Australia-Fishing industry problems.

AUSTRALIA-PROBLEMS IN FISHING INDUSTRY.

On Anzac Day on the Abrolhos Islands, 60 kilometres off Western Australia’s midwest coast, the helicopter pad was turned into a ring for a game of two-up.

It was 22 degrees, the beer was free, and fishermen stood side-by-side with some of Australia’s richest businessmen, enjoying life.

But behind the beer and betting there is a serious issue that threatens to turn the lives of some of these fishermen upside down.

For about three months of the year Abrolhos plays host to a fishing frenzy.

More than 100 fishermen set up a life here catching lobsters, a sought-after delicacy which is exported all around the world.

Crayfishing in the West is a lucrative business, worth about $350 million.

But for crayfisherman Peter Burton, who has been scouring the ocean for lobsters for nearly 40 years, tough new restrictions are crippling him.

The WA Government says lobster numbers are going to be dangerously low in the coming years.

The weekends are now off limits for professional crayfishing in the Abrolhos, and fishermen can only use a fraction of the pots they are licensed to hold on their vessels.

The government has introduced a "unit value" of 42 per cent for the zone of coastline which includes Abrolhos, meaning that for every 100 crayfish pots a vessel is licensed to hold, only 42 may be used.

Mr Burton was so concerned, he called a community meeting.

"I doubt very much whether I’ll be fishing come November next year if we’re at 42 per cent usage and four days a week," he told AM.

"We’ve lost days and lost pots, and of course there’s been fluctuations in price, which makes budgeting and the economics of it sort of a little bit erratic.

"The minister then on October 28 shifted the goalposts to bring us back to 0.54 usage, and then again on March 1, changed it back again to bring it back to 0.42 usage and only four days a week. So it’s affected me financially to a very big extent."

A couple of kilometres offshore, Frances Tate was preparing fish for lunch in her job as a cook on a private boat.

"Here, you can have crayfish almost every day if you wish," she said.

"Most places that I’ve been used to it’s a special occasion dish. Here it seems to be sort of what you eat."

She says crewman ’Simon’ does the shopping for such things.

"He has arrangements with friendly fishermen," he said.

"He just comes and arrives with things jumping around in boxes which have to be killed."

Scores of boaties have moored their 90-foot yachts off the islands.

The Abrolhos is a playground for millionaires who spend a couple of months soaking up the lifestyle.

This year they too are feeling the changes. The amateur fishers can only take six lobsters a day instead of eight.

No one knows why lobster numbers are down.

The fisheries department does not think it has anything to do with climate change.

Instead, they believe the lobsters are simply choosing to downsize their families, a phenomenon they say happens from time to time.