The 2009/10 recreational rock lobster season closes at 6 o’clock tonight and fishers are reminded there will be a change to escape gap sizes, when the new season opens in mid-November.

Department of Fisheries’ Principal Management Officer Graeme Baudains said following a sustainability initiative, announced by the Minister for Fisheries Norman Moore in October last year, the minimum legal size for recreational rock lobster pot escape gaps would be increased from 54 to 55 millimetres from 15 November 2010.

“This will bring the escape gaps in recreational lobster pots in line with those used by the commercial sector,” Mr Baudains said.

“As with the past season, recreational fishers would have an overall catch target of 290 tonnes of western rock lobster in 2010/11,” he said.

“The target is established through resource sharing allocations that are assessed under Integrated Fisheries Management (IFM) principles, which assign 5 per cent of the total allowable catch to the recreational sector and the balance to the commercial fishers.

“All the scientific evidence indicates the western rock lobster fishery remains under extreme pressure and in danger of collapse, unless it is properly managed and the overall catch target has been set to ensure a similar quantity of lobsters to this year can be fished in the coming seasons.

Mr Baudains said anecdotal reports suggested most recreational rock lobster fishers had fared well with individual catches in the past season and Fisheries and Marine Officers observations indicated compliance levels were reasonably high.

“The ‘fish for the future’ message has been embraced by the vast majority of the more than 37,000 fishers licensed to participate in the recreational rock lobster fishery during the 2009/10 season,” he said.

“As far as the completion of the season today is concerned, recreational fishers must remove their pots from the ocean by no later than 6pm.

“If extenuating circumstances arise for individual fishers, such as sickness or bad weather preventing the collection, they should contact the nearest Department of Fisheries office and notify a Fisheries and Marine Officer of the time they will be able to remove the pots.

“Lobsters found in pots after 6pm today must be returned to the water.”

More information about fishing for rock lobster in Western Australia are available on the Department of Fisheries website at www.fish.wa.gov.au.