Fatality sparks safety review

Last month’s fatality at Salmon Holes and the subsequent dangerous fishing at the spot, despite safety warnings, has sparked a Statewide Department of Environment and Conservation safety review.

DEC State visitor risk management co-ordinator Michael Phillips said the draft review would be ready next month.

“After the fatality we felt we needed to review our practices across the State in regards to coastal safety, in particular rock fishing, just to see if we were doing the best that we could do to ensure the safety of our visitors,” he said.

Mr Phillips said the review focused on four key areas of the WA coast: the south coast, especially Torndirrup National Park, the Pemberton to Walpole area, the South West and the Mid West.

“What the review has looked at is what we are doing in each of those patches, do we have a consistent approach across the State, and also to look at what other States are doing in terms of managing rock fishing safety,” %he said.

Mr Phillips declined to give details of the review’s recommendations. However, he flagged two key issues to be addressed: the lack of a Statewide rock fishing safety strategy, and the over-representation of people from non-English speaking backgrounds among rock fishing fatalities.

Mr Phillips said WA was the only State in Australia that did not have a Statewide rock fishing safety strategy.

“Most of the other States where they have rock fishing issues have a co-ordinated approach across agencies, and we appear to be lacking that in WA from what I can find out,” he said.

Mr Phillips said a 2007 Eastern States coronial review had found about 60 per cent of those involved in rock fishing-related fatalities were from non-English speaking backgrounds.

“That’s something I’ve certainly tried to address in my review, and that’s something we’ll be discussing with our steering groups to see how we can deliver the right messages in the right location to the right people,” he said.

Afghan refugee Mohammad Reza Mirzaie, 18, died on April 2 at Salmon Holes.

Mr Phillips said the option of closing Salmon Holes to the public was open to the DEC but it was “not an ideal path”.

Got a story? Email keir.tunbridge@albanyadvertiser.com