Wadjemup / Rottnest Island

A low limestone island about twenty kilometres off Fremantle, its whole land and water a Class A Reserve. Reef, seagrass and small sandy bays ring it; the settlement and its jetties are at Thomson Bay, with Geordie Bay a short ride away. The warm Leeuwin Current passes along the western coast, which faces the open Indian Ocean, and a few kilometres off it the continental shelf drops away. Limestone cliffs, caves and overhangs along the coast are unstable and can collapse.

Jetty and beach fishing in the sheltered bays, squid jigging from the jetties at night, and boat fishing off the West End, under the island's sanctuary zones and the state's rules.

Sheltered sandy bays, some with jetties; reef and seagrass close inshore; and the exposed western end, where the continental shelf drops away a few kilometres offshore.

Two layers. Western Australia's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development sets the licences, limits and closures, as it does across the state, and the island lies in the West Coast bioregion. The Rottnest Island Authority manages the island and its marine reserve: when its boating page was read on 25 October 2026, it listed five sanctuary zones — Kingston Reef, Green Island and Parker Point, closed to all fishing and taking; the West End Demersal zone, where only shore fishing from the Radar Reef platform and trolling for pelagic fish from boats are allowed; and Armstrong Bay, where only shore fishing with a rod or hand line in signposted areas is allowed. Its visitor guide added that Little Salmon Bay is closed to fishing and that daylight fishing is prohibited at Little Parakeet Bay, The Basin and Pinky Beach. FishingHQ does not map the zone boundaries; the authority publishes them. FishingHQ does not state what any current rule is: what is said here is what the authority's pages said when read. Check the current position with the authority and the department before going.

The authority's boating page warns walkers away from unstable rock slopes, limestone cliff edges, caves and overhangs, which can collapse. Its fishing guide asks anglers to be ready for changes in weather and sea, to wear a lifejacket where required and to supervise children, and warns that the West End's offshore water is not for the inexperienced. It also asks that gear be kept tidy on the jetties, because pelicans take bait and catches and can be tangled in line.

The island's own fishing guide, read on 25 October 2026, names these.

THOMSON BAY JETTIES. The most popular spot for families, a short walk from the settlement, with schools of herring by day and squid at night under the lights of Hotel Jetty. Other jetty users are mooring boats and swimming, and the guide asks anglers to give them room.

GEORDIE BAY. Sheltered and a short ride from the settlement; the guide names herring, skippy, tailor, silver bream, whiting and the odd flathead.

RICEY BEACH. A more remote beach out towards the West End, where the guide says mulloway are sought.

BY BOAT. The West End and Phillip Rock, between Thomson Bay and Kingston Reef. The guide names pink snapper and dhufish among the West End's fish, but in 2026 the state had closed boat fishing for demersal scalefish on the West Coast, so they may not be fished for from a boat until the state reopens it.

The fish named are the guide's, not a survey; none is recorded here as caught at a particular spot.

THREE ZONES CLOSED OUTRIGHT. Kingston Reef, Green Island and Parker Point sanctuary zones: no fishing and no taking of anything.

TWO ZONES WITH ONE OR TWO METHODS. In the West End Demersal zone, which takes in Radar Reef, Cape Vlamingh and Cathedral Rocks, only shore fishing with rod, line or hand line along the Radar Reef platform, and trolling from a boat for pelagic fish, are allowed. In the Armstrong Bay zone, only shore fishing with rod, line or hand line in the signposted areas.

BAYS KEPT FOR SWIMMING. The guide says there is no fishing at Little Salmon Bay, and no fishing in daylight at Little Parakeet Bay, The Basin and Pinky Beach.

BOATS. The authority asks that boats anchor only on sand, never on reef or seagrass, and that no liquid waste be discharged anywhere in the marine reserve.

The zone boundaries are on the authority's maps, not here.