WESTERN AUSTRALIAN FISHING REGULATIONS

WEST AUSTRALIAN FISHING REGULATIONS

These limits were downloaded from the Fisheries web site in December 2007

Make sure you check the latest info at your local fisheries office or from

www.fish.wa.gov.au

 

 

 

MIN

SIZE

MAX

SIZE

BAG LIMIT

 

BOAT

NAME

 

 

WEST COAST

GASCOYNE

 

PILBARA / KIMBERLEY

SOUTH COAST

LIMIT

Abalone green/brown lip

140

 

5

5

N/A

 5

10

Abalone Roe’s

60

 

20

20

N/A

 20

 

Amberjack

600

 

2

2

2

 2

 
Ark shell and all other edible bi-valves 20

Barracuda  

 

 

2

4

4

 N/A

 

Barramundi 

550

800

N/A

2

2

 N/A

2
Barramundi special rules: Possession limit 1 Ord R. & Broome. Max size 800mm applies to Ord Rv. King Sound and Fitzroy Rv.

Billfish

 

 

1

1

1

 1

 

Bream black / yellowfin

250 / 300

2 over 400

4

8

8

 8

 

Bream fingermark

 300

 

2

4

4

 N/A

 

Bream silver (Tarwhine)

250

 

16

16

16

 N/A

 
Boar fish  N/A  N/A  N/A 4

Bonefish

 

 

N/A

2

4

 N/A

 

Bonito

 

 

8

8

8

 8

 

Catfish

 

 

 N/A

 N/A

8

 N/A

 

Cherubim

 

 

N/A

N/A 

9 litres

 N/A

 

Chinaman fish

 

 

 N/A

 N/A

4

 N/A

 

Cobbler

430

 

4

N/A

N/A

 4

 

Cobia

750

 

2

2

2

 N/A

 

Cockles

 

 

 2 litres

 2 litres

2 litres

 20

 

Cods Rankin

1000

2

2

2

 N/A

 
Cod Estuary / Shark Bay inner gulf

400

1000

2

4 / 1

2

 N/A
Cod grey banded rock

1000

2

N/A

N/A

 2
Cod malabar 2

Cods (other except potato)

 

1000

4

4

4

 4

 

Cod Break sea

300

1000

N/A

4

N/A

 4

 
Combined bag limit for all cod is 4. No cod over 1000mm or 30kg may be taken.

Coral/Coronation  trout (**)

450

 

1

1

2

 N/A

 

Crab Blue manna (swimmer)

127

 

20

20

20

 20

40

Crab brown mud (****)

120

 

5

5

5

 N/A

10

Crab green mud (****)

150

 

5

5

5

 5

10

Dart

 

 

 40

 40

8

 N/A

 

Dhufish

500

 

2

2

N/A

 2

 
Dory N/A N/A N/A 8

Emperor blue lined / spangled

320 / 410

 

4

4

4

 N/A

 

Emperor other (north west snapper)

280

 

4

4

4

 N/A

 

Emperor red

410

 

2

2

2

 N/A

 

Flathead

300

 

8

8

8

 8

 

Flounder

250

 

8

8

8

 8

 

Garfish

 

 

40

40

40

 40

 

Goatfish

 

 

8

8

8

 8

 

Groper bald chin / Shark Bay inner gulf

400

 

4

4 / 2

2

 N/A

 
Groper bass    

2

N/A

N/A

 2  
Groper western blue

500

  

1

N/A

N/A

 1  
Hapuku    

2

N/A

N/A

 2  

Herring Australian

 

 

40

40

40

 40

 

Javelin fish

300 

 

N/A

N/A

8

 N/A

 

Job fish

 

 

2

4

4

 N/A

 

Kingfish yellowtail

600

  

2

2

N/A

 2

 

Leatherjacket

250

 

8

8

8

 8

 

Lobster

Lic. Req.

 

8

8

4

 8

16

Lobster (Ningaloo marine pk)

Lic. Req.

 

 

4

  

 

8

Long tom

 

 

 40

 40

40

 N/A

 

Mackerel blue common

 

 

40

40

40

 40

 

Mackerel narrow barred

900

 

 

 

2

 N/A

 

Mackerel Qld school

500

 

N/A

4

4

 N/A

 

Mackerel shark

500

 

2

4

4

 N/A

 

Mackerel Qld School & spotted

500

 

 

 4

4

 N/A

 

Mackerel Spanish

750

 

2

2

2

 N/A

 

Mackerel Spanish narrow bar

900

 

 2

 2

2

 N/A

 

Mahi mahi (dolphin fish)

500

 

2

4

4

 2

 

Mangrove jack (***)

300

 

2

4

4

 N/A

 

Marron (Carapace size)

76

 

Lic. Req.

N/A

N/A

 Lic. Req.

 

Milkfish

 

 

40

40

40

 N/A

 

Mullet

 

 

40

40

40

 40

 

Mulloway / Northern Mulloway

500 / 700

 

2

2

2

 2

 

Mussels

 

 

9 litres

9 litres

9 litres

 9 litres

 

Nannygai

 

 

4

N/A

N/A

 8

 

Octopus / Squid

 

 

15

15

15

 15

30

Oysters

 

 

20

20

20

 20

 

Parrot fish

 

 

4

4

4

 N/A

 

Perch Crimson, Saddletail.

