WOODMAN’S POINT / KWINANA / COCKBURN SOUND
Anglers fishing from the various platforms around the Sound have reported numbers of small samsonfish being captured. This would provide some excitement to herring anglers on light tackle. Down in the bottom of the Sound there are some big skippy on the bite along with plenty of squid.

There are reports of a few salmon being taken along with some small tailor and nuisance sized snapper. These fish are under-sized bait thieves and need to be returned to the water to grow for the next season.

An occasional mulloway is still being taken from the Woodman’s Point jetty and patient anglers prepared to brave the cold and wet evenings have been rewarded. There are also good numbers of yellow finned whiting around the area.

ROCKINGHAM / SAFETY BAY
Safety Bay area is still turning on some good sized skippy and whiting offshore and there are still plenty of squid around. The beaches are producing herring and garfish and an occasional tailor at night.

PRESTON BEACH / TIM’S THICKET / MANDURAH Indications are that the prawn numbers are on the improve in the estuary. Good news is the numbers and size of the herring around. Some real little footballs. In amongst the herring are a few tailor and salmon particularly on the southern beaches.

The Cut is still quite productive and if it starts to get a bit blustery you can always find somewhere to fish out of the breeze and still catch fish.

The estuary is also producing some good bream upstream a little and you don’t have to be Einstein to know to use fresh river prawns for bait. My tip is to go and scoop a few eat the big ones and keep the little ones for bait.

There are still a few tailor being caught from the northern beaches but the main catches seem to be whiting and herring with an odd tarwhine. Skippy are starting to make their presence felt as well. Just off shore there have been some good fish caught and the areas around the James Service reef have also been very productive. Small snapper, yellow-fin whiting, King George whiting, samsonfish and assorted small reef fish have all been on the bite.

OFFSHORE BOAT FISHING

Anglers fishing either side of Direction Bank are also reporting good bottom fishing from out wide. Snapper and Westralian Jewfish up to 15 kg have been taken.

INSHORE DINGHY FISHING

Cockburn Sound is also producing some good fishing for snapper, King George whiting and squid. The snapper size seems to vary according to location so it may require a bit of moving around until a school of larger fish is found.

Source: http://blogs.abc.net.au/ for more reports on other area’s very detailed

Murdoch University has been awarded $20 million by the Federal Government to host Australia’s new National Centre of Excellence in Desalination.

The federal funding over five years was announced by parliamentary secretary for regional development and federal member for Brand, Gary Gray. It will be topped by up to an extra $5 million from the Western Australian state government.

The WA-based Centre, at Murdoch’s Rockingham campus, will bring together the country’s leading desalination and water science research organisations.

Murdoch University now becomes an integral part of the federal government’s 10-year $12.9 billion ‘Water for the Future’ strategy, which recognises the importance of developing research to address current and future demand for water in Australia.

Murdoch University vice chancellor professor, John Yovich, said the new Centre would draw together the nation’s top scientists in desalination to provide solutions to the water crisis, and build on Murdoch’s historical research strengths in renewable energy, water and environmental sciences.

“Murdoch University is excited to lead and coordinate national and international research collaborations in energy-efficient desalination technology for use in Australia’s unique circumstances and indeed rural, city and industrial locations around the world,” Yovich said.

“This important new national research hub at Murdoch will offer energy-saving solutions to safeguard future water supplies for both consumers and industry, and these new technologies will have widespread application for the benefit of all Australians.”

Yovich said the Centre’s location at Murdoch’s Rockingham campus would enable immediate use of ready infrastructure including laboratories, offices, and pilot plant facilities.

It was ideally placed near commercial areas, the coastal strip and major industrial water users at Kwinana, and would be a major boost to the regional city of Rockingham.

A spokesman for one of the international consortium partners, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), New Mexico, said it was thrilled to hear of Murdoch’s successful bid to host the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination.

“Strong international research collaboration is essential for solving the world’s problems, and this new centre will enable Australia to make meaningful progress to the pressing problem of global water security,” senior manager and SNL Water Program lead, John Merson, said.

“We look forward to building strong ties with Murdoch University and the other centre participants.”

Murdoch expects to engage with many national and international water and desalination research organisations to develop the site.