Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly has today called for submissions from industry and the community to progress plans for Western Australia's first-ever international lobster festival.
A working group for the international lobster festival has also been established.
The lobster festival was announced earlier this month as part of an innovative plan to grow the western rock lobster industry to achieve greater benefit from this community-owned resource for everyday Western Australians.
The Minister today held the first meeting of interested parties, including industry and local governments, in which a working group was appointed to provide advice to government on the establishment of the festival and what is needed to make it a world-class event.
Representatives from the Australian Hotels Association, Tourism Council WA and the Western Australian Local Government Authority have been appointed to the working group to collaborate with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
Submissions today opened for local government, industry and the community to provide input on how they think the festival would work best and to help government determine the best location for this exciting new festival.
Submissions can be emailed to [email protected] and will close on February 7, 2019.
As noted by Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly:
"This is an incredibly exciting festival for Western Australia that will celebrate our delicious community-owned lobster resource and be a huge drawcard for international tourists.
"We have had strong interest from coastal communities with links to the lobster industry to play a role in this festival, from as far north as Geraldton to as far south as Mandurah.
"An international lobster festival is not only a great way for the community to get involved in this valuable industry, but will support local jobs and the economy.
"In WA we already have some largely successful food festivals such as the Mandurah Crab Fest and the Western Australian Gourmet Escape festival.
"The Mandurah Crab Fest draws in more than 100,000 people each year, and in 2018 is said to have generated more than $8 million for the local economy.
"We want to draw on our experiences from this festival, and others around the State, to create WA's first-ever international lobster festival."
