Publication Date

9-2025

Series Number

2

Publisher

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

City

Perth

ISBN

ISBN: 978-1-925415-12-4 (Print), ISBN: 978-1-925415-13-1 (Online)

ISSN

ISSN: 3083-5399 (Print), ISSN: 3083-5380 (Online)

Abstract

The West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource (WCDSR) comprises over 100 species inhabiting inshore (20-250 m deep) and offshore ( > 250 m deep) waters of the West Coast Bioregion (WCB; north of Kalbarri to east of Augusta). The WCDSR is primarily targeted by commercial, charter and recreational boat-based line fishers, including the commercial West Coast Demersal Scalefish (Interim) Managed Fishery (WCDSIMF). Indicator species selected for monitoring and assessing the status of the inshore suite of the WCDSR include Snapper, WA Dhufish and Baldchin Groper, while indicators for the offshore suite include Hapuku, Bass Groper and Blue-eye Trevalla.

The WCDSR is more than halfway through a 20-year recovery plan to recover stocks by 2030. As outlined in the WCDSR harvest strategy, the recovery of the resource is currently monitored through annual reviews of total removals (including retained catches and estimates of post-release mortality) against specific recovery benchmarks for each sector, as well as periodic stock assessments of each indicator species (DPIRD 2021). The 2025 WCDSR assessment presented in this report incorporates catch and effort information collected up to 2024 (inclusive), as well as biological data on the sizes and ages of fish sampled from commercial and recreational catches in each management area (Kalbarri, Mid-West, Metropolitan and South-West) up until 2021-22 (inclusive).

Total removals of demersal scalefish by commercial fisheries in the WCB in 2024 (291 t) were well above the 240 t recovery benchmark in place for that year. The total removals of key demersal scalefish species collectively caught by boat-based recreational and charter fishers in the WCB in 2023-24 (217 t), derived from the 2023-24 survey of private boat-based fishing and reported charter catches in the same year, were also well above the 135 t recovery benchmark for this sector. These data show that the substantial management changes implemented in 2023 have not been effective at reducing fishing mortality to the level required to support recovery.

The WCDSR provides a high social amenity to fishers, with the indicator species representing primary targets for recreational fishers in the WCB. The estimated gross value of product (GVP) of the commercial WCDSIMF was $1-5 million in 2024.

Number of Pages

133

Keywords

West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource, catch and effort, recovery

Disciplines

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Environmental Monitoring

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