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The Western Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) is the commercial fishing industry’s peak body.
It was created by the industry more than thirty years ago to represent the interests of the seafood, pearling and aquaculture industries and to work in partnership with government to set the directions for the management of commercial fisheries in WA. Membership is drawn from 46 regional fishing, industry associations and exporting companies.
Management of Western Australian fisheries is about to undergo a radical change and WAFIC will play an important role in working with industry and government in the process of establishing the new framework. The government has made a commitment to develop a strategy to integrate the management and sustainable use of fish stocks based on the
Integrated Fisheries Management report
(1.62Mb pdf) by Justice John Toohey. WAFIC welcomed the report and is working with government and other stakeholders to introduce the alternative management framework and a set of guiding principles for allocating catch shares to various user groups, which include the commercial sector (which supplies the local community with fresh seafood and generates export income for the State’s economy), the recreational sector and indigenous Australians.
WAFIC also plays a significant role in relation to Native Title issues. It acts as an industry representative for Western Australian fishing, pearling and crown land aquaculture interests and is an active respondent to native title claims.
The Council also promotes training, occupational health and safety, and seafood quality initiatives to the industry and is involved in creating and funding major research and development projects within the State. It also rewards the pursuit of excellence within the industry through its biennial Fishing Industry Awards.
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