Catch! - Recreational fishing news from Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia
Issue No.42, January 2019

Online recreational fishing licences go DoTDirect

Apply for your fishing licence through DoTDirect

We’ve moved our online recreational fishing licence system to the Department of Transport’s DOTDirect website.

You can now purchase all your recreational fishing licences through the simple to use DoTDirect site.

If you’ve bought a recreational fishing licence through the new system and signed up for a DoTDirect account, you will be able to manage your car, boat and fishing licences in one spot.

However, it is important to note you will need to apply for a new licence the first time you use the DoTDirect website – and only licences with an expiry date after 13/1/2020 can be renewed or linked to your DoTDirect account through the DoTDirect site. More.

Stay safe on the reef abalone fishing

Fishing for abalone on a reef

With the next West Coast Zone abalone fishing period scheduled between 7am and 8am on February 2, all abalone recreational fishers are reminded to ensure safety is their number one priority when fishing for the popular shellfish.

This means ensuring your water skills, clothing and gear are suitable for abalone fishing and to follow advice from Recfishwest and Surf Life Saving WA.

While they do a tremendous job, the presence of SLSWA volunteers isn’t a guarantee of fisher safety and five people have drowned while abalone fishing in recent years – and no seafood delicacy, no matter how tasty, is worth risking your life for. More.

Marron responsibly

Marron on sand

If you plan to try your luck for marron before this year’s season ends at 12 noon, on 5 February, make sure you have bought a licence and are up to speed with the fishing rules.

The opportunity to catch marron in the wild is an experience unique to Western Australia and to keep it that way you must stick to bag and size limits and use only legal fishing gear.

A licence is required to fish for marron with more than ten thousand individual recreational marron fishing licences issued for this season – licences can be purchased online using the DoTDirect recreational fishing licensing system (see Licensing article above). More.

Additional BEN signs enhance beach safety

Beach Emergency Numbers (BEN) signs

More than 100 new Beach Emergency Numbers (BEN) signs are now in place, providing beachgoers with additional safety at peak time on WA’s beaches.

At least 250 more signs, an important part of the State Government’s shark mitigation strategy, will follow soon and help to improve response times for a range of potentially serious incidents by helping emergency services pinpoint exact beach locations.

The goal is to have more than 1,100 signs in place from Geraldton to Esperance, and we have been working closely with eligible local governments and stakeholders to roll out the program. More.