Boating, fishing shake off tough COVID-19 constraints
Boating and fishing are back right across Australia, and now is the time to get out there and make the most of itAustralia’s entire boating community will be back on the water as of 3pm today with COVID-19 travel restrictions that have severely limited recreational boating and fishing in Tasmania finally lifting.
The island state was this week the last jurisdiction Australia-wide to still have bans on overnight stays on boats. However, as of 3pm today Tasmanian boaters will be able to travel beyond just their closest boat ramp, get out on the water and overnight at an anchorage.
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“If your preferred boat ramp is packed when you arrive please be patient and wait your turn,” the Tasmanian Government said in a statement announcing the change.
“It is still vitally important that everyone maintains social distancing and uses common-sense.”
For anyone keen to avoid a fine for not adhering to social distancing rules, marine and Safety Tasmania recommends that if a boat ramp has two lanes, boaters only use one of them to launch and retrieve.
However, while travel within Tasmania has freed up, the state's borders still remain closed to interstate visitors.
Boating Industry Association of Australia president Darren Vaux said Australia's more relaxed intrastate COVOID-19 control measures was “good news” for the industry.
“The relaxation combines with the ability to go boating recreationally and together this will help accelerate the recovery of the boating sector which shares much common ground with tourism,” Vaux said.
“That is why the industry encourages efforts by state [and territory] governments at this time to promote domestic intrastate travel; to promote access to our waterways for recreation.
“Australia has more than 900,000 registered boats and a countless number that do not require registration such as paddlecraft and many small sail craft.
"The majority of these are highly portable by trailer or by car topping and are used by millions of Australians to experience our wide variety of waterways from creek to coast.
“The easing up of travel and overnighting can only help all those households with trailerable boats or car toppers to get on the water, to visit regional areas and support regional economies,” he said.
If you do not own a boat, there is always the option to hire a boat or take a charter which is a great way to experience the boating lifestyle.”
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