Tag: pots

Another great season expected for the upcoming crayfish craze!

Just like the final season of Game of Thrones, the march of the ‘whites’ is approaching.  

Unlike the final season of the universally acclaimed show though, we know this upcoming season of the crays run will have a greater reception!  

The march of Western rock lobster — more commonly referred to as ‘crays’ — is set to get underway slightly earlier than last year in early to mid-November, according to one of WA’s leading cray experts, DPIRD Principal Research Scientist Dr Simon de Lestang.  

It is welcome news for a growing number of more than 56,000 licensed cray fishers, who target this unique West Aussie species that are distributed from around Augusta up to Onslow and feature most prominently between Perth and Geraldton.  

Dr de Lestang said the sustained abundance of crayfish and slightly warmer waters than last year is set to fire up the nearshore fishing activity, as the crays begin their annual migration to deeper waters. 

“The water temperatures in August and September impact the moulting and start of the whites migration each year. In 2022, the average water temperature during these months was 17.6oC, which was warmer than 2021 when it was 17.1oC, so we can expect the whites to start a bit earlier than last year,” said Dr de Lestang.  

The inshore reefs in the Perth metro area will soon house plenty of crays, providing great opportunities for potters and divers. Image: Matt Barnes.

The crayfish crystal ball

Ever wondered how the experts predict the upcoming crayfish run?  

DPIRD collect the puerulus — a juvenile stage of a cray — with specialised buoys mimicking natural algae habitat where juvenile crayfish prefer to settle to forecast crayfish abundance each season. 

This method allows DPIRD researchers to determine the number of puerulus that have concentrated on these buoys for each new moon period. From these numbers, they can then forecast upcoming recruitment trends and patterns. 

The settlement information has a strong correlation with crayfish catches in about four years once the crays have matured to a legal size, so the puerulus numbers from 2018-19 are analysed to allow DPIRD to make an accurate seasonal forecast for 2022-23. 

“Based on the puerulus numbers in 2018/2019 we are expecting a similar year to last, so still good solid numbers. A lot of the catches, especially the whites, will be a bit larger than last year as they will not be dominated by a large recruitment,” said Dr de Lestang.  

The difference between the pre-moulted crays with a harder, dark red shell (pictured centre) and the freshly moulted ‘whites’ (pictured left and right).

The flight of the whites

The start of the whites run varies each year, although based on previous recordings, the whites usually begin their quest heading in a north-westerly direction around late November and early December. 

The reason it is dubbed the ‘whites run’ comes from the colloquial description of crayfish which have freshly moulted with their new soft, pale-coloured shell. Pre-moulted crays are easy to identify as they have a harder, dark red shell. 

Juvenile crays settle along inshore rocky habitats and seagrass beds. Once they reach sexual maturity — at about three to four years — they start their migration heading offshore. 

During the migration, crays set off towards deeper reef platforms in a north-westerly direction. This annual phenomenon is what has been dubbed by crayfish enthusiasts as the ‘whites run.’  

WA crayfishers choose to either drop pots filled with baits close to reef structures or prefer to jump in the drink and dive for them by looking under ledges. (Image right: Matt Barnes).

Get your cray pots and loops ready!

Once the crays are anticipated to start their march in around two weeks, potters and divers will venture to the ocean on the surface and below it with a buzz of excitement, hoping to catch a feed of these tasty critters. 

One of the benefits to the whites run is this red-hot action takes place relatively close to shore, with shallow reef ledges visible from our beautiful beaches frequently abundant with crays.  

“The whites run is an integral and much-loved part of WA’s fishing calendar. Once the word is out that they are being caught nearshore, a lot of keen crayfishers will queue up before sunrise at boat ramps or throw on the wetty and dive the reefs,” said Recfishwest Operations Lead Matt Gillett.  

“The nearshore crayfish abundance during the whites run is what underpins this awesome West Aussie fishing experience, it’s entirely unique and special to WA to pull in a pot full of crays or to dive under a rock ledge off our coastline and see dozens of antennules poking out.” 

