DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES ANNUAL REPORT TO THE ...

AgENCy PERFORMANCE � CASE STUDy 2
CASE STUDy 2 recreational fisheries management in focus
Licence fees from the
‘Recreational Fishing from
Boat Licence’ produced
around $25 million to be spent
directly on recreational fishing
management initiatives.
RFBL fees help ensure ‘fish for the future’
On 1 March 2011, the Department’s ‘Recreational
Fishing from Boat Licence’ passed its first
anniversary – and has provided a major boost
for the future sustainability of some of Western
Australia’s best-known demersal and nearshore
species through its introduction.
In the 12-months since it was introduced,
almost 115,000 ‘RFBLs’ were issued to
recreational fishers who use powered boats. The
successful take-up of the new licence means
that the Department of Fisheries has been
able to create by far the biggest database of
recreational fishers ever compiled in WA, providing
its research scientists with vital information to aid
the management of fish stocks along the State’s
coastline.
In addition, the licence fees have generated
around $2.5 million in revenue that has been
placed in a recreational fishing account to be
spent directly on recreational fishing management
initiatives. During 2010/11, the Department had
extensive discussions with recreational fishing
representative body Recfishwest in considering how
the revenue should be spent.
The revenue from the RFBL has so far been
used to improve compliance with recreational
fishing rules by increasing patrols of Fisheries and
To help research, some 3,000 boat fishers have volunteered to
track their own catches and share this information every month
for a year. Photo: Ashley Malone
Marine Officers, increase support for Recfishwest’s
role as the peak body representing recreational
fishers, explore the potential of artificial reefs,
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