Brent Wise
,
Department of Fisheries Western Australia, Western Australia Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories (WAFMRL), North Beach, Western Australia, Australia
Dan Gaughan
,
Department of Fisheries Western Australia, Western Australia Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories (WAFMRL), North Beach, Western Australia, Australia
Ken Pollock
,
Department of Fisheries Western Australia, Western Australia Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories (WAFMRL), North Beach, Western Australia, Australia
Norm Hall
,
Department of Fisheries Western Australia, Western Australia Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories (WAFMRL), North Beach, Western Australia, Australia
Karina Ryan
,
Department of Fisheries Western Australia, Western Australian Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories, North Beach, Western Australia, Australia
Adrian Thomson
,
Department of Fisheries Western Australia, Western Australia Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratories (WAFMRL), North Beach, Western Australia, Australia
The development of a broad spatial approach to research and management is assisting with the implementation of Integrated Fisheries Management (IFM) and regional marine planning in Western Australia. The aim of IFM is to ensure that fish resources are sustainable and are shared equitably between recreational and commercial fishers within the broad context of Ecologically Sustainable Development. The challenge posed by Western Australia’s large coastline is magnified by the state’s increasing population and the rapid development, which is occurring in the northern regions of the State. Both factors are increasing overall recreational fishing effort and the spatial distribution of that effort. Previous strategies for collecting information on recreational fishing activity have involved a number of survey techniques including creel and telephone surveys. These approaches are, however, only applicable to smaller (bioregional) scale surveys or where recreational fishing licences exist (i.e. abalone, rock lobster, marron and freshwater finfish).
The recent introduction of a Recreational Fishing Boat Licence (RFBL) has made it possible to identify boat anglers and randomly select a sample of these fishers to participate in an integrated state-wide recreational fishing survey. The objective of this survey is to estimate the total recreational catch (both retained and released) taken by boat-based recreational fishers. Complementary components of the survey, which are now underway, include: a phone survey based on a random selection of RFBL holders who will keep logbooks of their fishing activities for a 12-month period; a boat ramp survey to provide biological information and validation of catch information; and monitoring of launches and retrievals at boat ramps using video cameras 24/7 to validate estimates of effort derived from the phone survey
