WA abalone season opens: Southern Zone fishing rules, bag limits and closures revealed

Thousands of WA recreational fishers can once again hit the south coast in search of one of the State’s most prized seafoods, with the popular abalone season open.

The Southern Zone recreational abalone season — stretching from Busselton Jetty to the WA-SA border — opened on Thursday and will run until May 15.

But fishers will need to know their abalone and where they are allowed to catch it, with different rules applying to Roe’s, Brownlip and Greenlip species.

Roe’s abalone can be caught across the entire Southern Zone, with a daily bag limit of 20 a fisher.

Brownlip abalone can be caught between Busselton Jetty and Shoal Cape, with a limit of five a fisher per day.

East of Shoal Cape to the WA-SA border, fishers can target Greenlip abalone but a combined daily bag limit of five Greenlip and/or Brownlip abalone applies.

There is no recreational fishing for Greenlip abalone between Busselton Jetty and Shoal Cape in Stokes National Park, west of Esperance, as authorities work to rebuild stocks.

The area is also closed to commercial Greenlip abalone fishing as part of the recovery strategy.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development principal research scientist Lachlan Strain urged fishers to check the rules before heading out.

“It is vital that fishers follow the closure rules for Greenlip abalone fishing to support the recovery of stocks so that WA can continue to have a sustainable wild abalone fishery on the south coast,” he said.

Mr Strain urged fishers to make sure they could tell the difference between Greenlip and Brownlip abalone.

All recreational fishers must hold a current recreational abalone fishing licence.

Fishers are encouraged to check the Recreational Fishing Guide for the full rules.