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A controversial fishing ban implemented by the West Australian government may have been sought by the state’s fisheries minister without the recommendation of the dedicated department, a Perth court has been told.
The local arm of South African-headquartered Sea Harvest Group and Westmore Seafoods have dragged the government to court over the reforms – specifically, the ban on trawling in the Pilbara fishing zone, where the companies operate, and which they argue raises issues of sovereign risk, and protection of property rights, among others.
Eric Heenan, SC, representing the commercial fishing group, produced several pieces of correspondence between the department and former fisheries minister Don Punch in the WA Supreme Court on Thursday, showing there had been no new update on red emperor stocks in the Pilbara zone since 2023.
The most recent update on the number of red emperor in the north of the state came from an update provided for the Kimberley – north of the Pilbara – in 2024.
Heenan told the court sensitivity should be applied to the possibility of stock movement between the two zones.
He said the catch figures were set by previously not taking the amount of undersized fish caught and released into the final data.
The new figures use a different method, which included the amount of undersized fish caught and subsequently released.
During a cabinet reshuffle last year, Jackie Jarvis was announced as the state’s new fisheries minister, taking over from Punch.
Heenan told the court he believed Jarvis made the decision to bring in the fishing ban without recommendations from the department.
The court was shown a department update sent to Jarvis ahead of a major fishing forum held last year.
According to the documents, snapper and dhufish are highlighted as at a “severe risk”.
However, Heenan told the court the key to the companies’ argument was that the minister received one line on the Pilbara fisheries as part of the greater western zone.
“What follows is the minister asking for advice on how to close the fishery, rather than advice from the department that the fishery should close,” he said.
“All that shows is a 50 to 100 per cent reduction – it doesn’t mention anything about shutting down the industry.
“There is nothing in there about shutting down the Pilbara trawling industry.
“The point I am making is there is not a hint from anyone in the department that the Pilbara needs to close – definitely not anything based on science.
“It is my submission that the idea of a fishing ban is coming from the minister and not from the department.”
The wide-ranging ban, which came into effect on January 1, was designed to address WA’s depleted demersal fish stocks.
But the measures have attracted a wave of criticism from frustrated businesses, while retailers are reporting an immediate drop in the supply of fresh fish from local waters.
When it was announced in December, the government said the latest scientific assessment of commercial fish stocks showed several species, in particular dhufish and pink snapper, were under severe threat and urgent action was needed.
During the first day of hearings on Wednesday, Heenan told the court the Pilbara trawling ban made “no economic sense”, and there was “next to no consultation” with the industry.
The Pilbara fishery had supplied about 43 per cent of demersal fish in WA.
The hearing is set down for four days, with the government’s legal team understood to be making their opening address next week.
with AAP
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