![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a776db9068fc1edc1fa6841a929deea547792192.jpg\")
Camera IconA sign at Galup that locals say is not near where kids are fishing. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\nHealth warnings over water quality and threats of fines have not stopped illegal fishing at Galup\/Lake Monger, as teenagers are increasingly drawn to the location as part of an apparent TikTok challenge.<\/p>\n
Visitors to the reserve and members of the Friends of Galup\/Lake Monger community group have reported an increase in people fishing at the protected space, and are concerned that birds, turtles and other wildlife are being injured in the process.<\/p>\n
Members of the Friends group said young people and children were seen fishing at the lake daily over the school holidays, despite signs advising fishing was prohibited and warning to avoid contact with the water because of the presence of elevated E. coli bacteria and blue-green algae (cyanobacteria).<\/p>\n
Volunteer and former Churchlands MLA Christine Tonkin said she was concerned that people, particularly children, were at risk of severe health issues after coming into contact with the lake water. She is also and worried about the risk to birds and turtles from snagged fishing lines and hooks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that on average daily around two to three whole loaves of sliced white bread used as bait are thrown into the lake,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Camera IconA sign at Galup that locals say is not near where kids are fishing. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cThis not only attracts ducks that risk hooking them but also pollutes the already toxic lake water.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Tonkin said it was also \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d that people continued to fish in the lake despite signage telling them not to.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey seem happy to ignore the damage they are causing and show a profound lack of respect for the environment and the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are actually great fishing places along the river and ocean that are much better options for them that are easily accessible by public transport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another Friends member said fishers defended their actions because they believed they were helping to remove non-native carp from the lake, but said this was best left to the Town of Cambridge to manage. An invasive fish program removed close to 1000 feral fish from the lake in 2025\/26.<\/p>\n
The issue has stirred up heated debate on social media. Concerned locals have posted about alleged incidents on community Facebook pages, including photos of teenagers seen fishing at the lake. One volunteer said they had received many offensive messages, and others said they were met with abuse when confronting people fishing.<\/p>\n
Ms Tonkin said town rangers had been patrolling the lake and would respond to public reports, but often the fishers would simply move further along.<\/p>\n
She believed \u201cpeer education by other young fishers\u201d would be the best option to address the problem, but another member called for rangers to issue infringements.<\/p>\n
Town planning and community services director Luke Gibson said the town could issue $250 fines to those caught fishing for failing to comply with a sign on local government property and rangers could direct a person to leave local government property.<\/p>\n
Members of the public were encouraged to report illegal fishing to the ranger or to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development via its FishWatch hotline.<\/p>\n
A notice of motion by Cambridge councillor Susan Kennerly to the July 28 council meeting requests the town install new \u2018no fishing\u2019 signs at Galup to advise a $250 fine was applicable.<\/p>\n
The concerns come as the City of Stirling this month imposed fishing bans at 17 lakes, wetlands and reserves, following reports of black swan injuries and antisocial behaviour. Stirling\u2019s new laws mean anyone caught fishing at prohibited sites such as Lake Gwelup, Herdsman Lake, Carine Regional Open Space, Jackadder Lake and Mettams Pool Beach could now face a $125 fine.<\/p>\n
Stirling councillors began progressing changes to the local law last November after concerns were raised about black swan injuries around Roselea and Princeton lakes and reports of antisocial behaviour. The proposed fishing ban was later expanded to cover additional lakes, wetlands and reserves across the city.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e870ad9c0ed17f6332105d3ca491d359bec36acd.jpg\")
Camera IconThe City of Stirling council has approved new local law changes banning fishing at 17 locations. Credit: OlenaTs\/Pixabay (user OlenaTs)<\/p>\n
A Town of Cambridge spokesman said fishing was prohibited at Galup to help \u201cprotect the lake\u2019s biodiversity, support water quality management, and minimise impacts on the reserve\u2019s environmental values\u201d.<\/p>\n
The spokesman said rangers patrolled the area and responded to community reports of fishing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe town\u2019s rangers play a crucial role in educating the community about approved fishing locations and directing those found fishing at Galup to other permitted fishing sites,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRangers can take enforcement action under the town\u2019s local government and public property law, including issuing infringements, when necessary and appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city did not confirm if any infringements had been issued but said rangers conducted regular and routine patrols, and responded to public complaints.<\/p>\n
The spokesman encouraged people not to directly approach anyone seen illegally fishing and instead report the activity to the city\u2019s ranger service or to FishWatch at 1800 815 507 or via email at tipoff@dpird.wa.gov.au<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Health warnings over water quality and threats of fines have not stopped illegal fishing at Galup\/Lake Monger, as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,505,75,46,128,45,506],"class_list":["post-817382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-central","tag-environment","tag-perth","tag-science","tag-wa-news","tag-western-suburbs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817382","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=817382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}