A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ASSOCIATION
The Garden Island Fishing and Aquatic Association is an incorporated body, originally established in 1958 to manage and protect the interests and property of the cottage owners on the North End of the Island. When the Armaments depot was established in Sulphur Bay the cottages were demolished and quite a few of their owners, rather than give up the “Island Life” started to holiday on board their boats. In 1981 the Association was resurrected to cater for the boating public who visit the Island. With interest by the boating public in visiting Garden Island rapidly increasing as southern metropolitan Perth expands, the need for a formal management policy for recreational boat mooring within the Controlled Naval Waters which surround Garden Island has been recognised. An Interim Mooring Management Policy was established in 1997 and following review, the Garden Island Recreational Moorings Management Policy (2005) for public mooring is the current policy which GIFAA’s Constitution and rules are formed under. Our aims are to preserve public access, the environment and the facilities that we enjoy today. There are no public moorings and use is not permitted without permission.
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Newsletter
GIFAA May 2025 Newsletter
[Click Here] to download in PDF
Hello GIFAA Members,
Thank you to everyone that attended the online briefing from Westport on Monday night (28th July 2025). With so much happening in our back yard at the moment, it is important that all members are kept up to date and get an opportunity to raise any questions or concerns.
Please see below a copy of the presentation as well as the link to the artificial reef survey and the Cockburn Sound Consultation Hub. Please subscribe to the consultation hub to be kept up to date. There were many questions asked by the participants at the briefing and I hope to get a digital copy of the Q and A’s. I will share these via our website when they are available.
The team from Westport have graciously offered to be available for discussion at our next GIFAA event, the season opener. This will be held at the Cockburn Power Boat Club on Sunday 5th October from 12:00 pm until 4:00 pm. More details on this will be published in the next newsletter. If you were unable to make it on Monday night or have any further questions it would be great to see you all there.
Take care and be Diver aware,
Pete Fry
Secretary
Garden Island Fishing and Aquatic Association (inc)
Please see the below links outlined during the briefing:
- Click here to subscribe to the Cockburn Sound Consultation Hub
- Click here to take the Artificial Reef survey.
Westport GIFAA Update [CLICK HERE]
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Important update
We have been advised officially by the Navy of a change to their policy regarding pets. As you know Garden Island is an A-class reserve and pets are prohibited from the island and this now includes Naval waters. Much like the other Rottnest Island and the other Islands nearby, pets are not permitted within 500 metres of the island.
Rafting of vessels is not permitted by order Superintendent of the Garden Island Naval Waters.
No anchoring within 50m of any mooring
Speed limits in the bays not to exceed 5 knots
Dogs/Pets are not permitted within 500m of the shoreline on Garden Island
Vessels over 13 metres cannot access Herring Bay
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Can you help?
The Garden Island Fishing & Aquatic Association are chasing your assistance with members stories related to Garden Island Activities . Please refer to the link attached:
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Recreational vessel safety equipment requirements have changed
Following a five-year review of safety equipment requirements in WA, stronger, simpler laws are being introduced to keep people safe on the water.
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Deckee allows the user to personalise their page and view important features including;
- Weather details and forecast specific to your area
- Marine Points of interest
- Trip planning
- Marine facilities, and
- Critical safety advice.
Important Safety Alerts are sent to specific areas using Geo Fencing technology to inform app users of details requiring their attention. This may include hazards, wind and weather concerns, closed waters for boating, and other temporary notices to mariners.
‘Deckee Signal’ is another feature that allows you to share your live location with specific contacts like your family or friends, or even other members of the Deckee community.
In a recent world first Deckee now allows all app users to provide live feedback to ‘Report an Incident’ and assist in maintaining safety on our waterways. Boaties can provide critical details relating to pollution, hazards, accidents, or poor behaviour by others in several easy-to-follow steps.
Deckee has many more features deserving of closer examination by all skippers, and users of our waterways. Download the app from Apple store, or Google Play.
I would encourage all members to download the Deckee app. More information about “Report an Incident” can be found on the following link [DOWNLOAD](mp4.file)
For more information about DECKEE: [CLICK HERE]
Pete Fry
Secretary
Garden Island Fishing & Aquatic Assoc. (Inc.)
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Welcome to Garden Island
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South Metropolitan Boating Guide
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