The Department of Fisheries has released the results of a survey of WA's recreational fishing take, which has found the blue swimmer crab is the most commonly caught species.

The public will soon have an opportunity to comment on new guidelines being developed for companies who want to use fracking to access gas deposits in Western Australia.

The plan to set out bait for large sharks near popular WA beaches has been criticised over concerns it could attract them into swimming areas, but others back the move.

The state Opposition Leader Mark McGowan has labelled as "out of control" fee increases for TAFE courses from next year. The Government flagged the increases months ago but the new fees were only published yesterday. Mr McGowan says the cost of a Diploma of Nursing will rise 390 per cent next year. He says the increases will result in fewer people enrolling and lead to skills shortages.

This week on backyard farmer, we go in search of the best grub from the bush with the help of a local Noongar man.

The Royal Life Saving Society says WA's latest drowning figures, which reveal a 50 per cent increase on the previous year, should serve as a warning ahead of the festive season. A new report shows 31 people drowned in the state in 2012. Children under the age of four were the highest risk group for drowning and near drowning. Older people over the age of 55 were also at risk.

A storybook that celebrates and shares experiences from the Goldfields, Esperance and Great Southern regions was launched on Tuesday.

The charity food provider, Foodbank, says there has been a big increase in middle class people seeking help in regional WA this holiday period.

The latest survey of the cost of living in regional WA has shown a significant drop in living costs in the state's north. The State Government assesses the cost of 500 goods and services in 27 regional centres as part of the Regional Price Index every second year.

A hoax claiming the Church of Scientology was planning a nine-storey development at an iconic Albany site in WA's South Coast has infuriated local authorities.

Travel back through time with us and take a look at 2013 in the South Coast and Great Southern.

Thieves have caused significant damage to a shopping centre while trying to steal an automatic teller machine in Albany.

A bobcat was used to ram an ATM at an Albany shopping centre.

Police in Albany suspect an attack on an automatic teller machine may be linked to a similar incident on the south coast a a few months earlier.

A bushfire watch and act remains in place for the Shires of Plantagenet and Denmark as an uncontrolled fire that started on Friday in Mount Roe National Park continues to burn.

Demand on accommodation pushes tourists out from hotspots

Nationals MP Wendy Duncan says the State Government is paying the price for the shortage of doctors in regional Western Australia. She says the Commonwealth should fund efforts to attract doctors to regional areas.

With extremely hot inland conditions being experienced and forecast in Western Australia, farmers are warned of potential threats to livestock.

The mercury is set to tip over the forty degree mark for many parts of WA this weekend, and it's important to know how the heat can affect your body.

Pledging to quit smoking, lose weight and get fit is pretty popular on New Years' Eve, so why do many people fail?

Authorities are warning the Great Southern and lower Wheatbelt need to be on alert over the next few days, with sweltering conditions expected to create a serious fire danger.

Police in Albany are investigating an aggravated burglary on Saturday afternoon.

Like sex and birth, death has always been hushed up. Death Cafes are a forum where there are no answers, only questions, says Sigari Luckwell of Bunbury.

Fire authorities have issued the all clear after a major bushfire that was burning in Western Australia's Great Southern.

A business commentator has warned the relief felt by the local nickel sector, after an Indonesian move to restrict exports, could be extremely short-lived.

The Denmark Shire is proposing a plan to replace the leases at a popular holiday spot with more traditional ownership rights.

Local government officials in Mount Barker say they are angered by the "senseless" burglary and vandalism at the town's swimming pool complex.

The Masters Builders Association (MBA) says it is highly encouraged by improving demand for commercial and housing developments in Albany.

The Shire of Kondinin says there has been a big impact on the Wheatbelt community of Karlgarin from a major storm that occurred a year ago today.

A number of Western Australian south-west and Great Southern projects have received funding to clean up contaminated sites.

How many worms can you count in an hour? Albany backyard farmer Bede Harold claims that he can count one thousand red wrigglers an hour. Bede also believes it is his worms that are the key to his vegetable patch.

Clubs WA has hit out at the recommendations in a review of Western Australia's liquor laws released yesterday, claiming its interests have been ignored. The review of the Liquor Control Act released by the State Government makes 141 recommendations, including the introduction of secondary supply laws which make it an offence to supply liquor to a juvenile on an unlicensed premise without parental consent.

The Fair Work Ombudsman will be auditing retailers across Perth and regional Western Australia, in response to a spike in complaints.

New modelling shows a proposal to create a national body for research and innovation in the forestry sector would create hundreds of jobs in Western Australia's south.

A Western Australian Government survey has found the Great Southern has one of the state's lowest rates of people looking to relocate to another region.