Over 40 warnings and fines issued to abalone fishers as season kicks off

There were more than 40 fines and warnings issued to abalone fishers as the first session of the coveted fishing season kicked off this weekend.

Fisheries officers from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development reported a busy first hour for the 2024-25 season as they undertook compliance checks on beaches between Perth and Mandurah.

Eager abalone hunters took to the waters early Saturday morning hoping to score some of the prized molluscs.

Surf Life Saving WA volunteers were also out in force, with more than 160 lifesavers patrolling the beaches.

They conducted 15 rescues, 22 instances of first aid, and 1215 preventative actions.

Twenty-three greedy fishers were issued fines for having more abalone than the legal bag limit allows, 15 per licensed fisher, while there were 21 bag limit warnings.

There was one fine and three warnings issued for undersized abalone, one fine and one warning regarding licences, and another two warnings for illegal fishing in the Marmion Marine Park.

Three fishers were also warned for fishing outside the designated hour.

The minimum size for Roe’s abalone is 60mm across the widest part of the shell and fishers are urged to measure them before removing from the reef.

Abalone hunting is a popular hobby in WA, with more than 17,000 licences obtained in the 2023-24 season.

Fishers have just four hours spread across four mornings to try their luck at catching abalone in the West Coast Zone, which extends from Busselton Jetty in the South West to the Greenough River Mouth in the Mid West.

The next abalone hours are on January 11, February 1 and February 15, from 7am to 8am.