Recreational anglers across Western Australia are facing the most significant statewide tightening of demersal scalefish rules in more than a decade, with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development confirming a fresh package of reforms that takes effect on 1 June 2026.
The headline change for boat-based anglers is a cut to the daily mixed demersal bag limit, which drops from five fish to four for areas outside the West Coast Bioregion. The iconic West Australian dhufish, long the centrepiece species of the state's reef catch, is reduced to a single fish per angler per day. Coral trout, coronation trout and the broader emperor and snapper families fall under the new mixed-bag arithmetic.
The announcement, made through the WA Government and reported by The West Australian on 15 May, extends the regulatory shake-up that began in late 2025, when the West Coast Bioregion was placed under a permanent commercial closure for demersal species and the state opened a compulsory buyback of commercial fishing entitlements. The new recreational rules complete the statewide picture: every angler in WA will fish under tighter limits from 1 June, regardless of which coast they launch from.
The reforms sit alongside seasonal closures that have already changed the recreational calendar in the West Coast Bioregion. Demersal scalefish cannot be retained from a boat from 1 February to 31 March, and again from 1 August into the broader closed season. Anglers in the Gascoyne and South Coast bioregions, which until recently sat outside the toughest restrictions, are now drawn into the statewide framework.
DPIRD has framed the package as a response to stock assessments that flagged severe pressure on long-lived reef species, particularly dhufish, baldchin groper and pink snapper. The Conversation, summarising the science in February, pointed to plummeting fish numbers as the trigger for the original West Coast closures, with researchers suggesting no-take zones could ultimately benefit fishers by allowing stocks to rebuild. Particle, the Scitech publication, ran a parallel explainer titled "Why WA hit pause on demersal fishing."
The politics around the package have been less settled. Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis acknowledged earlier this year that the original commercial fishing ban was a "captain's call" that went further than the advice she received, and her department has spent the months since defending the science behind it. A Supreme Court challenge mounted by commercial operators argued the plan was "political and unscientific," with the case still working through the courts as the recreational package was announced.
For tackle shops, charter operators and coastal towns that rely on demersal traffic, the WA Government has paired the rule changes with a Tackle Shop Rebate to cushion the immediate trading impact. Recfishwest, the state's peak recreational fishing body, has told members that bag limits for demersal fishing will be reviewed again "later in 2026," leaving the door open to further adjustment once the new framework has been in place for a full season. The peak body has also confirmed that trawling for demersal fish in the Pilbara will now be permanently prohibited, closing a parallel commercial loophole.
Fishing World Australia, in a summary of the rule change, reminded anglers that the dhufish reduction is the single biggest day-to-day adjustment for offshore parties, since a boatload of three or four anglers can no longer return to the ramp with multiple dhufish per person. The mixed-bag drop from five to four is, on paper, a 20 per cent cut to the available take, but in practice the effect is more pronounced for parties chasing high-value reef species.
The ABC reported in March that fresh fish has effectively become a "luxury" in some parts of WA as the commercial buyback works through the supply chain, with prices climbing in coastal markets where demersal species once anchored the daily catch. The recreational reforms now layer fresh limits on the only remaining legal access for many of those species in the West Coast Bioregion.
For anglers planning winter trips, the practical advice from DPIRD is straightforward: read the 2026 Recreational Fishing Guide before the next launch, check the bag limit for the bioregion you are fishing, and remember that the four-fish mixed bag and one-dhufish ceiling apply from the first cast on 1 June. Recfishwest has indicated it will publish bioregion-by-bioregion guides closer to the start date.
*Sources: WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development; Recfishwest; The West Australian; ABC News; Fishing World Australia. Announcement 15 May 2026; rules effective 1 June 2026.*