Aquaculture & fishing

Patricia Gill. Bernard Wong hopes to inspire a shared custodial ownership of the submarine world at Greens Pool. "When people have a strong, intimate connection with a place, they will work hard to look after it," he says. Since 1990 he has observed the movement of rays and their flotilla of cleaner fish, giant blue groper, camouflaged wobbegongs, conspiring old wives and much more submerged among the granite pillars.

Gary Sexton. Pinetree guests, Sam and Will, from country Victoria recently had a day out on Island Charter vessel Belle Chase. Skipper, Flinders Young, promised them a nice day out fishing for Wahoo and Kingfish around Balls Pyramid - but you can imagine their surprise when a giant Pacific Sailfish exploded onto the lures being trolled behind the boat.

Public consultation is now open on proposed changes to blue swimmer crab rules in the West Coast bioregion to make the rules easier to understand and to provide better fishing experiences for recreational fishers. The proposed changes would bring in one set of bag and boat limit rules in the West Coast bioregion, which runs from Black Point east of Augusta to the Zuytdorp Cliffs north of Kalbarri.

Colin McGregor. Australia has an opportunity to think differently about how we support farm productivity. Instead of relying exclusively on imports, we can invest in locally produced biological and nutritional solutions that complement existing fertiliser systems and reduce pressure on global supply chains. At Genesis Algae Innovation, we have been working on one such approach using Australian-grown chlorella algae.

The Carp Herpes Virus (scientifically known as Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 or KHV) is a biological control agent proposed by the Australian government to combat the invasive common carp. Since its introduction in the 1800s, carp have decimated Australia's freshwater ecosystems, with experts estimating they make up 80 to 90 per cent of the fish biomass in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Australia’s cotton industry ... celebrating its contribution to the milestone set to be reached by Australian agriculture this year, with gross production value to exceed $100 billion – four years ahead of the 2030 target.

Australian agriculture is set to reach a record $101.4 billion in grosspproduction value in 2025-26 before easing in 2026–27, with both prices and output expected to soften. ABARES is forecasting combined agriculture, fisheries and forestry value to top $107.4 billion in 2025-26 – also a record - underscoring the strength of Australia’s primary industries. 

Australian agriculture is growing, adaptable, more productive, and well placed to take advantage of the transition to net zero, according to the latest ABARES Snapshot of Australian Agriculture 2026 Insights paper.

The Parliamentary Committee into the State’s algal bloom crisis has been unable to reach a consensus, with Labor members blocking the Committee including its findings in the formal report. The Committee was forced to publish multiple dissenting reports, from the Liberal team and Committee Chair, Greens MLC Rob Simms.

A new advisory committee has been established to support the reopening of boat-based recreational demersal fishing from Kalbarri to Augusta in Spring 2027. The West Coast Demersal Ministerial Advisory Committee will provide recommendations to the State Government on the future management of recreational fishing to balance a return to boat-based fishing with continued protection for fish stocks to support recovery.

Australia’s Oyster Coast (AOC) has commenced 2026 with positive momentum, announcing the acquisition of an oyster farm at Pambula on the NSW Far South Coast. The purchase deepens the company’s geographic footprint, strengthens its Rock Oyster supply capability and reinforces its position as Australia’s largest Sydney Rock Oyster producer.

While the WA Labor Minister for Fisheries announces the release of pink snapper fingerlings in Cockburn Sound south of Perth as part of their West Coast Demersal Recovery package, the Nationals WA continue to hold forums for fishers impacted by the demersal fishing ban and call for a parliamentary inquiry.

Michelle Daw. Environment Minister Lucy Hood has called a hastily arranged community forum at Corny Point this week, following growing criticism of the state government's handling of the harmful algal bloom affecting southern Yorke Peninsula ... Public frustration escalated over the weekend following reported comments by Premier Peter Malinauskas, who stated the algal bloom was "non-existent in most of the state" — remarks that have drawn strong backlash from affected coastal communities.

A Lancelin based shark fisher says there has been no commercial fishing in the West Coast bioregion between Lancelin and Tims Thicket (south of Mandurah) for nearly 20 years ... Mr Stokke, who also partners with his brother in a western rock lobster boat, said he thought the ban was probably targeting the wet liners but they (the shark fishers) were thrown under the bus with them.

Jackie Jarvis was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Food in December 2022. She picked up responsibility for Fisheries in March 2025, giving her three budgets and one election to get her head around the DPIRD budget papers ... Once again, I’ve gone back to the state budget to point out a glaring problem: the rhetoric simply does not match the money.

A commercial fisherman affected by the Cook Government’s decision to permanently close the West Coast bioregion from Kalbarri to Augusta for demersal fishing says it should be mandatory for recreational boat fishers to provide data on their catch on the day they fish.

Leader of The Nationals WA Shane Love says if growing unrest to Labor’s demersal fishing bans is any indication, the Cook Labor Government has bitten off more than it can chew and badly underestimated the strength and unity of Western Australia’s fishing community ... "The fishing community is ropeable, and rightly so," Mr Love said.

Michelle Daw. Stansbury oyster growers have cautiously welcomed the reopening of their harvesting area, which had been shut since early May. Growers were informed of the reopening mid-afternoon on Wednesday, December 31 — too late for them to sell for the lucrative Christmas and New Year's Eve markets.

After requesting a buyback offer of up to $20 million for fishermen to exit the industry, the Clarence Prawn Trawl committee say NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty's offer is embarrassing. Last Wednesday afternoon, CVI was contacted by Minister Moriarty's office with news that the NSW Government would commit $4.5 million toward buybacks for the prawn trawl industry.