WCFC Seeks Section 37 Relief for Hawkesbury Whitebait Fishers

The Wild Caught Fishers Coalition has put forward a proposal to DPIRD Fisheries seeking a Section 37 trial to remove historical regulatory differences affecting whitebait hauling in the Hawkesbury River.

Whitebait hauling using a Pilchard, Anchovy and Bait Net operates under the same Region 5 Category One Hauling endorsement and finite effort-day system as General Purpose Hauling. However, whitebait fishers remain subject to additional restrictions, including weekend and public holiday closures, different spatial access and a reporting requirement that can consume an effort day simply by carrying the net aboard a vessel while looking for fish.

WCFC is proposing a 24-month, effort-neutral Section 37 trial that would temporarily align these arrangements with General Purpose Hauling while retaining the existing whitebait-specific mesh, net dimensions and construction requirements.

Importantly, the trial would not create any additional fishing effort. Fishers would continue to use their existing Category One Hauling effort allocation. The proposal simply seeks to change when and where that existing effort can be exercised.

The purpose of using Section 37 is to provide affected fishers with immediate governance and regulatory relief while the formal pathway for permanent regulatory change is pursued.

At the same time, the trial would allow DPIRD to collect contemporary evidence on landings, effort, bycatch, spatial use, compliance and any genuine current conflict associated with weekend, public-holiday or expanded spatial access. Historical conflict should not automatically be assumed to remain relevant in a fishery that has undergone significant structural reform and reductions in participation.

WCFC's position is straightforward:

Test the rules against today's fishery. Provide interim relief while the permanent changes are progressed. Retain restrictions where contemporary evidence demonstrates they are necessary, and remove those that are not.

The full WCFC proposal is attached below.

Hawkesbury_Whitebait_Section_37_Trial_Proposal.pdf

Download PDF • 227KB

WCFC emailed the proposal to DPIRD representatives Heath Folpp and David McPherson on 31 August 2026, following a phone discussion with Heath Folpp on 26 August 2026.

The issue has been raised independently by multiple fishers within the Hawkesbury Estuary General Fishery.