Today marks the start of an exciting season ahead for West Coast Zone abalone fishers, with the first fishing hour between 7am to 8am this morning providing an opportunity for Perth fishers to catch a feed of this highly prized delicacy.
More than 18,000 fishers have taken out a recreational abalone fishing licence. A bag limit of 15 Roe’s abalone is in place to help keep this unique Western Australian fishery sustainable.
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) compliance officers will also be out in force at key fishing locations this morning to ensure fishers are sticking to the rules.
The West Coast Zone open season will start in December and fishing will be on Saturdays between 7am and 8am on:
- December 11, 2021;
- January 8, 2022;
- February 5, 2022; and
- February 19, 2022.
More details on the fishing rules and fishing dates are available in the Abalone recreational fishing guide 2021/22.
As stated by Fisheries Minister Don Punch:
“As always we are asking fishers to put their safety first this abalone season.
“Fishers should ensure their water skills, clothing and gear are appropriate for fishing safely – wear a wetsuit rather than clothing, wear gloves and reef shoes, use a mask and snorkel, carry a mesh bag for your catch and keep an eye on ocean swells and the waves that wash across the reef tops.
“The coming 2021-22 West Coast Zone season will be exciting and volunteers will be able to take part in the first ever stocking of juvenile abalone on the Perth coast over the coming year through a joint project between DPIRD and Recfishwest.
“Our West Coast Zone abalone season benefits a great deal from the hard work of volunteers, including the Surf Life Savers monitoring safety for each fishing hour and the research volunteers counting and weighing catches for the unique in-season catch monitoring of this fishery.”
