29/12/2025
Here is a letter local Bunbury commercial fisherman Nick Soulos (pictured left) wrote and sent to the West Australian Newspaper on 12/12/2025 that never got published.
Permanent Cancelation of Demersal Demersal Gillnet Fishing Licence.
Letter to the editor
Nicholas Soulos (Leschenault Fisheries) a South West Demersal Gillnet (Shark) Fisherman
For more than a century, Western Australiaâs waters have sustained my family. Today, the Cook government threatens to end that legacy forever.
My grandfather began shark-net fishing in the 1920s with old military camouflage netting. For 55 years, our family has run a sustainable local fishing business â now including my son Emanuel, the fourth generation in these waters. But our future hangs by a thread after the government permanently closed Zones 1 and 3 of the Southern Demersal Gillnet Fishery.
We didnât hear it from the government. We learned through a social media post shared by a friend. No warning. No consultation. No respect for the people whose lives depend on these decisions.
What makes this decision so devastating is that it defies the governmentâs own science. At a parliamentary forum attended by Premier Cook and Minister Jarvis, departmental scientists confirmed that demersal gillnet fishers take less than 0.04 per cent of iconic scale fish in the West Coast Bioregion. Our industry is, overwhelmingly, a shark fishery â 97 per cent of our catch â managed under strict scientific frameworks since 1992. Over 30 years, weâve reduced our fishing effort by 70 per cent, creating one of the most sustainable and selective shark fisheries in the world.
Closing it wonât rebuild demersal stocks. In fact, reducing shark fishing pressure may increase shark numbers, leading to greater predation on juvenile scale fish â and potentially more dangerous encounters. This is not a sustainability measure. Whatever the intention, it is a political decision with real human consequences.
Weâve seen this play out before. Commercial closures in the Leschenault Estuary, the Metropolitan Zone and Geographe Bay were supposed to aid recovery. After 25 years, none have recovered; several have declined
further under recreational-only pressure.
History is clear: shutting out small operators destroys livelihoods without restoring fish stocks.
On 1 January 2026, our skipper and crew â each with more than 30 yearsâ experience â lose their income overnight. They have mortgages, rent, and
families to support. So do we. Our cashflow stops immediately, yet
compensation wonât arrive for at least six months. Worse, the package doesnât even cover the administrative costs of shutting down.
To do this to fishing families at any time would be harsh. Just weeks before Christmas, itâs cruel. There are more logical options on the table. The government could apply the temporary effort-reduction measures proposed for the 1st June 2026 in Zone 2, across Zones 1 and 3 until demersal stocks recover and a spawning time/area closure, together with a voluntary buy back of licences (VFAS) - targeting the actual issue, which is scale-fish effort, while keeping a viable shark fishery alive. Or it could adopt Queenslandâs humane five-year transition model from the Great Barrier Reef, which provided families certainty, income stability and time to plan their futures.
Other governments have managed change responsibly.
Premier Cook and Minister Jarvis: reversing this decision isnât just sound policy â itâs the decent thing to do. Donât take away our ability to work. Donât remove fresh local fish from West Australian tables. And donât devastate hardworking regional families on Christmas Eve.
Itâs not too late to choose fairness and evidence over politics, at the very least, put a pause on its implementation, and please come to the table and talk with us.
