeks, the moon phase, weather and spawning aggregations were ideal for attempting an egg collection. With astounding success, the eggs were collected in one night, achieving the desired amount for the project in one attempt. Not only is this great news that the program can be underway early, but also a good suggestion that large numbers of healthy breeding Pink Snapper are abundant.
