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<\/p>\nCommercial fishers say their industry risks collapse unless the organisation representing them undergoes radical change, as they confront a wave of controversial changes to fishing regulations across Western Australia.<\/p>\n
The West Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) is the peak body representing the interests of the state’s commercial seafood industries.<\/p>\n
It has told its members the state government has cut its funding by $400,000 \u2014 more than a quarter of its previous budget \u2014 under a new four-year funding deal.<\/p>\n
The cut has ignited debate in the seafood industry about whether a body funded by the government can effectively lobby against controversial government decisions.<\/p>\n
Veteran commercial fisher and former WAFIC deputy chair Anthony Haygarth said the reliance on government funding had hampered the council’s ability to advocate for the industry.<\/p>\n
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The famed WA dhufish is among the demersal species that can no longer be caught between Kalbarri and Augusta. (Supplied: DPIRD)<\/p>\n
He said it had limited the industry’s ability to respond to the government’s controversial changes<\/a> to demersal fishing rules along WA’s coast and a string of other regulatory adjustments.<\/p>\n “You’ve only got to look at what we’ve seen happen in the west coast demersal, what we’ve seen in the Pilbara trawl, the shark gillnet fishery down south, the reduction in fishing area on the south coast through marine parks,” Mr Haygarth said.<\/p>\n “The industry is just being wiped out essentially, and that’s largely due to a lack of representation and the wrong model of representation.”<\/p>\n He said WAFIC had “tried really hard”, but its model did not work.<\/p>\n Dropping government funding entirely, Mr Haygarth argues, would allow the council to be better involved in the political process in the face of industry challenges.<\/p>\n Manue Daniels says it is a challenging period for the fishing industry. (ABC News: Tara de Landgrafft)<\/p>\n Government distributes funding<\/p>\n The government collects around $30 million per year in licence fees from professional fishers, based on 2022 figures.<\/p>\n Most of this money is used to fund fisheries research at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).<\/p>\n But some is reserved to fund industry groups, including WAFIC and Western Rock Lobster Council.<\/p>\n WAFIC interim chief executive Manue Daniels said the cut to the council’s previous $1.5m annual funding was a government decision, after the rock lobster council successfully lobbied for a greater share of licensing fees.<\/p>\n She said the body was still an effective advocate, despite the challenges, but was open to change.<\/p>\n “It is clear that the workload at WAFIC that is a reflection of all the changes and challenges that industry is currently going through, is still very high,” she said.<\/p>\n “The reality is not so much that WAFIC is not working, the reality is probably more than we have a government that is set on its own path.” The fishing industry contributes millions to government to fund functions such as research and representation. (ABC News: Robert Koenig-Luck)<\/p>\n Keen to challenge government<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/27c9411c121b3d67d681b7fd7fa3c7f5.jpeg\")
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