WA demersal fishing ban: Men charged after shark heads allegedly dumped outside Jackie Jarvis’ office

Detectives have charged three men with trespass, littering and drug offences after a disgusting pile of shark heads and fish remains were dumped outside the Margaret River office of Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis. The pile of remains — reported to be about 200kg — was dumped outside her office on Bussell Highway about 6.55am on Monday to protest WA’s demersal fishing ban. Overalls were reportedly also left at the scene with a message penned on them: “TO JACKIE FROM ALL FISHERS.” A WA Police spokesman said on Tuesday that three men, aged 37, 36 and 34 had been charged by Bunbury detectives via summons with a range of offences after they allegedly arrived at the electorate office in a car and dumped the fish before fleeing the scene. The 34-year-old-man was also in possession of two firearms, despite their licence having expired. Police said all three men were charged with depositing litter and trespass over the fishing ban protest while the 34-year-old and 36-tyear-old were charged with a possessing cannabis offence linked to their arrest. The 36-year-old was charged with cultivating a prohibited plant, while the 34-year-old faces two counts of unlawfully possessing a firearm or major firearm part. During searches of properties in Carey Park and Bunbury, the two men were allegedly found in possession of cannabis. The accused, from the Bunbury and Carey Park areas, are listed to appear in Bunbury Magistrates Court on January 22. The Government’s 21-month ban on species, such as dhufish and pink snapper, will apply to commercial and recreational fishing along a 900km stretch of the WA coast. Commercial fishing in the zone from Kalbarri to Augusta will cease from January 1. Recreational fishing in of the demersal fish will be banned until spring 2027. Ms Jarvis did not comment on the protest when approached by The West Australian on Monday, but a spokesman described the alleged dumping of the fish heads as an “act of vandalism”. “These reforms follow extensive, respectful and inclusive consultation with industry and the community,” he said . “The State Government is also providing a $29.2 million Fisheries Support Package to assist the commercial and recreational sectors across the State to adapt to the reforms and is establishing an advisory council to provide guidance as the reforms are implemented. “The Government will continue to work closely with industry and the community to ensure fishing can continue long into the future. “This act of vandalism has been reported to WA Police.” A Bunbury fisher, Mason Jones, told the ABC he helped organise the protest with three others and that the fishing community was “uniting” against the ban. “Jackie Jarvis got a little package delivered to her just to start off the end of the year, to let her know how she ended the many careers of fisherman and small businesses,” he said. “We also left a set of overalls that were kindly donated from some commercial guys.” Bunbury detectives are continuing their investigation into the fish dumping. On Tuesday, police said they were “in the process of locating other person(s) involved in the incident”.