WA Demersal Fishing Bait Rule

The 1 bait rule per line when fishing for Demersal finish in WA waters was firstly discussed before it was legislated to protect Demersal species from Barotrauma. A condition brought about by quickly bringing fish up from deep depths. This rule was initially for boat fishing to prevent double hookups when there was already 1 fish onboard the boat. Shore based fishing does not experience the depths where Barotrauma is a concern. Also there is an abundance of species to be caught from shore and the 1 bait rule is pointless when fishers can just say they are fishing for any species but Demersal Finfish. The rule shouldn't be applied to shore based fishing. The rule is just to open to interpretation, Fisheries officers cannot be 100% sure of what a shore based fisherman is targeting unless the fisherman states the target fish. All fish in WA take the same baits recreational fisherman use and the difference in rigs is minimal.