Western Australia’s recreational freshwater anglers can now enjoy their sport all year round with Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly announcing a major change to the seasonal closure.
Mr Kelly said the annual two-month closure on select dams would be removed from 2018 to improve opportunities for licensed anglers and support the environment by reducing the numbers of feral redfin perch – a species that is known to prey on juvenile marron, trout and native fish.
This year, more than 637,000 trout, grown at Fisheries’ hatchery and research centre near Pemberton, will be released into selected rivers and dams to help maintain WA’s popular freshwater fishing activity.
Trout have been stocked into South-West waterways for more than 100 years and are only released into waters that have been historically stocked in the past.
The announcement coincides with Recfishwest’s TroutFest event at Drakesbrook Weir today (Saturday, September 2). For more information, visit http://www.recfishwest.org.au
Kelly said “Recreational fishing is not only an important way of life in Western Australia, but an important economic driver and employer.
“Removing the July-August closure, from 2018 and onwards, has a number of economic and social benefits, including supporting regional tourism and providing opportunities for families to spend quality time together outdoors.
“The season extension is the result of ongoing Fisheries research and stock monitoring, which has identified the environmental and economic benefits of removing the annual season closure.
“This weekend, we’re also encouraging people to give freshwater angling a go by allowing two licence-free days, today and tomorrow (September 2-3).”