Catch!

Recreational fishing news

Submit your FADs photos to win!

Recreational fishers can send in a photo of their catch off a FAD to enter the competition.

If you’re out fishing the FADs, now’s your time to brag! Take a photo of your catch with the FAD in the background, and send it through with some basic details about fishing method, FAD number, date and your contact info. Please remember good catch care handling in your photos, and if you can take a photo next to a ruler, even better!

There are over $9,000 worth of prizes on offer donated by Aussie Reels, Richter Lures and Madfish including wetsuits, spearfishing reels, stickbait and trolling lures and cooler bags. Prizes will be awarded periodically over the next twelve months, and we’re not just looking for your biggest fish, instead all submissions that meet the criteria will be in the running to win a goodybag of prizes.

We’ve started packing away our southern FADs for winter, with the Albany, Metro, Jurien and Lancelin FADs already pulled. They will be back in the water for summer. Up north, we’ve deployed upgraded FADs off Broome and Dampier. They’re designed to stay in the ocean longer and withstand cyclone conditions thanks to their more robust chain rigging.

Marine heatwave: Spotlight on Spanish mackerel  

These maps show the current marine heatwave conditions off the coast of Western Australia.

WA’s marine heatwave is persisting with Gascoyne, West and the South Coast remaining in Category 1 (moderate) conditions, and while it has eased in other regions, water temperatures remain elevated.

For Spanish mackerel, we have seen a range of impacts. More mackerel have been available to commercial and recreational fishers in the southern area of their range, on the West Coast and Perth metro area, as warmer water temperatures have led to an earlier and longer season.

However, the warmer temps in October last year triggered spawning a month earlier than normal in the Pilbara. Spawning success in the months following is unknown due to shelf wide heatwave conditions of 32^oC and areas of up to 35^oC.

Unfortunately, we could see similar declines in Spanish mackerel catch and catch rate that occurred 2 years after the 2015/16 northern marine heatwave - this is likely to be a result of reduced recruitment in the north due to the current extended 2024/25 heatwave.

DPIRD researchers are working hard to study the impacts of the marine heatwave on key WA species statewide, so we can prepare for any potential commercial and recreational fishing impacts. This includes reviewing the results of our recent surveys on Roe’s abalone in the Perth Metropolitan Fishery and undertaking fishery dependent settlement surveys of Pearl Oyster.

Guiding herring management in WA

Australian herring are a hit with recreational and commercial fishers alike.

Our latest interim ‘check-in’ of herring stocks showed they’re looking healthy and sustainable! This is more good news after the 2021 stock assessment showed stocks had recovered following a period of decline and rebuilding between 2013 and 2021.

To support the ongoing sustainability of herring stocks and deliver benefits to the WA community, we’ve worked with Recfishwest and the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC), to develop a set of guiding principles to support the ongoing management of Australian herring in WA.

You can contribute to herring science by donating just the heads from Australian herring (and frames of southern garfish and King George whiting) after you’ve fished for a feed. Visit one of our drop-off locations, or feel free to give your donation straight to our research staff if you see them out and about interviewing fishers for our Metro Monitoring Program. Fish frames and heads allow scientists to assess the age and growth patterns which contribute to sustainable management of these species.

‘Taking a bite’ out of shark depredation

Shark depredation is a big issue for fishers across Australia.

That sinking feeling of having a hooked fish taken by a shark, is one that unfortunately many rec fishers around northern Australia know all too well. That’s why our scientists are taking a collaborative approach to the shark depredation issue which involves working with local fishers, Recfishwest, WAFIC and the other states.

Our team recently participated in workshops in Broome, Exmouth, Karratha, Port Hedland, Geraldton and Perth where fishers provided feedback on their experiences with shark depredation and the effectiveness of their mitigation methods they are using.

The workshops were part of a national Fisheries Research and Development Corporation funded project led by the QLD Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in collaboration with DPIRD and other researchers in the NT, QLD and NSW.

The workshop outcomes will be collated to identify the most promising mitigation methods and design a program for more device testing involving commercial and recreational fishers in the future.

