6 results

People development program: Australian National Recreational Fishing Conference 2012 - bursaries to attend

Project number: 2011-502.20
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $6,074.90
Principal Investigator: Bill Sawynok
Organisation: Infofish Australia Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 28 Jul 2011 - 31 Mar 2013
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The last national recreational fishing conference was held in 2008. It is recognised within the fishing industry, and supported by FRDC, that industry sectors need to hold a conference every 2 years to allow the sectors to showcase their achievements and provide a high level forum for issues affecting the industry. By 2012 it will be 4 years since the last recreational fishing conference.
Key industry bodies Recfish Australia and AFTA have recognised the need for another national conference for some time. The Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee, as part of the Recreational Fishing Industry Development Strategy, has also recognised the need for a national conference.

For the conference to be world-class, there is a need for participation to be broadened to encompass parts of the industry that have not been previously involved (eg boating) and to include agencies whose decisions impact on recreational fishers (eg marine park agencies). The conference will focus on the future of recreational fishing in Australia and addressing issues related to that in a practical and innovative manner. The conference also needs to build on the Recreational Fishing Industry Development Strategy.

There is also a need to develop the leadership skills of the next generation of recreational fishers by exposing them to issues and areas of concern that they will need to address in the future. The concept of succession planning is of paramount importance to the future management of the industry. The conference will allow current and future leaders to develop key strategies to improve the engagement of recreational fishers in decision making that impacts on recreational fishing.

Objectives

1. Bursaries to support attendance at the 2012 National Recreational Fishing Conference
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2004-070
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

National Strategy for the Survival Of Released Line Caught Fish: planning, project management and communications Phase 2

The National Strategy for the Survival of Released Line Caught Fish was an initiative of the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. The strategy evolved during 2001 and 2002 following the funding of a project on reef fish survival in Western Australia in 2000. It was formally approved in...
ORGANISATION:
Infofish Australia Pty Ltd
Adoption
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2017-141
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

New tools to assess visual fish health

In 2018 Infofish Australia Pty Ltd undertook a trial in Gladstone Harbour using machine learning tools to assess photos for fish health issues. The project was commissioned by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) and the Gladstone Healthy Harbour...
ORGANISATION:
Infofish Australia Pty Ltd

National Strategy for the Survival of Released Line Caught Fish: planning, project management and communications

Project number: 2002-099
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $518,889.00
Principal Investigator: Bill Sawynok
Organisation: Infofish Australia Pty Ltd
Project start/end date: 13 Sep 2002 - 30 Sep 2004
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Nationally about 25-30% of the Australian population participates annually in recreational fishing. This equates to around 5m people.

The Fishcount survey in Northern Territory in 1995 found 0.8 million of all fish caught (43%) were released. The 1997 RFISH survey in Queensland showed that 24.4 million of all fish caught (53%) recreational were released. A similar survey in 1999 showed that 24.8 million of all fish caught (51%) were released. Rates of captured tagged fish that are released in Suntag in Queensland have risen from 38% in 1990/91 to 54% in 2000/01. The National Recreational and Indigenous Survey found that around 30% of fish caught in Australia were released. The total number of fish released nationally is not yet available although an early estimate is that about 100 million fish are caught annually by recreational fishers. The rate of survival of the released fish is unknown.

Regulation of recreational catches through bag and size limits and participation in catch and release fishing are resulting in the high level of fish being released. Where bag limits are set low (eg 2-3 fish), fishers are undertaking a form of high grading as part of their strategy to get more trophy fish. More and more Australian fisheries are becoming subject to management plans with increased regulation that reduces the numbers of fish that can be kept. Recreational fishers are also becoming more aware of the need to conserve fish stocks and are practicing catch and release as a means of minimising their own impact and maximizing the quality and enjoyment they obtain from fishing. These factors will ensure that the trend towards releasing fish continues to grow.

Information on handling fish is being distributed and used by recreational fishers but this is being done in an ad hoc manner with limited scientific input, not necessarily based on best practices and no overall objectives or delivery strategy.

As a result of this:

1) Fishers catch a lot of fish that are released, particularly undersize target species.
2) There is a considerable amount of information on fish release techniques from Australia and in particular overseas – the problem is not lack of data.
3) The key outcome is management of fisher’s behaviour to ensure they are informed and trained in best practice.
4) This requires a culture change – fisheries management is about managing people not fish.
5) This application uses a different paradigm from usual fisheries projects in that it aims to build on known information and through involvement of industry change behaviour.
6) The key R&D need is to:
a) Develop a package of communication products from known information that fits the target audience.
b) Assess the attitudes and practices of existing recreational fishers to obtain a benchmark.
c) Using a wide range of communication and extension techniques to deliver information on fish survival strategies.
d) Quantify the performance of the communication strategy and recommend changes to improve adoption.
e) Given that this initiative will involve several related projects and future investment to achieve the planned outcomes there is a need to provide a mechanism for a greater level of project management similar to what FRDC provides for a subprogram activity.
7) The strategy will have the added benefit in that it will also inform the broader community on the responsible way recreational fishers are approaching sustainability of fish.

To deliver the planned outcomes will require investing in various aspects of line caught fish survival and a mechanism is required to plan, manage and deliver on this R&D investment. There is a need for the interim steering committee to be formalised to guide the development and implementation of the national strategy.

Objectives

1. To develop and implement a communication and extension program based on the best current available knowledge for releasing line caught fish by recreational fishers.
2. To assess changes in different recreational sectors and regional groups on their adoption of best practice line caught release methods and provide recommendations for improvement.
3. To transfer ongoing responsibility for the developed communication and extension program to the recreational sector.
4. To provide national leadership for Australia’s investment in R&D in line caught fish survival.

Final report

Environment
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