Urgent Action Required to Protect Eastern Blue Gropers

A growing number of Clovelly locals are concerned for the survival of the area’s eastern blue groper population after a number of larger fish were reportedly taken by fishermen off the rocks just outside of the special groper protection zone at Shark Point.

Regular swimmers at Clovelly Bay have noticed a decline in the numbers of groper in the area since COVID lockdowns lifted, particulary over the past month. Sightings increased during lockdown, possibly due to reduced fishing in the area, but this trend has seemingly ceased.

The blue and brown groper of Clovelly are in fact the same species, but the brown fish turn blue and become male if there is a shortage in the population.

“I swim in Clovelly Bay nearly every day and I haven’t seen a big blue groper for weeks,” one local swimmer, who asked not to be named, told The Beast.

“I used to see at least one or two every morning, so there’s definitely something going on.”

Another regular swimmer, Chris, shared a similar story, explaining that, “The numbers of mature blue groper seem to be in decline, especially since winter.”

We spoke to numerous people for this article and everyone shared a similar story. One local fisherman, Justin, told

The Beast, “I’ve noticed a lot of fishermen targeting groper over the last few months. It didn’t seem to happen so much before, but word has gotten around that there are plenty of them here and the opportunistic fisho’s have followed.”

“They target groper using live crabs and heavy gear, so despite their reputation for putting up a decent fight, even an adult male wouldn’t stand a chance against 100lb line on an 18,000 sized reel and a 12-24kg rod,” he said.

Another local resident, James, who regularly fishes from Shark Point had seen multiple juvenile groper being taken from the rocks, as well as a photo of a mature male that had been caught from the same spot. He told The Beast that he had noticed fishermen targeting the species using crabs and believes the local population is under pressure.

“One Saturday morning in mid-July I was fishing here [Shark Point] and saw one guy had captured a small brown groper, which was floating in the rock pool. It had been caught just outside of the special zone, so he was within his legal rights to keep it,” James explained.

“I asked him if he caught them often, and he showed me a photo of the biggest blue groper I’d ever seen, caught off the back of Clovelly two weeks earlier. I asked the bloke if he let him go, but he said he took it home and ate it. If they don’t do something about it soon there’ll be none left because they’re so easy to catch.”

So, it seems that ‘Bluey’ has been caught, killed and eaten, by someone who came here to do exactly that.

It is currently illegal to spear eastern blue groper in NSW, and even stricter rules apply to spearfishing and collecting within the Bronte to Coogee Aquatic Reserve, which extends from the southern end of Bronte Beach to the baths at Coogee Beach and out to 100 metres offshore - an area of approximately 40 hectares including 4,000 metres of coastline.

Line fishing and spearfishing are permitted inside this area, however an additional zone exists within the reserve (basically Clovelly and Gordons Bay) where it is illegal to spearfish at all or to line fish for groper. So, although groper are protected inside the bays, they can be taken by line just outside of the area, which seems ridiculous.

The Beast would like to see the special protection zone expanded to include the entire Bronte to Coogee Aquatic Reserve, and Randwick Council has been supportive.

“The blue groper is a fish synonymous with the Clovelly and Gordons Bay area, and I am concerned to hear anecdotal reports of a decline in numbers,” Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker told The Beast.

“Snorkelling with ‘Bluey’ is one of the iconic Sydney coastal activities and I’m supportive of measures to protect and preserve this valuable species. I have written to the NSW Minister for Agriculture, who is responsible for the Department of Primary Industries that administers the Bronte to Coogee Aquatic Reserve, asking them to investigate this issue as a priority.”

We will keep you posted on our progress. In the meantime, please report suspect fishing activity to your nearest Fisheries Office or use the Fishers Watch Phoneline, 1800 043 536.

Tiny Babies Need Your Kilometres

Would you like to get fit, have fun and contribute to something bloody good? Well, the Premmie Marathon Challenge could be right up your alley. Held each November by Running for Premature Babies to coincide with Prematurity Awareness Month, the challenge invites participants to choose their own distance of either 21km, 42km, 100km, 200km or 300km to complete throughout the month. It’s then up to each person to choose how they clock up their kilometres.

The challenge is free to join and fundraising is optional. However, anyone who raises (or donates) $75 will receive a very cool medal and create some bling-envy among their mates. Participants can register as an individual or a team, so there’s plenty of opportunity for healthy competition between colleagues, friends and family.

Since the charity’s inception 16 years ago, over $6 million has been raised, enabling it to provide over 120 pieces of life-saving equipment to hospitals around Australia and directly benefitting approximately 9,000 babies. One of these babies is Nix McWilliam, who was born on World

Prematurity Day, November 17, 2017. Little Nix spent his first six weeks using equipment donated by Running for Premature Babies at the Royal Hospital for Women. Now his dad, Stu, takes on the Premmie Marathon Challenge each year with extra gusto, knowing that without this charity his son might not be here today. This year he is stepping his Premmie Marathon Challenge up a notch, aiming to run on a treadmill in Westfield Bondi Junction for 24 hours straight from midday on Saturday, November 4 until midday Sunday, November 5.

The charity’s founder, Coogee woman Sophie Smith, lost her own prematurely born triplets back in 2006.

“Whether or not you’ve been personally touched by prematurity, please join the Premmie Marathon Challenge so we can ensure babies born prematurely in Australia have the very best start to their lives possible,” she said.

“You’ll get fit, have fun and, most importantly, you’ll feel amazing knowing you’ve given premature babies a better chance of survival.”

For more information and to register to compete, please visit premmiemarathonchallenge.com.