23/11/06
Fisheries Minister Jon Ford today announced that he had moved to close Cockburn Sound's crab fishery for at least 12 months, to help blue swimmer crab stocks rebuild after three years of low recruitment.
Mr Ford said Department of Fisheries research showed that the low numbers of blue swimmer crabs recruiting to Cockburn Sound had been linked to unfavourable, but naturally occurring, environmental events.
"Natural environmental variations play a key role in abundance from year to year - for example, we know that El Nino and La Nina conditions, as well as water temperature, have a big effect on many marine species, including crabs," he said.
"Declining catches and recent research indicate that crab numbers are down significantly in the Sound, so the fishery will close from December 15 to both commercial and recreational fishing to allow the fishery to recover.
"Research has also found that Cockburn Sound's crab populations appear to have more limited recruitment from stocks outside the Sound than previously thought.
"Under these conditions, fishing effort has depleted the local breeding stocks and closing the fishery is the best way to ensure the stock rebuilds quickly.
"The very best way to do this is to remove commercial and recreational fishing pressure, until we can be confident Cockburn Sound crab numbers are back to a healthy level.
"While natural environmental conditions can cause crab numbers to fluctuate significantly, the blue swimmer's relatively short life cycle means that stocks are likely to recover in a short period of time.
"Fisheries will be closely monitoring crab numbers over the next 12 months with the view to reopening the fishery once they have sufficiently recovered.
"Crabbing in Cockburn Sound is also enjoyed by many Western Australians families but we need to give the crabs a chance to recover so we can all continue to enjoy this great activity into the future.
"The new research findings are extremely valuable in adding to our understanding of crab stocks and will assist in our management of other WA crab fisheries."
Minister's Office - 9213 7200
