A man is fighting for his life in hospital after being rescued from the water near North Beach on Sunday morning during the opening day of WA's abalone season.
The 52-year-old was one of thousands who descended on WA beaches for an allowed hour of fishing for the seafood delicacy between 7am and 8am.
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An abalone fisher rescued at North Beach
Surf Life saving teams work hard to rescue an abalone fisher who nearly drowned on Sunday morning at Perth's North Beach. Vision by Karl Langdon
Radio 6PR sports presenter Karl Langdon witnessed the incident at Mettam's Pool, which occurred in rough swell.
"He's been caught in one of the holes here under the reef which is something that's quite common in these sorts of conditions," he said.
The man is in a critical condition in hospital.
Since 2012, three people have died while abalone fishing and in the past three years, Surf Life Saving WA has performed 42 rescues to the 2015 season.
On Sunday, lifesavers performed 54 rescues within one hour.
SLSWA services conducted patrols for the 1st day of the abalone season Lifesavers Performed 54 Rescues, 292 Preventative Actions & a 1st aid
— Surf Life Saving WA (@SLSWA) November 6, 2016
Beaches between Moore River and Busselton were heavily patrolled during Sunday morning with jetskis and helicopters monitoring popular areas.
Abalone fishers that WAtoday spoke to at Trigg Beach said conditions were rough, and many had chosen to leave or not enter the water.