The Department of Fisheries says lobster catches at the Abrolhos Islands this season could be lower than expected due to higher than normal water temperatures.
The cray fishing season is set to start at the Abrolhos Islands next week.
The department's Nick Caputi says the warmer temperatures cause lobsters to become less active and can even kill them.
He says the Leeuwin current is the strongest the region has experienced in more than 10 years.
"Two-thousand was a very strong Leeuwin current year and water temperatures in that year were well above average but it appears this year water temperatures may be even higher than we experienced in that episode, this seems to be a particularly strong La Nina event," he said.
Lobster fisherman Butch Maddren says there is a healthy population of lobsters in the water at the moment and he is confident the high temperatures will not impact on catch numbers.
He says the crays will probably migrate to the cooler waters further offshore.
"I don't think there will be a problem, the water is a bit warm over there early on and coral was spawning apparently and there was few dead fish around but hopefully there's a change in wind and that should clear it up hopefully," he said.
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