Achievements and Contributions
Recent achievements and contributions to making SA a great place to fish again.Committed and Passionate
Despite the removal of all funding in 2019, RecFish SA continues to make progress towards our goal of making South Australia a great place to fish. Reduced to a volunteer only capacity, the Board of RecFish SA are committed to developing and executing initiatives that provide greater opportunities for recreational fishers, or that improve the experience of recreational fishing. We are also committed to continuing our advocacy role on behalf of our members and the wider community. We are currently working on multiple objectives from protecting Black bream stocks in the Coorong, to having recreational fishing officially recognised as a sport or recreation; and everything in between. Check out some of our latest achievements, initiatives and contributions to the recreational fishing sector below.
ADVOCACY
- Rejected the use of tagging schemes and mandatory reporting via an app for the South East snapper fishery under a TARC.
- Called for a review into the allocation of shares in the Marine Scalefish Fishery (MSF).
- Successful advocacy for MSF attempts to gain greater access to stocks via Red Tape Reduction.
- Lobbying for recreational fishing to be officially recognised as an active recreation or sport.
- Successful advocacy for the protection of Black bream stocks in the Coorong.
- Joined the St Kilda Mangrove Alliance to protect the mangroves and lobby Government to stop further damage.
- Lobbying for the Kakadu Of The South concept plan.
https://recfishsa.org.au/recent-submissions/
- Coordinated the release of approximately 60,000 Murray cod at various locations along the Murray River, from Swan Reach to Murbko. This was part of a MRFAC initiative that saw funding for Murray cod stocking in response to the snapper closure.
- Assisted in the stocking of various native species into the South Para Reservoir as part of a larger stocking project by PIRSA, which also saw the stocking of native species at Beetaloo Reservoir and Bundaleer Reservoir.
- Supported Reeling In – Junior Anglers kids fishing clinics. https://www.reelinginjunioranglers.com/
- Supported national Gone Fishing Day. Gone Fishing Day is an initiative of the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF) and is a day to celebrate our favourite pastime, fishing. https://gonefishingday.com.au/
- Provided on ground support and infrastructure to Bream Master SA tournaments, and assisted in the tagging of bream that were caught during the tournament as part of a larger Citizen Science initiative with SAFTAG.
- Completed a survey of Aroona Dam with RecFish SA members to determine the success of a recent stocking of Golden perch and Murray cod. A pleasing number of Golden perch were caught by the survey team up to 39cm; impressive growth in just 2 years. FIND OUT MORE
- Continued the fish tag prize initiative for Warren Reservoir and were pleased to hand out the first recapture prize from Shimano.
- Renewed our MOU with OzFish Unlimited to see meaningful collaboration on habitat enhancement projects. https://ozfish.org.au/
- Assisted the OzFish Barossa Valley Chapter with a habitat enhacment project in Warren Reservoir.
- Supported the OzFish ‘Seeds for Snapper’ project.
- Supported the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board’s oyster reef project.
- Continued to engage with our members and the wider rec fishing community on our social media platforms.
- Introduced our new Citizen Science Membership option for new and existing members with an interest in citizen science projects, including fish tagging through SAFTAG. ANSA – SA recently recognised RecFish SA as an affiliated fishing organisation, meaning RecFish SA now joins ANSA associated fishing clubs where members are eligible to take part in SAFTAG’s fish tagging program. http://www.ansa-sa.com/Home.php
- Continued to offer the free RecFish SA fishing locations map via the RecFish SA website. https://recfishsa.org.au/fishing-maps/
