A 28-year-old Harvey man was ordered to pay almost $4000 in Bunbury Court last week for taking 68 undersize blue swimmer crabs from the Leschenault Estuary.
Fisheries Officers from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) inspected the man’s catch after he finished scooping for crabs in January.
The retained blue swimmer crabs were all measured and found to be under the legal minimum size limit of 127 millimetres. The offender had also far exceeded the daily bag limit of 10 crabs per fisher per day. All 68 crabs were seized and released.
In a separate matter a 28-year-old East Victoria Park woman has been ordered to pay more than $7700 in Mandurah Court today for jointly taking 134 undersize blue swimmer crabs with another fisher, far exceeding the daily bag limit.
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Fisheries Officers inspected the illegal catch after the two fishers came ashore at Coodanup in the waters of Peel Harvey Estuary in December 2024.
All of the blue swimmer crabs in their possession were under the legal minimum size limit of 127mm, with 114 more than the daily bag limit for the West Coast Region of ten per fisher. All 134 crabs were seized and later released.
The second fisher, a 53-yearold woman from East Victoria Park, appeared in Mandurah Court in February for the same matter and was issued penalties and costs totalling $7,978.
Last month in Mandurah Court a 30-year-old man and 29-year-old woman from Southern River were each penalised more than $3,500 for the joint possession of 62 undersize crabs and jointly exceeding the bag limit by 43 crabs. The offences were detected in Coodanup in January 2025.
DPIRD Regional Compliance Metro Director Todd A’Vard said everyone who goes crabbing needed to be aware of the size and bag limits before going fishing.
“Fishers must ensure they don’t take undersize crabs or more than the legal bag limits which is vital to the sustainability of our recreational fisheries,” he said.
The crabbing for blue swimmer crabs guide is available online.
The rules for recreational fishing are available in the Recreational fishing guide 2026 and information can also be found online by searching the rules by species and location.
Anyone who suspects illegal fishing activity should call FishWatch on 1800 815 507 or report the matter via the online form on Crimestoppers.
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