New WA Government funding to help boost pink snapper stocks

About 5,000 young pink snappers raised at Western Australia (WA) Government‘s Fremantle fish hatchery were released into Cockburn Sound today as part of Recfishwest’s Snapper Guardians program.

Following a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the State Government said WA families are once again participating in the event.

The popular initiative will receive a significant boost over the next three years, with the McGowan Government investing an additional $1 million to improve pink snapper stocking in the West Coast bioregion. The investment is part of its $10 million West Coast Demersal Recovery package.

This year, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has reared over 40,000 pink snappers at its Fremantle hatchery while also improving and refining processes.

Aquaculture scientists at the department have been using world-leading technology to collect fertilised eggs from wild spawning snapper aggregations in Cockburn Sound for rearing and release since 2014.

“DPIRD’s aquaculture team are doing incredible work to rear the pink snapper fingerlings for Snapper Guardians and other stocking programs, giving the fish a helping hand through the most vulnerable life stages before released,” Fisheries Minister Don Punch said.

Importantly, hatchery-grown pink snapper released in WA had the same genetic diversity as the native population in Cockburn Sound. According to the State Government, this ensures that the fish are most suited to the local natural circumstances, ensuring the fishery’s long-term viability.

Minister Punch stated that pink snapper eggs have a survival rate of less than 1% in the wild, while at the hatchery, the survival rate can be as high as 45 to 50%.

“From the small beginnings of family fun days to release pink snapper into Cockburn Sound, we are now pursuing an exciting expansion of our stocking program for this key demersal species,” Minister Punch added.