The Cookes operate under a shark fishing licence, which includes a bycatch for demersal species, rendering their operation illegal.<\/p>\n
Mrs Cooke only learned their business would be shut down next month through a post on social media.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Beverley Cooke is concerned about how the ban will affect fishers’ mental health. (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n
“Jeffrey called me from the fishing boat and said his deckhand had seen something on Facebook about changes to the fishing industry,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Then about an hour later, I opened up [my computer], and then I found out on Facebook \u2026 there was no contact from anyone.”<\/p>\n
‘Drowning’ fishers call for lifeline<\/p>\n
The mother of four said the lack of mental health support offered by the government was putting lives at risk.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Cookes say they are not ready to hang up their gloves yet.\u00a0 (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n
“The mental health impact on everyone is almost suicidal,” Mrs Cooke said.<\/p>\n
If you or anyone you know needs help:Suicide Call Back Service<\/a> on 1300 659 467Lifeline<\/a> on 13 11 14Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN<\/a>\u00a0on 13 92 76Kids Helpline<\/a> on 1800 551 800Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 224 636Headspace<\/a> on 1800 650 890ReachOut<\/a> at au.reachout.com<\/a>MensLine Australia<\/a> on 1300 789 978QLife 1800 184 527<\/a>“It’s like being in the ocean and drowning and no-one’s putting an arm out to help you.”<\/p>\n The 68-year-old said the emotional toll the sudden decision was taking on fishers was dire.<\/p>\n “They’re not going to cope, but a lot of them are too proud,” she said.<\/p>\n The state government has faced criticism for sending commercial fishers notice letters with a referral to a seafood industry-specific mental health service called Stay Afloat.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stay Afloat paused its WA operations in September this year due to a federal funding cut.<\/p>\n The state government has defended the letters, stating they also included referrals to other operating services, such as Lifeline and Beyond Blue.<\/p>\n The Cookes primarily fish for sharks but their bycatch includes demersal species. (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n “It is true that Stay Afloat suspended its services due to a Commonwealth government funding decision,” Premier Roger Cook told parliament last week.<\/p>\n “That is obviously regrettable, but it is good that DPIRD also referred to other services that can support people as they deal with these important decisions.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Jeffrey Cooke says the state government’s demersal fish figures are incorrect. (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n Treading water<\/p>\n West Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) chief executive Melissa Haslam urged the government to reinstate funding to Stay Afloat, because of its strong reputation in the industry.<\/p>\n Melissa Haslam says funding is desperately needed to support trusted mental health services.\u00a0 (Supplied: Western Australian Fishing Industry Council)<\/p>\n “This announcement will affect over 300 license holders \u2026 that’s a lot of connected families and distressed wives and children dependent on those businesses and processing facilities and truck drivers,” she said.<\/p>\n “We would like to make sure that Stay Afloat have some funds.”<\/p>\n The state government has announced a permanent ban on commercial demersal fishing in parts of WA.\u00a0 (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n Ms Haslam said WAFIC had also been pushing the state government for the release of immediate financial support packages for fishers.<\/p>\n “While [Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis] has given a commitment to do it, we don’t know what it looks like, who will be eligible or how much it will be for,” she said.<\/p>\n Sinking family ties The parents of four say they had hoped one of their children might one day inherit the family business.\u00a0 (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n Mrs Cooke said the closure of generational businesses was taking away futures.<\/p>\n “It means we have nothing; it’s like a family farm, a family house for people to inherit,” she said.<\/p>\n “There is no next generation for us \u2026 they’ve all gone.” Jeffrey Cooke has been fishing commercially in Augusta for 45 years.\u00a0 (ABC South West: Madigan Landry\u00a0)<\/p>\n Jeffrey Cooke spent his life on his boat, Tracey-Lea, hoping to one day pass on the family trade.<\/p>\n “I was hoping that some of my family would take it on. I’ve got two boys,” he said.<\/p>\n Jeffrey Cooke says he was blindsided by the state government’s decision.\u00a0 (ABC South West: Madigan Landry)<\/p>\n The 69-year-old said frustrations were being felt across the industry.<\/p>\n “You can’t just send someone an email and say we’re shutting you down by the end of the month,” Mr Cooke said.<\/p>\n “[The state government could have] at least [held] some sort of negotiations with us instead of just bringing it up in the last few days of parliament.”<\/p>\n The ban is set to come into effect on January 1, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beverley and Jeffrey Cooke began shark fishing in Augusta in the 1980s, hoping to one day pass the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,188716,189714,75,182774,77883,189716,189715,514,128,189717,153283,45],"class_list":["post-341746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-commercial-fishing","tag-demersal-fishing-ban","tag-environment","tag-fishing-ban","tag-fishing-industry","tag-fishing-license","tag-gill-net-fishing","tag-mental-health","tag-science","tag-shark-fishing","tag-south-west-wa","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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