Geraldton Fishermen's Co-operative's online Members' meeting was held on Thursday, 1st June.

Your Co-operative Update: 

GFC CEO Matt Rutter welcomed Members on the call and gave a brief Cooperative update. The main points are summarised below;

• GFC's monthly Board meeting was held last week. Matt gave an overview of some of the topics discussed, including; the updated loyalty scheme and holdover rules for the new season that are expected to impact Members positively. More information on these will be shared with Members at the following online meeting;
• Other preparations for the new season that the Board discussed included budgets and the remaining upgrades to the Sultan Way facility;
• Matt also shared plans to meet with Government departments and Ministers in the coming weeks.

Member Services;

Leith Teakle, GM of Member Services, gave Members an update from the Member Services team. The main points are summarised below;

• Leith reminded Members about the July New Season Family Day planned in Jurien Bay. Members should have received an email invitation; if you haven't already, please RSVP via the article below;
• Leith shared some recent enhancements to the GFC Member App, including; a "forgot password?" function on the landing page, performance updates and the ability for fishers to opt out of delivery notifications if taking an extended break. Members should download the updated app in Apple Store/ Google Play to activate these improvements.

Market Summary;

Bryan Keay, GM of Trade and Business Development, gave Members a market update. The main points are summarised below;

• Intake has begun to slow as we edge closer to the end of the season. As intake decreases, Bryan expects the percentage of live sales to increase;
• Bryan noted a slight increase in demand in some key export markets and expected prices to trend slightly higher for the remainder of the season; 

Intake and Sales Summary;

• Intake season to date is now tracking at historical levels, and the forecasted lower catch in the remaining weeks of the season was in line with projections;
• As we edge closer to the end of the season, Bryan compared the beach price levels between Period 1 and Period 2 of the shortened season. Period 1 pricing was volatile in response to varying intake, whereas Period 2 pricing was relatively stable.

The next Member online meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 22nd June 2023, at 4 pm. The meeting link will be sent to Members via email before the meeting.

If you have any questions or topics you'd like addressed in a future meeting, or if you want to discuss the above summary further, please contact one of the Member Services team.

RSVP To The GFC's New Season Family Day

GFC Members, partners and family are invited to the new season family day in Jurien Bay on the 3rd of July.

We're looking forward to getting our Members, staff and families together to bring in the new fishing season. If you haven't already, click the button below to RSVP - we hope to see you there!

Bait Supply Update for the 2023 - 2024 Season

As reported in the last update, stocks of some of our traditional lines, such as Orange Roughy heads and Hoki heads, from the 2022 fishing seasons were depleted in recent months due to increased use. As a stopgap until the new season Roughy and Hoki supplies became available, we've been relying on alternative baits, such as Jack Mackerel heads.

Thankfully the 2023 Roughy and Hoki seasons are now underway, providing an opportunity to source new stock. With current lead times to catch, pack, and ship, Members should start to see these new supplies hitting our bait list by the first week of July.

Significant orders have been placed for Orange Roughy heads. As always, we won't know if our orders can be filled until the end of the New Zealand/Tasmanian Roughy fishing seasons in a few months. If the Orange Roughy catch does not meet our needs (as was the case this season), then Members' demand moves to Hoki heads as the next best option.

Given the increased use of Hoki Heads by Members this season, we have placed orders for increased quantities of this bait to (hopefully) see us through the 2023/'24 season. As with Orange Roughy, we won't know if our orders are filled until the end of the New Zealand Hoki fishing season later in the year. Any shortfalls that might occur will have to be met through one-off opportunistic purchases and a reliance on other baits, such as Jack Mackerel. 

Whole Blue Mackerel remains readily available and supported in the short term with Whole Bonito. We need to be aware of the MSC constraint on using Blue Mackerel, but we will continue to supply within these guidelines.

Other baits available are Tuna, Bonito and Jack Mackerel Heads and Pork Flare. We've secured an additional pork flare supply, which should come online towards the start of the whites.

There has been a significant failure of the Salmon season this year, and this will mean very few Cutlets and Heads available till the next Salmon season in March 2024.

We will update Members on bait availability via the online meetings and in the Catcher.

GFC Member Ladies Lunch Wrap Up

Last month, GFC held two extraordinary lunch events in Geraldton and Fremantle to recognise the invaluable contribution of our female members and staff to our Cooperative and, more broadly, the Western rock lobster industry.

The lunches were an opportunity to acknowledge not just the recent contributions of women in the Western rock lobster industry but the historical contributions made by ladies in fishing that have helped shape the industry.

