The council at a Western Australian tourist hotspot known for its iconic beaches has supported a community push to ban spearfishing at popular swimming spots.
Shire of Augusta Margaret River councillors voted in favour of the chief executive writing to state Fisheries Minister Don Punch to request that the practice be banned at Gnarabup beach, Flinders Bay and Gracetown.
Shire President Paula Cristoffanini said locals had been raising the issue for some time.
"Essentially [there's] two concerns — one is about environmental integrity of the areas, and the other one is about the safety of all the people that are using the beaches," she said.
"I've also heard from people concerned about spearfishing in Flinders Bay, which is a very popular beach area in Augusta, and I've also heard a stingray has been speared at Hamelin Bay.
"I mean, stingrays are much-loved animals in Hamelin Bay, so, yeah, that's not a good thing."
Ms Cristoffanini admitted that the shire did not have the power to ban the activity and hoped Mr Punch would listen to the concerns of her community.
"What we're calling for is to undertake public consultation on the introduction of a ban," she said.
A spokesperson for Recfishwest said the organisation was keen to find an appropriate solution.
"Recfishwest is aware of this issue and we will happily discuss a potential solution with the local shire council if and when approached," they said.
"We do feel it's important to recognise the vast majority of spearfishers fish responsibly, within the rules and with strong consideration for the safety of swimmers and other marine users."
Swimming group 'alarmed'
Gracetown resident Laurie Keene is part of the Red Rockers swimming group, which has about 40 members who meet at 8am each day for a casual ocean swim.
He said the group had grown quite attached to a friendly blue groper that frequented Cowaramup Bay.
"We've been observing it for probably nearly a year and watching it get slightly bigger and certainly tamer," Mr Keene said.
"It wasn't the size of the one you see in the film Blueback, but it would have got there one day I guess!"
Mr Keene said his group made a grim discovery earlier this year.
"It was after one of our swims in January, and this blue groper that we had become quite attached to had washed up on the beach and had … a spear-hole in its head," he said.
"That really alarmed our group, and it was then that we decided we need to take some action."
He said the group's main concern was environmental protection and agreed that most spearfishers conducted the activity in a safe manner.
"We want to preserve all fish life within the bay from spearfishing and we think it's just a really cruel sort of way to get hold of a feed and it's just not a good look," he said.
Most other states in the country have banned the practice of spearfishing blue gropers due to their inquisitive nature.
Spearfishers are not 'villains'
Shane Robertson from the WA Undersea Club, the oldest spearfishing club in WA, said spearfishers were unfairly targeted.
"We often get viewed as these villains, but realistically we're the most critical of each other to stay sustainable and selective," he said.
"One thing that we love about spearfishing is the fact that we can go out and catch yourself a feed, and if we're good at it we can end the suffering of this single fish we select at the pull of a trigger.
"We don't fight fish. We don't have bycatch. We don't accidentally kill fish. We have less shark depredation."
Mr Robertson said any proposed ban could push spearfishers into more dangerous waters.
"If you start talking about closing off areas that people swim, you're going to end up closing off a lot of ground, which as spearfishers really concerns us as we're limited to where we can actually dive because of depth," he said.
"People start pushing out wider, it becomes more dangerous, and we would likely see more cases of shallow water blackout and death in the community."
A long way off
In a statement, the state government wouldn't be drawn on whether the idea would be supported, but indicated any ban would take time to implement.
"The state government is yet to receive a letter from the Shire of Augusta Margaret River about undertaking public consultation on the introduction of a ban on spearfishing," a spokeswoman said.
"The areas named in the motion are within a recreational zone in a marine park, and any amendments to zoning rules would require a review of the marine park plan by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, which would entail full consultation with all stakeholders.
"Recreational fishing remains of significant importance to the WA community and to the state government."
