Recreational fishers urged to use FishCatchWA for real-time collection data on demersal catches

Recreational fishers can voluntarily record their catch of demersal fish in waters between Kalbarri and Augusta when bans are lifted under a new feature added to the ServiceWA app.

The voluntary FishCatch WA tool is part of the Cook Government’s $10 million package to boost the recovery of demersal fish stocks, and will collect real-time information on species such as pink snapper, WA dhufish, baldchin groper, and breaksea cod caught in the West Coast bioregion.

Boat-based recreational fishing for demersal scalefish in the West Coast region reopens on December 16. The region is closed to demersal fishing for six months of the year in a bid to help stocks replenish.

Fisheries Minister Don Punch encouraged all recreational fishers to familiarise themselves with FishCatchWA — which has been tested by Recfishwest — and start reporting the demersal fish they caught in the West Coast region this summer.

“Catch information is already recorded on the commercial and charter catch, and by gathering more information on recreational catch we can make sure we are on track to meet the 2030 recovery time frame,” he said.

“This will provide an additional benefit of keeping a dashboard for rec fishers of what fish they caught and where and when they caught them, while also supporting the sustainability of our prized demersal fish stocks.”

FishCatchWA is available by updating the ServiceWA app or downloading it from the App Store or Google Play. For more information, go to fish.wa.gov.au/FishCatchWA.