Crays will usually seek shelter under reef ledges during the day and are mostly active at night when they come out into the open and feed on bottom-dwelling invertebrates.

Tips for finding crays for days

For Perth-based fishers who are going for crays this summer, Dr de Lestang suggested good places to start targeting the shallow reef systems off our coastline are areas such as Two Rocks, Mindarie, Rockingham, Garden Island, Rottnest and Mandurah.  

The nearshore activity during the annual whites run over summer is why more than half of WA’s recreational cray catch takes place between December and February, which is a testament to great fisheries management helping maintain their sustainability and abundance.    

If potting, use a mixture of bait. Soft and oily bait will get the lobster into the pot, while longer lasting tougher bait will keep them there. Ensuring the pot is heavy also improves your odds as crays will be reluctant to get inside if it moves. Wood pots will start to fish better once they have been able to ‘soak’ for a day or two.   

If diving, the start of the whites run can be the most effective time to duck beneath the surface and use quick hands or cray loops for specimens that are holed up in shallow reefs closer to shore or around islands such as Rottnest, Garden and Carnac.  

Areas both north and south of Perth have already seen solid numbers of crays being caught over the past fortnight, with boats launching off Mandurah in particular coming home with brimming pots.  

Big thanks to Dr Simon de Lestang and DPIRD for their crayfishing tips! 

Good luck to all crayfishers this season and make sure you follow the Western rock lobster rules and guidelines.

Banner Image (left): Fishin Wishin Life 

Feature Image: Matt Barnes

2017 Cray Crystal Ball

Imagine a world in which you could predict the future. You might place a bet on the winner of a future AFL premiership, or know exactly which day to go fishing next month. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Image: Puerulus Collector Credit: Matt Watson, Image source: scoopdigital.com.au

Unfortunately, we can’t predict AFL premiers using any science, but for one of WA’s most loved fishing targets, the Western Rock Lobster (or ‘crays’), decades of data has shown that science can predict abundances of crays up to four years in advance! And if that’s not exciting enough, the 2017/18 is predicted to be one of the best years in over a decade!

During Spring and Summer, each year cray larvae known as ‘puerulus’ are pushed inshore by wind and currents where they settle on nearshore reefs.

Research shows that these crays take four years to reach the legal length of 76mm. Fisheries researchers assess the abundance of puerulus across the new moon period each month by monitoring purpose built puerulus collectors at four locations along the West Coast and Abrolhos Islands.

A cray puerulus collector (pictured right), what looks like bottlebrushes or a mop is actually artificial seagrass. Late larval phase crays use the collectors for habitat and provide long-term population/breeding stock information for fishers and fisheries managers.

High settlement has always shown a strong correlation with catches of crays three and four years later and the 2013 settlement numbers (Figure 1 below) were some of the highest in recent times; in fact the highest since the early 2000’s.

 

Figure 1 Western Rock Lobster Puerulus Settlement (Juvenile Lobster Count) – Showing the 2017/18 season should be cracker due to a high Juvenile Count back in 2013 Source: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

What Does This All Mean for My Fishing?

Added to this excellent rate of juvenile settlement, is the fact that numbers of adult crays are also at an extremely high level, due mainly to neither the commercial or recreational fishing sectors catching their annual allocation in recent times – meaning more crays are being left in the water each year!

Reports from divers indicate that crays are already stacked up in fantastic numbers in nearshore reef platforms along the coast. These high abundances will make for excellent fishing experiences over this Summer.

If you are thinking of trying for crays for the first time, there has never been a better opportunity. There’s plenty of information available on our other website www.ilovefishing.com.au 

Image source: Bluewater Freedivers of WA

Divers should do well as soon as the season opens, but the potters will have to be patient as the traditional ‘whites’ run won’t kick off until late November. Once it cranks up though, the fishing will be superb, with many boats traditionally reporting catching their boat limit most days during this migration period.

