History
COMMUNITIES | HISTORY
Western Australia’s fishing heritage
Western Australia has a long and diverse history of fishing stretching back many thousands of years, well before colonial settlement.
The indigenous fishers along the south coast used innovative stone traps and tidal rhythms to corral and harvest fish. You can still see the remnants of these ancient traps around Albany.
Back in the day, WA was also one of the world’s major whaling regions until it ceased in 1978.
Today, our fisheries are based on sustainable harvest strategies and include a wide range of species from the world-famous Western Rock Lobsters, to the popular demersal species such as WA Snapper, Dhufish and Baldchin Groper.
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Other fisheries include WA octopus, deep sea crabs, scallops, pearls, tuna, shark, blue swimmer crabs, prawns, Shark Bay cockles, sea mullet, herring, abalone, sea cucumber, Patagonian Toothfish, Mackerel and swordfish, while the Pilbara Coast is a trove of popular fish species.
Importantly, Western Australia’s fishing industry is committed to sustainability and works closely with the State and Federal Government agencies to ensure there will be fish for the future.
And it’s working, with WA fisheries rated by government as being 97 per cent sustainable and not-at-risk.
