June 17, 2026 — 5:48pmWest Australian Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis has delivered an emotional speech in parliament after being subjected to threats which included shark heads and fish guts being dumped outside her office in protest of a controversial fishing ban.Speaking during discussions surrounding an inquiry into the state of WA’s fisheries, Jarvis claimed the opposition had backed in commercial fishers “who have been difficult to deal with” – a statement vehemently denied by the Nationals, who have been strong advocates for the inquiry.Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis.9 News PerthOn Wednesday, after several hours of debate, all political parties threw their support behind that inquiry for differing reasons.Jarvis said she had “nothing to hide”, which was why she would support the motion, but held particular ire for protesters who had threatened her family and her staff.“To stand there and support fishers who have made threats against my family, to stand there to support fishers who have dumped shark heads at my door, where my staff have to deal with that,” she said.“I came to Perth to meet with commercial fishers on December 28. I said I would meet them at any time, and as I’m driving to Perth, they’re driving to my office to dump 200 [kilograms] of shark heads at the door for my staff to deal with.“Before that, deckhands employed by commercial fishers making threats to my husband’s business, to people who work for my husband.“You guys continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with people who attack my family, who attack people who are completely unrelated to this.”Jarvis said she was emotional, but also understood it had been “incredibly emotional for commercial fishers”.“I get that I have caused significant pain to this industry. I couldn’t see a way out. I genuinely couldn’t see a way out and so I’ve done what I’ve done,” she said.Nationals MLC Steve Thomas told parliament none of his colleagues “accept the personalisation of this argument”.“Robust debate is required. None of us accept the horrible things that you may have been exposed to and we certainly do not encourage it,” he said.“The fisheries ministry is probably the worst ministry you can get in the West Australian government – you’ve probably offended somebody because you never have good news.“You are the minister for bad news and misery. It is a tough job, and you should never be abused for it.”Jarvis urged the Nationals to reveal an alternative policy if they had one, suggesting during the inquiry would be the perfect time to do so.“Have a policy … look at the science, just don’t say you don’t believe in the science,” she said.“I don’t care what’s in the motion. I’ve seen the conspiracy theories about wind farms and seismic blasting and all sorts of things.“I have looked at the science, I am comfortable with the decision.“This is about overfishing.”Jarvis said she had been provided with “ridiculous arguments” from people claiming fish don’t become extinct.“They have what’s called ‘functional extinction’, that’s where the wild population no longer actually functions,” she said.There were also claims the minister had decided to change the fishing laws for political gain.“It would be great if someone could tell me what political gain I have achieved here because as far as I can tell, I’ve just basically annoyed everyone,” she said.The minister’s speech came after the Nationals’ Legislative Council leader Julie Freeman said the inquiry should have happened first, before any change to the law was made.“It’s around good decision-making, and it’s around having a transparent and accountable and consultative process,” she said.“It should have happened first. It would have created confidence and trust, and it would have brought people along with it, but we are asking for it now.”Freeman said the Nationals had been calling for an inquiry since October. At the time, the party threw their support behind Anthony Haygarth, a commercial and recreational fisher from Geraldton, who started a petition calling for the inquiry.More than 27,000 people signed that petition, which was first tabled in parliament in February.“The minister then announced [the demersal fishing] bans, which came as an absolute shock out of the blue,” Freeman said on Wednesday.“The sector were expecting change. They were perhaps expecting something temporary. The commercial fishers were not expecting their livelihoods to be over.”The inquiry will examine a wide range of issues, from marine parks to the impact of seismic blasting on fish stock, alongside the demersal ban.It is likely that regardless of the process and outcome, the demersal ban will remain in place given it has support from the Greens and Labor.The decision comes after a 35-year-old man was slapped with a $4700 fine and forced to hand in fishing gear over repeated breaches to the state’s laws, including taking demersal fish during the temporary ban, which is scheduled to end in spring, 2027.The man, from Yarloop, appeared in the Bunbury Magistrates Court in June and was ordered to forfeit four fishing rods and a navigational plotter after fisheries and marine officers caught him with three undersize blue swimmer crabs, six pink snapper and one WA dhufish – both demersal species – three undersize tarwhine, and a shark.Since December 2025 across Bunbury, Busselton and Albany, fisheries officers have spoken with more than 5500 recreational fishers, inspected more than 1000 vessels and undertaken over 60 patrols outside of normal operation hours.Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X or email.From our partners