Fish stock report reveals demersal scalefish in the Gascoyne fishery are recovering to GDSR levels

A fish stock health check has revealed pink snapper in the Gascoyne region, outside of Shark Bay Inner Gulfs, is on the road to recovery five years into the 20-year plan to boost life underwater. The recent stock recovery assessment has shown oceanic pink snapper is on track to meet recovery milestones and goldband snapper has remained at a sustainable level. The Gascoyne Demersal Scalefish Resource was put into place five years ago after a 2017 report found pink snapper stocks were at risk and needed to be recouped. The two breeds are used to indicate the health of more than 60 species of demersal scalefish. Developed with the help of Recfishwest, Marine Tourism WA, WAFishing Industry Council and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the recovery plan set out objectives to recover the resource by 2037. Measures include a reduced annual catch limit for snapper of 100 tonnes in recreational, charter and commercial sectors, targeted protection for key snapper spawning aggregations north of Bernier Island and a reduced commercial snapper size limit trial. Fisheries Minister Don Punch said the results were encouraging and demonstrated the importance of taking action to rebuild the fishery to sustainable levels. “We recently took action under the recovery plan for the West Coast Demersal Scalefish Resource, from Augusta to Kalbarri, and we are confident these management changes will also see this fishery on the road to recovery,” he said. The next stock assessment to check the health of the fishery will be available in 2027.