Crab fishing crooks raise concerns for Fisheries Officers

by WA Department of Fisheries on 30 Jan 2009 Crab fishing prosecutions have more than doubled in Mandurah (Western Australia) and Fisheries and Marine Officers are concerned about a large number of offenders being caught with undersize crabs.

South Metropolitan Region Compliance Manager John Breeden said crabbing rules were in place in the Peel Harvey’s iconic fishery to help keep it sustainable and people who breached the fishing laws were spoiling it for the majority of fishers who did the right thing.

'There can be many undersize crabs in the estuary at this time of year and those fishers that take undersize crabs, or those who take more crabs than the limits allow, are ignoring the important social value of the fishery,' Mr Breeden said.

'Many local residents are also concerned and they have been phoning the Department of Fisheries FISHWATCH line 1800 815 507 to report illegal crab fishing activity.

'Since 15 December 2008 we have begun 42 prosecutions for serious offences (up from 15 for the same period in 2007/08) and also issued 108 infringements (up from 50 this time last year).

'In one prosecution we have this year, four fishers were apprehended with as many as 255 undersize crabs in the boot of their vehicle.'

Mr Breeden said fishers not only needed to be aware of the size limits for crab fishing in the West Coast Bioregion, but also the bag and boat limits as well as other rules and closed areas or seasonal restrictions that applied.

The minimum legal size limit for blue swimmer crabs is 127mm across the widest part of the shell. There is a bag limit of 10 blue swimmer crabs per fisher per day and a daily boat limit of 20 per boat when two or more people are on the vessel.

'Fishers also need to be aware that at present Cockburn Sound is a closed area for crab fishing so depleted blue swimmer stocks can continue to rebuild,' Mr Breeden said.

'Rockingham-based Fisheries and Marine Officers have made a number of recent apprehensions for crab fishing in Cockburn Sound, issuing 15 infringements - including one on Wednesday night this week where the offenders hid their catch and tried to return later to collect it.

A news booklet - Recreational Fishing Guide for Crustaceans and Shellfish – that includes details on Western Australian crab fishing can be downloaded from the website at www.fish.wa.gov.au. It not only shows the rules that apply in various locations, the guide also shows you how to measure crabs and other fish as well as explaining why the rules are important for sustainability. A crab fishing rules flyer is available from WA Fisheries offices.

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au