Tag: rock lobster

Rock Lobster Science Predicts Great Fishing To Come

The 2015-16 western rock lobster season drew to a close at the end of June. Good news for crayfish lovers is we are less than three months from the opening of the 2016-17 season, starting October 15. General consensus among lobster fishers was that the past season was another extremely productive one, highlighting just how well this fishery is managed.

There were plenty of good crays caught, with an excellent early season run of whites. This white migration phase is typically from November to late January where large numbers of pale pink (whites) lobsters, recently moulted from their deep red colour, migrate from inshore reefs to deep water. During this migration, the lobster are highly exposed to fishing and large catches are taken by fishers. Adult and non-migrating lobsters are known as ‘reds’ and form the catch between February through to June. Then again once the season starts in October until when the “whites” start again in November.

Two changes to rules this season also proved popular with recreational fishers. The first was the removal of a maximum size limit for female lobster. The size limit requirement on female lobster was an old management tool before it was managed as a ‘quota managed fishery’ (management that sets out a defined number of lobsters that can be removed from the water each year by rec fishers). It’s also important to note, any female in breeding condition such as in setose, tar spot (see above) or carrying eggs must be promptly returned to the water. The other change, which proved to be very well accepted by recreational fishers, was the ability for two licenced fishers to share a pot. This change to the rules enabled more people than ever to enjoy the experience of catching a feed of our fantastic crayfish.

There will be plenty of recreational fishers counting the days to a great 2016/17 fishing season, as an above average juvenile count forecasts healthy stocks and a great fishing season for all.

Lobster Etiquette a Must

The annual recreational lobster season has started in fine style and Recfishwest wants to remind all recreational fishers to act responsibly when targeting these valuable crustaceans.
Last year, there were many reports of pots belonging to recreational fishers being illegally interfered with. These included witnesses seeing their pots pulled by other people, and of pots also being removed.

Some pot thieves are suspected of cutting off floats and replacing them with their own, while there were also suspicions of divers removing lobster from pots. There are significant fines for tampering with other people’s pots and recreational fishers are also reminded pots cannot be pulled before 4.30am.  Anyone diving for crays is also reminded to make sure they use a dive flag, to alert other marine users to their presence.

As with any type of fishing, safety is paramount for all involved.  Fishing rigs that become entangled with lobster pots have the potential to cause severe injury to anyone who subsequently pulls the pot.  If you lose a rig to a lobster pot rope, take steps to mark the rope to alert the owner of the pot to the danger. The best idea is to tie a tag of some kind to the rope or tie the floats together if the pot has more than one float.

Boating safety is also paramount when lobster fishing and in addition to having all the required safety equipment there are some simple steps to reduce the risk of rope entanglement. These steps include using non-buoyant upper line , coiling surplus line, using a highly visible float and not setting pots on the leads to anchorages. Boaties can also reduce the risk of becoming entangled by keeping a good look out, not traveling at night and passing on the leeward side of a float.

Check the weather conditions before launching and leave the pots for another day if the ocean is likely to be too rough to ensure safety.
Observing boat ramp etiquette is also important for lobster fishers – be mindful of your place in the queue when both launching and retrieving and always have your boat ready for launch before you back down the ramp.

Make sure you have a rope on the boat to tie it off to the jetty and try the motor before you put the boat in the water.  Once you start pulling the pots, remember to always clip the tails of any lobster you intend to keep within five minutes of catching them.  Always measure your lobsters before keeping them, with a legal minimum carapace length of 76mm for Western Rock Lobster.

Southern Rock Lobster – Legal Carapace size of 98.5mm. Western Rock Lobster’s are legal at 76mm
Undersized lobster, and lobsters in reproductive condition (berried, seatosed and tar spot), must be returned to the water . You need a current licence from Fisheries to fish for lobster and the daily bag limit is eight per licence holder for Western and Southern Rock Lobsters and 4 per day for Tropical and Ornate Lobsters.

As you would have heard, new lobster rules to benefit lobster fishers are now available on the Dept of Fisheries website.