Angling for Conservation

A recently completed project funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) shows that Australia’s recreational fishing community is playing an ever-increasing role in caring for our fish stocks and the rivers, estuaries and oceans that they live in.

Project leader, Matt Barwick said: "We basically set out to get a handle on how active Australia’s recreational fishing community is in looking after our fisheries and the habitats and ecosystems they depend on.

"This is the first time anyone has tried to develop an understanding of the role that recreational fishers play in looking after Australia’s aquatic resources, and the results have been really interesting."

The study, entitled Angling for Conservation, found that recreational fishers contribute significantly through investment in conservation and sustainability-focussed initiatives around Australia.

The recreational fishing community has invested an impressive $32.5 million of their own money in projects and activities which have a conservation and sustainability focus around Australia.

Projects seeking to improve fish habitat were found to be most common among those funded by recreational fishers, with 18 per cent involving revegetation of river banks and foreshores, 17 per cent involving improvement of fish passage, and 14 per cent involving bank stabilisation works to reduce erosion.

In terms of total investment, recreational fishers spent most of their money on research to ensure fisheries remained sustainable ($9.47m). However, there was also significant investment in projects to help deliver educative messages to recreational fishers and the broader community ($7.9m), monitor fish communities and aquatic ecosystems ($6.3m), and improve fish passage through building fishways and removing old barriers ($5.7m).

According to Barwick, it’s likely that the figures reported dramatically underestimate the total investment made by recreational fishers. "Angling for Conservation has only captured financial investment, and the amount of time volunteered by recreational fishers is unknown, but probably significantly exceeds the level of financial investment."

There are also some great examples of recreational fishers getting involved in the hands-on delivery of projects with a sustainability or conservation focus as well, such as weed control and revegetation initiatives by groups such as Bass Sydney and Tuross Fishing Club in partnership with Eurobodalla Shire Council, and large-scale clean-up days held by groups such as the Australian Land-Based Anglers Association and Sunfish Queensland.

The study emphasised the value of recreational fishing licensing schemes, with the majority of activities found to occur within jurisdictions with licensing programs.

"Angling for Conservation is designed to be a growing, evolving account of angler involvement in conservation and sustainability-focused projects. We would love people to continue to tell us about new projects so that this resource can continue to grow over time to reflect increasing activity amongst the recreational fishing community," Barwick says.

In summarising the significance of the project, Barwick explains  that "the take-home message from this study is that there are an ever-increasing number of individuals and groups of recreational fishers out there who are actively involved in looking after our fish stocks, and caring for fish habitat.

"With mote than four million recreational fishers around Australia though, there is always scope to do more. If you’re a recreational fisher and interested in getting involved in projects to help care for the fish stocks and waterways in your area, get involved with the Fish Habitat Network. This group offers great support and advice on how to get projects happening in your area," Barwick adds.

The project team involved with Angling for Conservation has also
developed an interesting and innovative website to enable people access

to information about relevant projects using Google Earth. To find out more about projects in your
area go to www.anglingforconservation.org.