00:00Breaking some tough news ahead of the summer holidays.
00:08These are difficult decisions for government. They're tough decisions.
00:11We acknowledge that and it will impact everyone.
00:14After consultation and deliberation, the government confirming strict new demersal fishing bans
00:20would take effect for popular species like dewfish and pink snapper.
00:24Among them, a permanent commercial ban along WA's West Coast fishery from January
00:30and a partial boat-based recreational ban until spring 2027,
00:35a 50% commercial catch reduction along the Pilbara, Kimberley and South Coast fisheries
00:40and a permanent trawling ban in the Pilbara.
00:43I have no doubt I'm going to be unpopular with a lot of fishers.
00:46People love fishing. I'm acutely aware that people will have already made their summer plans
00:50expecting to be able to go out and catch dewfish.
00:52Green groups supportive.
00:55This is going to ensure that our kids can fish for dewfish in the years to come,
00:59the decades to come, if we do the tough work now.
01:02But the government copped a battering from disgruntled fishers and the opposition.
01:07Can you hold up? Yeah!
01:09And stop the ban! Stop the ban!
01:12Both voicing concerns about fish stock data and the management of fisheries.
01:17It's just not fair. What's taken place from this state government is just not fair.
01:21People have lost their livelihoods in a matter of three weeks.
01:24So people haven't really had the time to respond.
01:27I mean, the job market's not easy.
01:29Fish prices have already gone up. Imports are here.
01:31And that is something that we said on the very first day of this announcement,
01:35where would West Australians get their seafood from?
01:38Pressure mounting on the government to defend its decision.
01:42The Minister tasked with the job, insisting she can do just that.
01:47Fisheries Minister Jacqui Jarvis, welcome to Stateline.
01:51What will these bans do for the price of fish?
01:54So with regard to the commercial sector, we're buying out 41 boats who operate in a 900km zone in what's called the West Coast Bio region.
02:03It's really important to remember that commercial fishing continues across the rest of the state.
02:08And so there will be some impact on supply, absolutely.
02:13The reality is West Australians love buying fresh seafood, but not at any cost.
02:18And so we have fish species like the dewfish, which are, you know, down to 7% biomass in some areas.
02:26And so we need to make sure that we protect these fish for the future.
02:30One Albany fish and chip shop has said it's had to raise its prices by 30% and customers are walking away.
02:37What do you make of that?
02:38Look, I'm surprised that that's coming out of Albany.
02:41The South Coast is our biggest shark fishery.
02:43And when we talk about fish and chip shops, we're quite often talking about shark or flake, as it's known.
02:48You know, last year alone, those fishers in the South Coast zone caught over 500,000 kilos of shark.
02:55That South Coast fishery continues.
02:57There will be a reduction.
02:58But even from that South Coast area, 250,000 kilos of shark is a lot of fish and chips.
03:05Were you surprised by the amount of backlash the government has received?
03:09I expected a lot of backlash.
03:11This was a really hard decision.
03:13I mean, some people describe this as the biggest resetting in fisheries history in Western Australia.
03:18So I knew there'd be backlash and I knew there'd be obviously concern.
03:22The fishing package, the buyout that we've put together for the commercial sector is generous.
03:27Most of those 41 boats also have licenses to continue fishing in other zones.
03:32It was a difficult decision.
03:35I guess I knew there'd be backlash.
03:38Perhaps the personal nature of it took me a little bit by surprise, but that goes with the job.
03:43Did you specifically receive advice from Deep Herd that a permanent commercial ban was necessary in the West Coast fishery?
03:51The advice I received, and I've said this publicly before, that the most appropriate course of action was a 10-year closure of the West Coast bioregion for everyone.
04:01What became clear is you cannot ask commercial fishers to actually suspend their business for 10 years.
04:09So by permanently closing that commercial fishery, it triggered a legislative process where I can get the funds to pay them out in a compulsory buyout.
04:19So you didn't receive specific advice about a permanent closure to commercial fishers?
04:24The advice was a 10-year closure to everyone, which would have meant a closure to commercial fishers.
04:29Now what that looks like in the mechanism, I could have simply suspended fishing operations for 10 years with no financial recompense to commercial fishers.
04:38I made the decision to actually commence a compulsory buyout to make sure those fishers received compensation.
04:46Shouldn't they have been given a choice?
04:49The fisheries minister has to make the judgment call, and these fishers know that the minister of the day makes a decision about allocation on the 1st of January.
04:58That's the way the system works.
05:00So was this essentially a captain's call?
05:03Well, that's the job of the Minister for Fisheries.
05:05It's my decision.
05:07The Minister for Fisheries makes the call, I accept all the science, I consult and I make the decision.
05:12So I've received criticism from the opposition for making what they're calling a captain's call.
05:17That's my job.
05:18That's my job as the Minister for Fisheries, is to make tough decisions.
05:21You know, I wouldn't wish this decision making on anyone, but it goes with the job.
05:27It's about preserving fish for the future.
05:29And it's about making sure that we don't send things like dewfish into extinction.
05:34In hindsight, do you wish you intervened earlier?
05:37I couldn't intervene until I actually had the latest data.
05:42That came to me in August, and I met with the commercial sector within a week of receiving a briefing from the agency as to the dire situation.
05:49Will you walk back any elements of these bans if stocks recover?
05:54So look, if stocks recover into the future, there is a mechanism to set up what's called a new fishery.
06:00So a future minister in 10 years' time may well decide that there is an opportunity to open a new commercial fishery for demersal species.
06:11That's a decision for a future minister.
06:13The reason I did the complete closure at this stage is so that I can ensure that we can do that compulsory buyout
06:19and have those funds available for those fishing businesses.
06:22New fisheries open all the time.
06:24There is a process where the science changes or we have new biomass surveys.
06:29But that's something for a future fisheries minister.
06:32Fisheries minister Jackie Jarvis, thank you so much for your time.
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