 

 

 N/A

N/A 

4

 N/A

 

Perch Pearl

 

 

 N/A

 2

4

 N/A

 
Perch saddle tail, crimson sea         4    

Perch Striped Sea

300

 

 2

 4

4

 N/A

 

Pike

300

 

8

8

8

 8

 
Pipis      

2 litres

   2 litres  

Prawns

 

 

9 litres

9 litres

9 litres

 9 litres

 

Queenfish

 

 

N/A

4

4

 N/A

 

Razorfish

 

 

20

20

20

 20

 

Salmon Australian

300

 

4

N/A

N/A

 4

 

Samson fish

600

 

2

2

2

 2

 

Scallops

 

 

20

20

N/A

 20

 

Sea urchins

 

 

20

20

20

 20

 

Sharks / rays

 

 

2

2

2

 2

 
Shark whaler (interdorsal fin length)  

700

          

Snapper (other)

 

 

2

4

4

 N/A

 

Snapper pink (a)

410

 

4

4

4

 4

 

Snapper pink (Shark Bay)

500

700

N/A

1

N/A

 N/A

 

Snapper queen (Blue morwong)

410

 

4

N/A

 N/A

 4

 

Snapper red

230

 

4

N/A

4

 8

 

Snook

300

 

8

8

8

 8

 

Sooty grunter

250

 

 N/A

 N/A

8

 N/A

 

Squid / Octopus / Cuttlefish

 

 

 15

 15

15

 N/A

30
Swallowtail

300

   N/A N/A N/A 8  
Sweep     N/A N/A N/A 8  

Sweetlip

300

 

 N/A

N/A 

8

 N/A

 

Tailor

300

 2 over 600

8

8

N/A

 8

 

Tarwhine (silver bream)

250

 

16

16

16

 8

 

Threadfin salmon (giant)

450

 

N/A

8

2

 N/A

 

Threadfin (other)

 

 

N/A

8

4

 N/A

 
Trevalla

 

  

2

N/A

N/A

 2  

Trevally golden / giant

 450

 

2

8

4

 N/A

 

Trevally skippy

250

 

8

8

N/A

 12

 

Tripletail

300

 

 

 

1

 N/A

 
Trochus shell

65

    

2 litres

      

Trout

300

 

4

N/A

N/A

 4

 

Tuna bluefin / yellowfin / bigeye

 

 

2

2

2

 2

 

Tuskfish blue/black spot / Shk Bay inner gulf

400

 

N/A

4 / 2

2

 N/A

 

Wahoo

900

 

2

2

2

 N/A

 

Whiting king George

280

 

8

N/A

N/A

 12

 

Whiting sand

 

 

40

40

40

 40

 

Whiting yellowfin

 

 

16

16

40

 16

 
Wrasse         2 8  

Other species except baitfish

 

 

40

40

40

 40

 

 

Note: Closely related species (IE. Cods, Emperors etc.) all have COMBINED bag limits. Different types of Cod, Emperor etc.. are shown on different lines for clarity only. The bag limits shown are COMBINED. Ie. Only 4 emperor of any type may be taken per fisher per day. You may NOT (for example) take 4 blue lined and 4 blue spotted emperor in one day.

 

MIXED BAG LIMITS

Mixed bag of 7
Mixed bag of 16
Mixed bag of 40

Mixed bag of 10

 

(**) Coral trout / Coronation cod caught north of DeGrey River. Bag limit 1.

(***) Mangrove Jack - Cape Lambert to Cape Preston. Bag limit 2.

(****) Boat limit 20 in King Sound.

(%%) Inner gulf of Shark Bay - Bag limit 2

(a) Only 1 fish over 700mm in metro waters.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Black bream / Swan Canning estuaries: Only 2 fish over 40cm.

Tailor: only 2 over 60cm.

Barramundi max size is for the Ord & Fitzroy Rivers.

Cobbler are now protected in the Swan and Canning rives.

 

Currently the rules for catching pink snapper in Shark Bay make fishing for this fish there a waste of time. This has been brought about by stupid greedy people taking far too many fish in the past and the authorities only reacting to the situation when it is far too late.

 

BAG LIMIT - Number of fish per angler.

Entries with the same colour background have a mixed bag limit. Ie. If you catch 4 snook you can only take 3 pike as well on the same day.

 

RISK

HIGH - H mixed bag limit of 7

MEDIUM - M mixed bag limit of 16

LOW - L mixed bag limit of 40

 

PROTECTED SPECIES

Coral, Potato Cod, Leafy sea dragon, Whale shark, Great white shark, Hump head Maori wrasse, Grey nurse shark, Saw fish, Grey nurse shark, Queensland Groper, Speartooth shark, Manta ray.

 

Our opinion on these rules is that they are far too complicated. Catch limits and size limits should be the same across the state to simplify the rules. If this means that limits in some areas are dropped then so be it. People tend not to take notice of rules that are too hard to follow - some people don't take any notice of these rules anyway but we believe that the simpler the rules are then the more people are likely to obey them.

 

TRAWLERS KILL UNTOLD NUMBERS OF FISH THEY DON'T WANT

COMMERCIAL TRAWLING KILLS FUTURE GENERATIONS OF FISH !

CONTACT YOUR MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND HAVE TRAWLING BANNED IN ALL W.A. WATERS

FISH FARMS ARE THE ONLY FUTURE FOR COMMERCIAL FISHING