RecFish SA - E-News
RecFish SA News
Reservoir Stocking, Murray Cod Angler Science, Fish Habitat, Valuing Recreational Fishing, Future Leaders and the Battle for Baroota
There's a lot of news, so let's catch up!
Hi there , in this edition of E-news we want to catch you up on some exciting developments on the SA recreational fishing scene. RecFish SA have been busy stocking fish, making submissions to government, launching our Fish Habitat partnership with Ozfish Unlimited and developing new, exciting recreational fishing opportunities in SA.
RecFish SA stock 24,000 Native Fish in Reservoirs
With the stocking of 1200 TAFE SA grown Silver perch on May 30, RecFish SA were thrilled to announce to the public that we've so far stocked 24,000 native fish into the Warren and Bundaleer reservoirs. This includes, Murray cod, Golden perch and Silver perch. The first round of stocking was funded through the SA Recreational Fishing Grants program. More Info>>>
Cod Anglers, Fish for Data
RecFish SA is proudly supporting member organisation, the Lower Murray Lure Fishing Club in partnership with SARDI Aquatic Sciences, to better understand SA cod populations. At the first event in Swan Reach, 34 of SA's best cod fishers spent two full days fishing marked sections of river. It is hoped that this can lead to a greater use of angler data to monitor the fishery into the future. Follow the project on Facebook and Instagram!
Fish Habitat Partnership
If we want to improve fishing, then we have to take care of where fish live! Thanks to the FRDC and OzFish, RecFish SA now have in-house capacity to work with fishers to tackle fish habitat issues.
Projects in West Lakes & the Onkaparinga River are soon to get underway and a Fishers for Fish Habitat forum is planned for September 10. You can register your interest in fish habitat issues here>>
Time to make sense of fishing dollars!
Fishers know that in addition to being a valuable activity for those who participate, recreational fishing also delivers significant social and economic benefits to the wider community. This is why RecFish SA was pleased to have the opportunity, to make a detailed submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into the fishing industry. Read More >>
The Next Wave: Future Leadership
Last month, RecFish SA was pleased to send member & volunteer, Ryan Roberts to participate in an intensive, week-long leadership course at Port Fairy. Ryan was joined by 11 other future leaders from around south-east Australia. The program was coordinated by VRFish in partnership with RecFish SA, Recreational Fishers Alliance NSW and TARFish.
Participants engaged with presentations by experts from around southern Australia, including fisheries managers, scientists, policy-makers, advocates, fisheries officers, commercial fishers and industry leaders. This gave the intending future leaders an opportunity to prepare for and better understand, the complexities of this exciting and often challenging sector. It was also a unique opportunity to compare management approaches from state to state and build new networks.
Participants applied their knowledge by working in groups on three topical case studies. These included future Southern Bluefin Tuna access, the Carp Herpes Virus and Federal Development Priorities. Facilitators, were thrilled with the depth and quality of the final presentations, which served to demonstrate that a bright future for recreational fishing advocacy and development lies ahead.
RecFish SA would like to thank the other peak bodies involved, with special thanks to Dallas D'Silva, General Manager at VRFish. Our thanks go also to the Victorian and NSW Governments, as well as the FRDC's Recfishing Research for funding this opportunity. Finally, we thank Ryan for doing SA proud with his hard work, initiative and commitment to the challenges presented.
RecFish SA will continue to work with our partners as we seek to provide more opportunities to develop South Australian recreational fishing leaders into the future.
The Battle for Baroota Reservoir
This picturesque reservoir, 10kms inland from Pt Germain, has been earmarked as one of the 5 dams to be opened to recreational fishing, as a result of a long campaign by RecFish SA. At up to18 metres deep, and with crystal clear water, in stunning natural surrounds, we are sure Baroota has the potential to be one of SA's most iconic freshwater fishing destinations.
Last week, RecFish SA took to the airwaves on ABC Radio to argue the case for angler access. This comes after some local landowners went public with their objection to opening up the dam to allow fishing. The locals cite potential fire danger and the nuisance of having more visitors driving into the area, as their main concerns.
RecFish SA has always taken a responsible approach to managing fire risk at reservoirs, with the Warren closed on total fire ban days. We fully support a reasonable management regime, one which is comparable with how similar publicly owned, community land assets, such as parks and reserves are managed.
As for the concerns over increased visitation, RecFish SA Executive Director for Communications, David Ciaravolo said "This is a community owned asset and it should be used to benefit the local area. We know that recreational fishing brings significant social and economic benefits to regional areas. In our recent survey of 500 intending reservoir fishers, 86% said they would often visit a local town for hospitality services, with 58% indicating they would stay in nearby town or caravan park."
The Mount Remarkable Council has already unanimously passed a motion supporting the opening of Baroota Reservoir for recreational fishing, and RecFish SA have applied to stock Murray cod, Golden perch and Silver perch into the dam. RecFish SA understands that the State Government is keen to see fishing access established in this unique location and we continue to work with all the relevant departments to see this become a reality.
RecFish SA know that fishing in the Baroota will be something special for the South Australian recreational fishing community and we intend to fight so that it can soon be developed as a prime fishing location. Watch this space....
Follow RecFish SA on Instagram!
We enjoy sharing images of our latest projects and events, as well as keeping up to date with the SA fishing community. Why not tag @RecFishSA into your posts as we are looking to re-share iconic SA fishing photos! Check out our Instagram >>
RecFish SA is your organisation & we want to hear from you!
If you have any recreational fishing issues, or would like more information about the news presented here, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us. You can reply to this email or call (08) 8340 0777.
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