Research highlight - metro monitoring

The Metropolitan Monitoring Program’s annual shore-based survey is currently underway. It’s a 7-month roving creel survey that commenced in December and will continue through to the end of June 2025.

Our team conducts face-to-face interviews with recreational fishers actively fishing from beaches, groynes, and reef platforms between Ocean Reef and Point Peron. The most common species kept have been Australian herring and southern school whiting.

This survey has run annually since 2014 and provides estimates of shore-based recreational fishing effort, catch, average weight and catch rate for key species in the Perth metropolitan area. We’d like to thank the 5,000 shore-based fishers who have taken the time to participate in our survey so far this year!

Snippets

• Bird and wildlife entanglements can be a sad and frustrating end to a day of fishing. It’s your responsibility to be a good steward, know how to fish in a way that minimises the chance of losing your fishing rig or entangling wildlife, and what to do if you find an animal entangled. Download our catch care guide to read our tips.
• As we move into the winter months, the change of season brings exciting fishing opportunities in the west coast to mix up your fishing for species such as squid, herring, skippy, tailor, King George whiting and southern bluefin tuna. Be careful of ocean conditions as no fish is worth risking your life.
• Recreational fishers can help contribute to important science and the sustainable management of our fisheries, by donating their fish frames of key species to the Send us Your Skeletons program, and recording their West Coast demersal catches with the FishCatchWA™ tool.
• We have just launched our new DPIRD website, www.dpird.wa.gov.au, which streamlines our previous sites into a single unified and modern presence. Popular pages will be redirected to the equivalent content on the new site, ensuring you can find information quickly and easily. If you have any feedback on the new website, please fill in the pop-up form which appears when you visit the site.

Seasonal notes

• The abalone Southern Zone, which runs from Busselton Jetty to the South Australian border, is now closed to recreational abalone fishing for greenlip, brownlip and Roe’s abalone until Wednesday 1 October. Recreational fishing for greenlip abalone remains closed in the area from Busselton Jetty to Shoal Cape.
• Shark Bay’s Eastern Gulf is closed for pink snapper from 1 May to 31 July, inclusive.
• Fishing in the Abrolhos? Make sure you know the rules. Download our Abrolhos Islands FAQ document and take it with you on your trip.
• Print or grab a copy of our 2025 recreational fishing season calendar so you're always up-to-date on the rules. 

Caught out!

Big fines have been handed to 2 offenders caught fishing for marron out of season in Harris Dam in the Collie River Valley, which is also a public drinking water source off-limits to fishing. Fisheries Officers located 110 live marron in the vehicle, all of which were returned to the dam alive, and they were ordered to forfeit 3 illegal landing nets. The pair were ordered to pay more than $13,000 total in a Collie Court earlier this May. Do the right thing and make sure you follow the rules to keep our fish stocks sustainable and prevent a hefty fine. Marron rules are available on our website or in the marron guide.

Be SharkSmart

Are you heading north for a fishing trip over winter? The SharkSmart WA app provides near real-time information on shark activity all around WA, assisting people to make an informed decision about their water use.  Boaties can play a valuable role providing on-water surveillance by reporting shark sightings to Water Police on 9442 8600. Don’t just tell your mates – report it!

FishWatch - 24 hour reporting 

If you see something that looks a bit fishy, please report it so we can investigate.

The 1800 815 507 FishWatch phone line provides the quickest and most efficient way to report sightings or evidence of:

• illegal fishing
• aquatic pests and diseases
• fish kills.

You can also submit illegal fish reports on the Crime Stoppers website. Please note that reports to Crime Stoppers are not monitored outside normal working hours or at weekends.

You can also report ornamental or pest species to Aquatic.Biosecurity@dpird.wa.gov.au. Please do not release any ornamental or pest species into the water. 

Contact us

This inbox is not monitored. If you have a query, please get in touch with us by emailing enquiries@dpird.wa.gov.au or by calling 1300 374 731 (1300 DPIRD1).

Important disclaimer 
The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.

Copyright © State of Western Australia (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), 2025.