Media Release | 20 October 2025
Kirrilee Warr MLA
Shadow Minister for Fisheries
Shadow Minister for Fisheries, Kirrilee Warr MLA, has called on the Cook Labor Government to urgently work with industry, Traditional Owners and scientists to protect Western Australia’s world-class fisheries sector from what she warns is “an imminent crisis.”
Ms Warr said depleted fish stocks along much of the State’s coastline reflected nearly a decade of neglect and mismanagement by successive Labor Governments.
“WA’s fisheries sector is in a very dire situation – the result of almost nine years of Labor mismanagement and a revolving door of Fisheries Ministers,” Ms Warr said.
“The Government has had years to act to protect one of our State’s most valuable natural assets, but with four Ministers since 2019, fisheries has been treated as an afterthought by a Perth-focused Labor Government.”
Ms Warr said the Fishing Futures Forum held today was a welcome but overdue first step.
“Today’s roundtable is a positive step in the right direction, but like everything Labor does, it comes far too late,” she said.
“They should have been working closely with stakeholders like the WA Fishing Industry Council, Recfishwest, Traditional Owners and the scientific community from day one.
“When you work with the sector, you get real outcomes. When you impose top-down decisions, like Labor always does, you get conflict and poor outcomes.”
Ms Warr also urged the Minister to listen to expert advice around future marine parks, including the newly announced Exmouth Gulf Marine Park.
“Drawing arbitrary lines on a map won’t save our fisheries,” Ms Warr said.
“We need a coordinated, science-backed, whole-of-sector strategy that supports sustainable fisheries while maintaining opportunities for recreational, tourism, and commercial fishing.
“WA’s fisheries are the envy of the world. Without urgent, genuine collaboration, we risk losing that reputation, and the jobs, industries, and communities that depend on it. We must all work together for sustainability and to protect this important asset for future fishers.”
ENDS