Recent clarification of diving rules will make for a much more enjoyable fishing experience.  To see what’s changed, click here.

Good luck chasing crays this season, we would love to hear how you go and see a few pics and videos, so feel free to email us on recfish@recfishwest.org.au or jump on our Facebook page and join the discussion.

Stay tuned for our November Broad Cast edition where we’ll take a closer look at the ‘Whites Run’ plus give you some handy tips and tricks on the best way to cook your crays plus much more!

New Lobster Rule Changes

With new changes coming into effect when the season opens on October 15, two people can now share a lobster pot.  This will mean fishers can share the costs of lobster gear and that pots can be pulled by either licensed fisher on any given day. In turn, this will lead to a reduction of pots in the water, which will lower the risk of whale and boat entanglements.  Previously, if the one licence holder couldn’t fish on a particular day the pot would remain unattended, under the new rules, the pot can still be tended to by the other licence holder. This should reduce the rate of pot theft and interference, given that pots can be pulled by either licenced fisher.
In more good news, lobster fishers now have the option of removing lobster tails after they get their catch home. Previously, the law required lobsters to be kept and stored whole (with head and tail) unless they were being prepared for immediate consumption.

Frequently Asked Questions:
Does this affect the amount of pots I can use?
A: No, each fisher can still only fish a maximum of two pots.

Does this affect how many crays I can take?
A: No, the same bag, boat and minimum size limit applies.

Do I now have to have two floats on my pot?
A: No, you can continue to fish with a single float if you wish.

If I share a pot with a friend and he is not on the boat, can I still pull the pot?
A: Yes, the pot can be pulled as long as one of the licence holders is on board whose gear ID is attached to that pot.

Does the personsharing my pot need to hold a rock lobster licence?
A: Yes, anyone actively fishing for rock lobster must hold a valid licence.
This rule will benefit fishers who cannot make it out to pull their pots all the time as well as those fishers who want to share costs with another fisher.

Here are some scenarios where fishers may benefit:
“Neither my mate nor I can go out each day, so being able to share a couple of pots means that even if one of us isn’t available, the other can still go and pull our pots that day.”

“My mate works FIFO, so he will pull our pots when he’s home, and I’ll pull them when he’s away. We can go halves in the gear, and hopefully still have plenty of crays for Christmas!”
“I can really only get out to pull cray pots on weekends, so I’ve never really bothered, but this new rule will mean I can share my friends pots. He will tend to them during the week and I’ll tend to them on the weekends. This will give me an opportunity to give it a go without having to fork out lots on money on my own gear.”

“My mate and I have never fished for crays before, but now that we can share gear, we’re going to give it a go. If I can’t get out to the pots every day, it won’t matter, because my mate likely will. Ive heard reports of people having gear stolen, so I feel better about our gear being attended to every day.”

“I’m the only one of my friends with a boat, and every season I’ve had to make sure that the licence holders who’s ID was on the pots came out every time. If they weren’t available, then we didn’t pull their pots. With this new pot sharing rule, it effectively doubles the chances that one of the licence holders will be available to come out.”

“My kids love coming out on the boat and pulling our craypots, however due to school commitments during the week it is unfeasible for them to come out on weekdays, being able to share the pots with other family and friends during the week the kids can come out on the weekend help to pull the pots before we head off for our family fishing day.”

“My fishing partner works FIFO and another mate works the opposite swing, now with pot sharing we do not have to be on the boat at the same time to do float / rego swaps before one or the other flies out, if there is bad weather on the day of float swap over we could not pull the pots for the time he was at work.”
“I do not have a lot of money but get the opportunity when the budget allows to go out fishing with a mate on a semi-regular basis, being able to go part share on a craypot with another one of his mates means I will be able to do some crayfishing next year.”

Other Rules:
– The maximum size limit on female rock lobster has been removed, provided they are not in spawning condition
– Tropical Rock Lobster bag limits have halved to 4 per person per day