It came as a shock to many who had grown up fishing the ‘bread and butter’ species out of the water from the North Beach Jetty and Hillarys to Two Rocks Marina and beyond.
Now the body representing recreational fishers, Recfishwest, is in a battle with the commercial fishing lobby over who should take the hit if bag limits are placed on the fishery.
Recreational anglers are now allowed to take up to 30 herring a day, with most of the annual tonnage of the fish caught coming from the commercial sector.
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READ NOWWhatever the outcome, the focus on the fragility of herring has reminded the community that fishing is not about plundering a species to the edge of extinction.