Caleb Runciman: Abalone fishing sees hundreds of West Aussies take part, but it’s much harder than it looks

Abalone fishing is a lot harder than it looks. These sea snails don’t move at a rate of knots but with waves crashing over you and other seafood enthusiasts accidentally kicking you in the head in their hunt for a delectable dinner it can quickly become survival of the fittest. There are only four hours each summer over four days when abalone can be “fished” and I was part of the mayhem at Mettams Pool on Saturday along with hundreds of abalone hunters. Hundreds of West Aussies took part in the same ritual at designated beaches from Busselton Jetty to Guilderton. Mettams Pool is considered a rocky haven for the morsel, but that was not my experience. After purchasing all the gear recommended by the Fisheries branch of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, I put my hunter-gatherer skills to the test for the second abalone day of the season. All the gear, with absolutely no idea. My abalone knife was strapped to my calf and my snorkel, goggles and wetsuit were all fitted tight. An abalone measuring tool was tied to my leg ready to help differentiate between an undersized creature and my lunch. My fellow fishers did not all come as well-equipped with one woman bending down in her dress, handbag slung over her shoulder, as she grasped for abalone. If she could catch a few abalone in that kit then I thought I’d be sure to fill a bag. My reef shoes were put to good use, making it easy to glide over rocks and out to where other wetsuit-wearing fishers were on the hunt. Soon I was 40m from shore in deep water. Before you know it 20 minutes ticks by and you still can’t tell the difference between a rock and an abalone. All those YouTube videos explaining how to catch one from the night prior had gone to waste. Among the chaos people were quick to fill bags with the morsel. You could hear their cheers when they surfaced from the same rocks you just examined but unlike me were not empty handed. But I did not feel like too much of a failure after nose-diving into the depths before resurfacing with a mouth full of salty seawater as I saw others suffering the same result. One fisherman, wearing sneakers and a t-shirt, crossed my path and accidentally kicked me in the head. I took it on the chin, being the terrible fisherman I am. And when I thought I’d found an abalone the biggest wave of the day comes crashing over you. My abalone knife — that cost a handful — is gone. That “abalone” I did catch ended up being a rock. Without a tool to pluck an actual abalone from the rocks and after more than 30 minutes of being tossed around between clouds of seaweed, I gave up. I’m sure the practice will come in handy for next season. I can barely walk straight as the tide picks up, falling over as waves crash on top of me. I’m hungry and disappointed. From the shoreline, men butt-scoot over sharp rocks without pants and grandmas pluck morsels metres from the sand. But not everyone fished within the rules. Two men — wearing fishing waders — were targeted by Fisheries officers before being handed a fine. It’s believed they breached the 15 abalone bag limit. A DPIRD spokesman said two fishers were facing prosecution after they were found with 60 abalone each — four times the legal limit. Fisheries officers issued an additional 21 infringement fines for people taking more than the bag limit — 15 per licensed fisher — with 10 official bag limit warnings issued. Among the fines issued were a person who fished outside the designated 7am to 8am window, a fisher who did not have the mandatory abalone fishing licence (which costs $50), and a person who took an undersized abalone. The minimum size for Roe’s abalone is 60mm across the widest part of the shell. Four fines were also issued for people who took shellfish other than abalone from the Marmion Marine Park. Fishing out of season, taking undersize or prohibited abalone or having more than the bag limit can attract fines as high as $10,000 plus up to 10 times the dollar value of the species. Recreational fishers trying to sell their catch can be fined even more, up to $400,000 plus up to 10 times the value of the catch, or even face jail time. Surf lifesavers across the State did not have to perform any rescues on Saturday, after 20 people were rescued in December during the first hunt. Beach patrollers — including more than 180 volunteers — issued first aid to 12 people along the coast and 479 “preventative actions” when over 2900 people hit the water across WA. Abalone is a highly sought-after morsel, with consumption in Chinese culture believed to bring good fortune. But it looks like I’ve got a terrible year ahead. Bree Crockett, 23, managed to grab a handful of abalone on her first abalone fish and to rub salt into my wounds did it with her bare hands. “You probably don’t even need the knife, you pull it off with your hands,” she said. “We’ve got to beat them up with a rolling pin first and then we might try making a soup and then some steaks as well.” She was joined by Jared Leach, 25, with the pair catching 18 abalones between them. “You just gauge them on the rocks . . . and then you pull them off with your hand because the knife is too hard to use,” he said. “We were about 10 metres offshore in all those little rock pools . . . it took us about 40 minutes. “There’s so many out there, it’s crazy, you can feel them everywhere.” The next abalone fishing sessions are February 3 and 17 — subject to ocean conditions.