Murchison Boat Hire

03/09/2026

A class action has been launched by commercial fishers impacted by the controversial demersal ban, with only seven fishers compensated nine months into the ban.

LINK: https://www.geraldtonguardian.com.au/news/geraldton-guardian/change-to-demersal-fishing-ban-compensation-after-only-seven-fishers-compensated-class-action-launched-c-22785916

01/09/2026

James Oliver spent five years building his fishing business in Dongara.

Leased his licence, bought his boat, supplied fresh fish to Geraldton markets. Did everything right.

Then the WA Government shut the industry down. Three weeks’ notice.

Because he leased his licence instead of owning it outright, he’s not entitled to a cent of the compensation on offer. Five years of work, gone in five minutes.
This is what happens when governments make decisions about rural industries with no understanding of the people living them.

Another industry gone. Another government that didn’t think it through.

27/08/2026

10/08/2026

🚨 INSIDE THE SUPREME COURT: THE LEGAL BATTLE TO SMASH THE FISHING BANS 🚨

While the government hoped everyone would just roll over and accept the demersal lockdowns, the fight has officially shifted into the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Commercial fishing operators have launched Supreme Court proceedings challenging the legality of the bans—and it's exposing a massive vulnerability in how the Minister pushed these laws through.

Here is why the legal challenge is putting the government on notice:

⚖️ 1. Acting Outside the Law (Ultra Vires)
The Minister’s powers under the fisheries act are meant to be used for genuine, evidence-based resource management—not as a political panic button. The court is being asked to examine whether the bans were driven by political optics rather than actual, localized scientific justification. If the court finds legal overreach, the regulations can be declared invalid.

📋 2. The Illusion of Consultation
Administrative law requires true procedural fairness. The legal challenge highlights how the government bypassed meaningful consultation, ignored industry-backed alternative solutions, and rammed through a blunt, disproportionate sledgehammer ban when precise, less destructive options were entirely available.

🔍 3. Accountability Can't Be Swept Under the Rug
The bureaucrats thought they were untouchable behind closed doors. But forcing them to defend their modeling, timelines, and decision-making under oath in a Supreme Court courtroom changes the game entirely.

This isn't just about fishing anymore—it’s about whether a government can legally bypass proper process to reshape industries overnight.

Share this to spread the word that the fight against these rushed, heavy-handed bans is happening right now in the highest court in the state! 👇


https://www.gofundme.com/f/wa-commercial-fishermen-fighting-fund

09/08/2026

🚨 THE "MAGIC BULLET" EXPOSING THE WA DEMERSAL FISHING BAN 🚨

With the WA parliamentary inquiry forcing the Government to justify the devastating demersal fishing bans, a massive loophole has emerged that could completely unravel the Minister's entire argument.

What is the ultimate magic bullet? The Federal-State Scientific Contradiction.

Here is how the government’s narrative falls completely apart:

⏱️ The Timeline of Hypocrisy:
Just weeks before the ban: The Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) formally certified the West Coast demersal fishery as environmentally sustainable under national guidelines for the seventh consecutive time.

Days later: WA Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis and the State Government slam the door shut, claiming iconic species like Dhufish and Pink Snapper are on the "brink of extinction" to justify permanent commercial shutdowns and multi-year recreational lockouts.

💥 Why This Destroys the Minister's Argument:
A government cannot legally or logically defend an extreme, panic-driven policy of total "extinction risk" when the national scientific body officially classifies the exact same fishery as sustainable.

Either federal science is fundamentally broken, or...

The State Government massively and politically overstated the crisis to force a structural reset of the fishery.

📉 Add in the Smoking Guns:

The 0.4% Bycatch Trap: Commercial fishers were wiped out over a negligible 0.4% incidental bycatch footprint—proving the bans are a blunt, arbitrary weapon rather than precise science.

Ignoring Real Pressures: The inquiry is shining a light on how the government completely sidesteps massive environmental drivers like exponential shark depredation, coastal industrial dredging, and climate shifts, blaming human fishers for everything while refusing to look in the mirror.
When a policy's foundation relies on ignoring national science while weaponizing state-level "extinction" claims, it stands on very shaky ground.

Share this if you believe in transparent, honest science—not political "captain's calls" that destroy livelihoods and recreational traditions! 🎣📉

28/07/2026

12/07/2026

Roger Cook had his chance to right one wrong today, however the “Captain” Jackie Jarvis MLC survived the cabinet changes. Bit happening behind the scenes though- it’s going to be interesting when parliament goes back, maybe nobody wanted the job?

12/07/2026

Brother-in-Laws, it's not the size that matters..... unless it's 200 grams heavier 🤣 who's got the winning smile 😁🎣💪