"It's my first time abalone fishing and the worst thing happened, I lost my bag and GoPro in the first five minutes."
Those were the words of Takashi Sakamoto as he stood cheerfully, despite his loss, dressed in a full wetsuit in the sand at Trigg Beach on Sunday morning.
![Thousands of fishers headed to Perth beaches for the first day of abalone season.](/web/20161108121849im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/7/a/y/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsj6zh.png/1478417661257.jpg)
It was 7.30am and he was one of thousands who descended on WA beaches for an allowed hour of fishing for the seafood delicacy to mark the beginning of the recreational abalone season in WA.
Mr Sakamoto had lost his camera in the waves after the swell picked up and made it difficult for fishers to keep their footing.
He and his wife, Izumi, were on their way out for one more try when they spoke to WAtoday.
The increasingly rough sea conditions led many, including experienced recreational abalone fisher, Marc Sputore, to retreat from the water earlier than planned.
Mr Sputore said he only managed to collect about eight abalone – just over half his quota – before deciding to call it a day.
"There's a 2.5 metre swell today, so you get a lot of water moving and it's very turbulent, and the visibility - unless you're sitting right on top of them - you can't see them," he said.
![Izumi and Takashi Sakamoto were all smiles despite losing their GoPro.](/web/20161108121849im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/7/b/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsj6zh.png/1478417661257.jpg)
"It's super difficult, because the moment you get clear you get whacked by a wave and get pushed off the spot, so you've got to look for it again.
"I got a couple of scrapes, I'm used to getting rolled on these reefs."
![Marc Sputore's catch.](/web/20161108121849im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/7/a/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsj6zh.png/1478417661257.jpg)
Mr Sputore wasn't the only one to take a tumble on the shallow at Trigg Beach.
Hundreds of fishers, most in wetsuits and carrying catch bags, braced in unison as each wave approached the shallow reef where they were standing in knee-deep water.
![Marc Sputore, with his son, Thomas, 8, and their abalone catch.](/web/20161108121849im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/7/b/c/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gsj6zh.png/1478417661257.jpg)
Most bore the impact, but every now and again, someone would lose their footing and get swept back towards shore. It is easy to see how the sport can turn dangerous in rough conditions.
Others, rather than standing to brace the wave, would float face down in the water and try to hold onto a piece of reef for stability.
![Abalone fishers at Trigg Beach.](/web/20161108121849im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/8/2/2/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gsj6zh.png/1478417661257.jpg)
The strategy seemed about as successful as the 'stand and brace' tactic, with only a few tumbling in a wave only to emerge with not much more than a bruised ego seconds later.
More than 17,000 people have purchased a recreational abalone fishers licence this season – a permit that allows them to fish for one hour for the first Sunday morning of each month from November to March.
![Fisheries officers checking swimmers bags as they exit the water.](/web/20161108121849im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/j/8/2/7/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gsj6zh.png/1478417661257.jpg)
They are lured to the water by the delicacy, which can, in large sizes, cost hundreds to purchase at a restaurant and is popular in many Asian countries.
Yuko Kirchlechner has been abalone fishing for many years, but decided to stay on the beach on Sunday, not feeling game enough to face the swell.
In her home country, Japan, abalone is often eaten raw, as sashimi, with accompanying soy sauce.
"First we have to take off the shell and cut the mouth part, that you cannot eat," she said.
"After that, I will clean with a toothbrush and then you can eat as sashimi, also some people do steaming.
"It tastes very good. It's very rubbery, a little bit like calamari."
Ms Kirchlechner said she sometimes steamed or boiled the abalone, while other popular cooking methods were to tenderise the meat and then pan-fry it or cook it on the barbecue.
Mr Sputore said he liked to pan-fry the abalone with butter and add salt and a squeeze of lemon.
Recfishwest spokesman Tim Grose said on Friday many were drawn to abalone fishing not only for their taste, but by the excitement of making their own catch.
Some on Sunday, were so excited, they fished in their clothes.
One man emerged from the water with his bag of abalone weighed down by his saturated black jeans, long sleeve shirt and shoes. Not a typical choice of swimming wear, but perhaps he did it on purpose to try and protect himself from the reef.
While others took a much more casual approach and just wore boardshorts.
The array of characters entering the water appears to have not gone unnoticed by the locals, with the shorelines not only packed with abalone fishers, but also those keen to watch the action unfold.
Some fishers looked like seasoned professionals, others looked, well, like fish out of water.
Adding to the visual for spectators, was that each fisher that emerged from the water was quickly approached by one of three very eagle-eyed Fisheries officers checking each persons catch.
Licence holders are allowed to catch 15 abalone a day, and each must be at least 60 millimetres in size to be taken off the reef.
One group who tried to slip out of sight from the officers up the only exit - some stairs - were quickly apprehended in a nearby car park and fined.
They were one of eight people issued infringements on Sunday, while another 37 were issued warnings.
Sadly, one fisherman was fighting for his life on Sunday afternoon after being rescued from the water near North Beach after getting caught in a hole under the reef.
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.
A worryingly common problem given abalone fishing's popularity in WA, as it becomes one of the most strictly managed fisheries in the world.
Licence holders are only allowed to fish for five hours, over five days – and take a maximum of 75 abalone each season.
Authorities will continue to monitor abalone stocks in the coming years to determine if that allowance will be reduced even further.
The next abalone day will occur on the first Sunday of December.