NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, said recreational fishers will enjoy new sportsfishing opportunities this season, with the deployment of fish aggregating devices (FADs) at 29 locations — including four new locations — along the NSW coast.
Ms Hodgkinson said the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government strategically places the FADs at key fishing spots along the coast during the warmer months each year to provide a new target location for warm water fish species.
FADs are moored structures placed in the ocean with the primary function of aggregating pelagic fish such as mahi-mahi (dolphinfish) and work most effectively when the water temperature exceeds 20°C.
"As well as reinstalling the 25 FADs from last year, this year we will be installing four new FADs in strategic locations — two on the North Coast off Yamba and Nambucca and two on the South Coast off Shellharbour and Ulladulla," Ms Hodgkinson said.
"Monitoring by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has shown these devices are very effective at attracting fish species including mahi-mahi, wahoo and even marlin."
Ms Hodgkinson said the FAD program is just one of many initiatives funded from the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust.
"This is yet another example of how the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is reinvesting money raised from the sale of the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee directly back into projects and initiatives which benefit our recreational fishers," Ms Hodgkinson said.
"The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is backing our recreational fishing sector, which sees more than one million people wet a line in NSW each year, generating more than $1.6 billion in economic output for the State."
Ms Hodgkinson said the devices are designed to withstand harsh coastal conditions and are deployed between six and 32 kilometres offshore from October to June. The locations may fluctuate slightly depending on wind, swell and current direction.
(Photos of dolphinfish courtesy of Rod Findlay, Broken Bay Game Fishing Club. The fish was taken mid-November 2014 off Sydney.)
2014-15 FAD LOCATIONS
- FAD location Latitude (S) Longitude (E)
<< Tweed Heads 28° 09.730' 153° 41.000'
<< Byron Bay 28° 36.723' 153° 42.758'
<< Ballina 28° 54.430' 153° 41.189'
<< Evans Head 29° 06.400' 153° 36.200'
<< Yamba 29° 34.032' 153° 28.144'
<< Wooli 29° 52.703' 153° 26.117'
<< Coffs Harbour 30° 14.858' 153° 21.605'
<< Nambucca 30° 39.622' 153° 08.934'
<< South West Rocks 30° 50.534' 153° 11.803'
<< Port Macquarie 31° 24.567' 153° 04.725'
<< Laurieton 31° 39.601' 152° 56.235'
<< Crowdy Head 31° 47.000' 152° 55.200'
<< Forster 32° 13.211' 152° 40.680'
<< Port Stephens 32° 46.967' 152° 24.703'
<< Newcastle 32° 55.333' 151° 59.935'
<< Swansea 33° 10.005' 151° 48.976'
<< Terrigal 33° 30.032' 151° 38.592'
<< Sydney North 33° 35.554' 151° 34.607'
<< Sydney Harbour 33° 47.021' 151° 22.700'
<< Sydney East 33° 59.316' 151° 20.951'
<< Botany Bay Wide 33° 59.672' 151° 26.743'
<< Sydney South 34° 08.356' 151° 22.621'
<< Wollongong 34° 27.321' 151° 04.308'
<< Shellharbour 34° 33.720' 151° 00.626'
<< Kiama 34° 41.000' 150° 59.500'
<< Jervis Bay 34° 57.750' 150° 58.500'
<< Ulladulla 35° 22.732' 150° 41.776'
<< Batemans Bay 35° 50.000' 150° 22.630'
<< Far South Coast 36° 58.800' 150° 14.750'
Photos from NSW Fisheries and its facebook page.
