Netting ban delights Broome anglers
A ban on commercial gill netting is set to transform Roebuck Bay in Broome into an international fishing haven.
The State Government has bought the only two fishing licences - covering about 100km of coastline from Roebuck Bay south to Eighty Mile Beach - from Kimberley Seafood's owner Todd Morris.
The move has delighted recreational fishers, charter boat companies and traditional owners, the Yawuru.
Mr Morris said he was happy with the outcome and wished anglers "all the best for a sustainable future for Roebuck Bay".
He said his netting operation employed about 10 workers in its heyday but only three people stood to lose their jobs.
Broome-based International Game Fish Association committee member Jeff Cooper estimated 60-80 tonnes of barramundi, threadfin and bluenose salmon, tripletail and mulloway normally caught each year would be left to bolster fish stocks.
"This will turn Roebuck Bay into a world-class recreational fishing destination, where anglers can appreciate and enjoy the unique environment and diversity of fishing," he said.
Mr Cooper, who teaches aquaculture at the Kimberley Training Institute, believed the decision would not affect local supplies because there was a diversity of products around Broome, including farmed barramundi and sustainably caught species.
Yawuru Land and Sea project officer Dean Mathews said all Yawuru people fished in and around Roebuck Bay and the ban would be critical to the sustainable management of fish stocks.
