few years on and the commercial guys who remain have done ok if you believe this article below from todays west

hezzy

Lobsters yield pots of gold

EXCLUSIVE Daniel Mercer December 27, 2014, 2:40 am

Rick pickings: Dave Thompson and crewman Adam Bradford. Picture: Steve Ferrier/The West Australian

WA's rock lobster industry is enjoying an unprecedented boom, with fishermen sharing in windfalls that have propelled some into the ranks of the State's richest people.

Half a decade after the biggest upheaval in the industry's history, inquiries by The Weekend West have discovered that commercial lobster fishing is more profitable than ever.

For the few individuals and families who dominate the sector, they have seen their wealth explode courtesy of a five-fold increase in asset values and a trebling of their cashflow.

Its most successful operators - brothers Michael and David Thompson, from Cervantes, - have amassed a fortune estimated to be more than $200 million on the back of the trade.

Others have seen their net worth soar into the tens of millions of dollars, as rocketing demand from China and tighter, economically rational catch limits send prices through the roof.

With the bounty has come a flurry of investment in lucrative lobster fishing entitlements.

From industry veterans to relative outsiders such as Tim Roberts, the heir of Multiplex founder John Roberts, investors have ploughed millions into buying lobster pots and the rights that go with them.

And the gilded times look set to roll on, with the festive season driving an annual bump in demand for seafood domestically and a free trade deal with China poised to usher in even greater prosperity.

Peter Hammond, a professional lobster fisherman for four decades, said the industry had seen its fair share of ups and downs but the current environment was "extremely" good.

Amid the glow, a clutch of families largely unknown outside the industry have been consolidating their positions through family-owned trusts and companies and seeing their wealth rocket.

Chief among them are the Thompsons, who transformed the business started by their father into an industry powerhouse gaining international recognition.

Working often slavish hours over decades, the straight-shooting pair have amassed more than 4000 pots conservatively valued at $45,000 each - putting their stake at about $200 million.

Industry experts says they are by far the biggest players in the fishing side of the industry, having long since surpassed other famous lobster fishing families.

They have also built up a fleet of more than a dozen boats, while diversifying their interests into pastoral industry.

Arguably the jewel in their crown, however, is their processing factory, known as Indian Ocean Rock Lobster and based in Cervantes, about two hours' drive north of Perth.

David said the decision to invest in the factory was prompted by a dilemma several years ago when another processor said it could not take their lobsters, potentially shutting off crucial avenues to export markets.

He said the factory allowed him and his brother to "vertically integrate" their fishing business and bypass the highly concentrated processing sector, dominated by the Geraldton Fishermen's Co-operative.

Only five years ago, the state of the industry was a different story.

Then, the State Government cut the commercial catch to 5500 tonnes, spurred into action by an alarming fall in baby lobster numbers.

It had also announced a complete overhaul of the system under which fishermen operated, introducing a quota arrangement that spread the season over a full year rather than seven months.

Mr Hammond said that under the old system fishermen had scrambled to catch their allocations as quickly as possible - a process that invariably hit stocks and depressed prices.

He said pot prices hit as low as $8000 during the industry's darkest days, while beach prices for lobster were as little as a third of today's level of $50-60.

"I would have sold out if we hadn't gone to quota because there was no future in it," he said.

"We would have all gone slowly broke - it was just hopeless."

Kim Colero, who as chairman of the WA Fishing Industry Council between 2009 and 2011 was instrumental in making the changes, said they were deeply unpopular with many operators.

He also acknowledged that they had shaken out the industry - there are about 250 commercial lobster vessels compared with about 450 in the early 2000s.

But Mr Colero said the changes had been vital in ensuring the survival of the industry, which was now flourishing as a result.

"It was very difficult," Mr Colero said. "There was a lot of grief and a lot of ugly telephone calls.

"Economically, the industry is in a very sound position now, though.

"It's making good money for the State, it's making good money for the individual fishers, the processors seem to be going OK and the regional communities are hanging in there."

I would have sold out if we hadn't gone to quota - there was no future in it." *Peter Hammond *