Lobster
The Western Rock Lobster Council (WRLC) is the peak industry body representing the interests of the Western Rock Lobster fishery – the State’s biggest and most valuable commercial fishery.
WA’s rock lobster fishery is also Australia’s single most valuable wild-catch fishery and supplies a global market worth about $500million annually.
Eight different species of rock lobster can be found in WA waters, but the most prized is the Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus Cygnus) which can live up to 20 years and grow to 5kg in size.
For more information about this visit the WESTERN ROCK LOBSTER COUNCIL
Abalone
WAFIC works closely with the Abalone Industry Association to protect the interests of WA’s abalone fishery which is sustainably managed for the benefit of current and future generations of seafood lovers.
The rugged coastal environment of the Indian and Southern oceans along Western Australia’s South Coast, provide ideal growing conditions for the State’s Greenlip, Brownlip and Roe commercial abalone fishery.
During the past four decades commercial harvest of about 250 tonnes annually has supplied this prized shellfish delicacy to local, interstate and international markets. This also benefits local communities via employment and supporting local businesses.
WA’s abalone fishery is a highly regulated and monitored by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional development. The executive officer of the Abalone Industry Association can be contacted by emailing: [email protected]
Pearls
The Pearl Producers Association (PPA) represents the interests of Western Australia’s pearling industry – an industry that has a global reputation for producing South Sea pearls that are of the highest quality and rarity in the world.
The Pinctada maxima species of pearl oyster reared in WA is harvested from the world’s last remaining significant source of wild pearl oyster stock off 80 Mile Beach in the State’s North West.
The pearling industry has made a significant contribution to WA’s cultural and economic heritage. Currently valued at between $60-$80 million annually, the pearling industry has in past years been estimated to be worth up to $400 million annually.
WAFIC works closely with the Pearl Producers Association. 
Prawns
Western Australia produces the world’s finest prawns – from the meaty mouthful of tiger prawns and delicate flavour of banana prawns, to the exquisite sweetness of king prawns.
WAFIC helps protect the interests of WA’s prawn fishers, in part through its close work with the Shark Bay Prawn Trawler Operators’ Association, the peak sector body representing Shark Bay prawn and scallop fishers, and also with MG Kailis, who are the sole operators in the Exmouth Prawn Fishery.
In Australia, prawns are generally available all year around, although there is some seasonality depending on the fishery. Catches are processed on board vessels and either cooked or snap-frozen to retain the freshest possible flavour.
WA’s two biggest prawn fisheries, Exmouth Gulf and Shark Bay – with a combined annual worth estimated at more than $20million – both hold Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) accreditation, joining an elite group of fisheries recognised world-wide for their commitment to environmental sustainability.
For more information about WA’s prawn fisheries visit:
DEPARTMENT OF Primary Industries and Regional Development
WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S MSC PLAN FOR FISHERIES
Aquaculture
Western Australia’s aquaculture industry is a growing and diversifying sector that supplies good quality sustainable seafood to local, national, and international markets. The peak body representing this sector is the Aquaculture Council of Western Australia (ACWA).
In 2017-18 the estimated value of WA aquaculture (excluding pearling) was $26.6 million[1]. Anticipated growth in this sector is likely to be driven by the production of finfish, abalone, oysters, mussels and potentially prawns.
Marine species currently under culture include barramundi, abalone, mussels, oysters, corals, black pearls and marine algae for the production of beta-carotene. Freshwater species include marron and trout in the Southwest and various other finfish grown in ponds, dams and tanks around WA.
The WA Government sees a promising future for aquaculture and has invested heavily in new Aquaculture Development Zones in regional areas (including the Mid-West and South Coast) and also in the Albany Shellfish Hatchery – a multi-species hatchery license to produce oyster, mussel and scallop spat to support the growth of shellfish aquaculture in WA.
Australian’s appetite for seafood is growing rapidly and we currently eat an average of 16kg of fish and seafood each per year, which is about twice as much as we consumed a decade ago.
In light of this consumer growth, increasing demand for sustainably produced seafoods and rising awareness of the health benefits associated with eating seafood, it is evident that aquaculture has an increasingly important part to play in developing food security options for Australia.
[1] ABARES (2018). Australian fisheries and aquaculture statistics 2017. Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (ABARES), Canberra.
Southern Seafood Producers (WA) Association (Inc)
Formed in 2017, the Southern Seafood Producers WA Association (SSPWA) currently represents Southern and South West Coast Seafood Producers who practice small to large-scale methods of fishing and work various managed fisheries from Eucla on the South Australian border to the port city of Fremantle and beyond almost to Geraldton.
As a not-for-profit association with 95 fee-paying members (Oct 2020), shared across 25 commercial fisheries, the association is the most diverse and largest of its type in Western Australia.
The sector represents a wide range of managed fisheries including wild-catch sea fisheries, estuarine fisheries and other minor fisheries. Produce includes Southern Rock Lobster, Abalone, Deep Sea Crustacean and Blue Swimmer Crab. On a local/domestic level, favourites include iconic species such as WA Dhufish, Pink Snapper, Gummy Shark, Squid, Herring, Sardines and Whiting, while at the same time being home to some amazing species that you may not have tried as yet, including: Nannygai, Harpuku, Blue Eye Trevalla, Bass-Groper, Eight Bar Cod, WA salmon, Octopus, Mullet, Bream and Cobbler.
Whilst adding great social benefit across coastal communities, the sector assists in generating regional revenue and employment which boosts the local economies. It also highlights the importance and value of commercial fishing to downstream fishing-related services such as processing, local fresh fish supply to the public, domestic fish and chip outlets, hospitality and restaurants, retail and tourism, as well as freight, service support and in some cases, export markets.
SSPWA invites and welcomes your membership enquiry.
For more information please visit www.southernseafoodproducerswa.org.au or email [email protected]