Apart from the social aspect of the lunches, the events were punctuated by personal stories from members and staff, sharing their challenges, contributions and achievements. We want to extend a special thanks to our speakers for sharing their stories;

Geraldton Speakers; Glenda Boys, Anne Bass, Carol Teakle, Tracey Basile

Fremantle Speakers; Toni Jurinovich, Judy Dann, Leonie Noble

As further evidence of the dynamic cohort of female leaders in our cooperative family, many of the ladies also contributed by sharing stories and wares from their own businesses. We'd like to acknowledge the support we received from these firms and members;

Indah Health & Beauty Spa  - Tess, family and staff provided a voucher to attendees

Abrolhos Collective Handpainted Glassware – Justine & Brenda

Hazard Clothing & Shoes – Basilia Facchini and staff

Sour Hour Cocktails & Co – Emmerson Nugent

Abrolhos and Coral Live Rock – Andrew and Tracey Basile

Coast 2 Coast Mounts - Sharon Whitehead

Instyle Shoes and Accessories - Jenny Lenzo

We encourage all Members to check out the above-listed businesses and to support our local economies and the broader Cooperative family where possible.

We want to acknowledge Leonie Noble and Debbie Frater, the driving forces behind these two great events. More broadly, the Member Services team worked behind the scenes to make the lunches happen, and Ali Walker, our receptionist, designed and made the beautiful signage boards. 

Attendees are able to download images from the lunches by clicking here. 

We're looking forward to running similar events on a regular basis in the future.

Commercial Fishers and Researchers Collaborate to Keep an Eye on WA's Marine Habitat.

Fisheries researchers from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) are working with commercial rock lobster and crab fishers to deploy and retrieve high-tech cameras that film the marine environment.

The cameras are also georeferenced, meaning they can help build a database of what’s happening where in the marine environment.

By the middle of this year, more than 30 of the so-called POTBots will be deployed off Western Australia, which through regular data sampling, will help fisheries researchers better understand habitat change along the coast.

Read more about the POTBots here.

Western Rock Lobster Council and Pilot Energy Consultation Meetings

The Western Rock Lobster Council will join Pilot Energy's Eureka Project team at their Fremantle, Cervantes and Geraldton lobster-industry-specific consultative meetings, which are being held on the 6th, 7th and 8th of June, respectively. 

For more information and to RSVP to attend one of the meetings, please click here.

WAFIC Midwest Seismic Industry Consultation Invitation

The Western Australian Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC) is hosting an industry consultation night in Geraldton later this month. The meeting is an important opportunity to update Members and interested parties on industry developments and issues facing the future of WA fisheries, including the Midwest region.

Date & Time: Friday 23 June 2023 from 3.00pm - 6.30pm
Location:        Geraldton Gun Club, 299 Eighth Street, Wonthella.

The format for the event will include presentations on a range of challenges facing commercial fishers, from windfarms, hydrogen hubs, worker shortages, marine parks and more. All presentations include ample opportunity for comment and direct questioning from attendees.

More information can be found here. RSVP to WAFIC directly by emailing here before the 16th of June.

Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Implementation Complete

The A-UKFTA entered into force on the 31st of May; the agreement is a commercially significant commitment that will create new export opportunities and reduce input costs for business, strengthen trade diversification and help ease cost-of-living pressures for consumers.

Around 99 per cent of Australian products will enter the UK duty-free from the end of May. For Western rock lobster, tariffs will go from 12% to zero by July.

GFC has been in discussions with major UK retailers and wholesalers. We expect the abolition of tariffs will favourably impact market interest in Brolos lobster products.

Read more about the A-UKFTA announcement from Trade Minister Don Farrell here.

• First Bite;  South Australia Rock Lobster fishers concerned about impacts to fishing from wind farm.
• Second Bite; Safeguarding Ningaloo reef.
• Third Bite; Dodgy Eastern Rock Lobster fishers threatened with $110,000 fines.

Design Our Truck Project - One Month to Go!

To celebrate a 20+ year partnership between Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative and our sustainability partner, the Marine Stewardship Council; we’re looking for primary school children to show off their artistic abilities and help design one of our trucks!

Primary school students, teachers and parents are encouraged to get involved and submit a truck design by the 3rd of July that will inspire the design that will go on one of our trucks and be seen by thousands of motorists daily.

With around a month until we close submissions, we're asking everyone to get involved and raise awareness of the project. You can share the Facebook post or head to our website for more information.

The Lobstars Push-Up Team is Back in 2023!

The annual Push-Up Challenge is back - a fun way to get fit, create connections and push for better mental health.

Last year around 15 teammates completed 14,426 push-ups and raised over $7000 for charity. This month, GFC is getting the Lobstars Push-Up Team together, and we need your help. The Lobstars Team is open to all GFC staff, members and extended GFC family who want to join us in our push for better mental health awareness.

Don't worry if you aren't keen on push-ups; you can elect to do an alternate exercise, like sit-ups, burpees, skipping or something else. Last year some staff members got creative and walked ~70 km from Dongara to Geraldton to raise funds.

If you'd like to join the Push-Up challenge, click here. We'll keep everyone updated on the Lobstars progress through June. If you have any questions about the challenge or joining the Lobstars, please get in touch.

LEADERBOARD AFTER ROUND 12

Congratulations to our weekly prize winners:

Round 9 - Dockerjen
Round 10 - Crayze
Round 11 - Judith11
Round 12 - phantompruce