The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) will have more eyes on the water protecting the State’s aquatic resources this summer following this week’s graduation of its biggest cohort of Fisheries and Marine Officers (FMO).
For the past four months, a diverse range of 22 trainees, have been put through their paces learning all aspects of the FMO role to prepare them for inspection duties at sea, on land and around inland waters.
DPIRD Operations and Compliance Director Governance and Standards Tim Green said Fisheries and Marine Officers played a major role in the protection and conservation of Western Australian marine and aquatic resources.
“The graduation of the latest FMOs boost the department’s ongoing commitment to improving commercial and recreational fishing compliance and education through law enforcement and liaison with the public,” Dr Green said.
“This important work is carried out to safeguard the sustainability of aquatic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.”
Dr Green said the FMOs had graduated with the ability to understand fishing rules across WA so they could inspect all types of fishing activity across Western Australia.
“Most fishers do the right thing, but FMOs are there to make sure of that and if necessary, undertake investigations to support any enforcement action needed,” he said.
“The recruits will initially boost our compliance efforts in the metropolitan area during the busy summer period, before they join our experienced teams around the State to bolster the numbers to ensure the sustainability of WA’s fish stocks.”
