WA hermit crab exporter Merv Cooper rejects exploitation claims
Rockingham-based store owner Merv Cooper is one of five operators with a commercial fishing licence in WA's only hermit crab fishery, which spans more than 1,500 kilometres from Exmouth Gulf in the Pilbara to Kununurra in the Kimberley.
For almost 50 years, from an idea that came to him when he was a Broome pearl diver, Mr Cooper has distributed Coenobita variabilis, land crabs in Australia and overseas, with international export numbers on previous permit declarations capped at 20,000 crabs per year.
But his international export licence, which expired in December, is up for renewal by the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
The store owner's proposal was open for public consultation for four weeks and caught the eye of conservation groups and the Animal Justice Party.
They say Mr Cooper is exploiting the species and the proposal should be rejected.
Mr Cooper said the criticism was unfounded.
Mr Cooper said claims he was exceeding crab collection limits were wrong.
"It's just the fact we've been operating for so long," he said.
"There're three or four people in Perth that want to bring it to light that we've taken too many crabs from the places we go to.
"There are millions of crabs.
Mr Cooper said during a two-night trip, he could collect about 2,000 crabs in one location and only took crabs a "few times" a year for exporting.
Total harvest numbers are not published due to the limited number of operators in the hermit crab fishery.
Mr Cooper's proposal stated that if approved, he "could" take an average of 30,000 crabs a year, but would need to access new locations.
The low price, about $5 for a small crab, makes them an ideal first pet for children and families.
The Animal Justice Party (AJP) and WA's Conservation Council said not enough was being done to monitor crab numbers.
AJP MP Amanda Dorn said she was firmly against the proposal, despite past international export approvals.
"We think this is ecologically irresponsible and ethically indefensible," she said.
"The underrated hermit crab has been largely ignored for many years ... (they are) being used as a 'throw away pet'.
Conservation Council WA executive director Matt Roberts said Mr Cooper's proposal should be rejected because it increased the number of crabs he wanted to export.
"It is a substantial increase and that would have a material impact on some of those ecosystems," he said.
Broome resident Taryn Ryan operates education seminars and walking tours to find and identify shells on Kimberley beaches.
She wants fauna studies into the impact on the region.
"How are we going to know if the taking of hermit crabs is going to affect the crab population? We don't," she said.
"[We could] even use this as an education opportunity.
"Maybe we can participate and make sure it's done in the safest way possible."
The Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development, which grants the commercial fishing licences, said there were no "identified risks" to the crab population.
"There is also a prohibition in place to limit the number of fishers and restrict the method to hand collection only," principal fisheries management officer Graeme Baudains said.
Mr Baudains said the department monitored catch numbers and trends.
"There is no identified need for a dedicated population survey, given the very low level of take, comparative to the observed population," he said.
Mr Cooper's Wildlife Trade Operator proposal is under assessment, with no timeline for a decision.
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