Western Australia considers lifting shark fishing ban
29 April 2021
Shark depredation is being increasingly reported across Western Australia. Image: Patrick Linehan
THE recreational fishing industry in Western Australia could be in for a boost if a proposal to lift the state’s shark ban is accepted.
Fishing for sharks has been prohibited for 12 years in the state’s north-west due to overfishing. But according to an Angling International article, fishing groups say the shark population is now thriving and that the voracious predators are diminishing stocks of species targeted by recreational anglers.
Commercial fishing interests also support a removal of the ban and are urging for the return of commercial line, trap and trawl fishing. Recfishwest, which represents an estimated 750,000 anglers in WA, argues that reliable scientific evidence of shark populations is needed, claiming that as many as seven in ten fish hooked by anglers are lost to shark depredation.