VRFish Newsletter July 2002 Marine National Parks Introduced The Marine Park Legislation has now passed through the Victorian State Parliament. Marine National Parks are to be introduced whether we like it or not. VRFish is well aware that many anglers will, quite reasonably, be far from happy with the outcome on Marine National Parks and we wish to take this opportunity to update you on the processes that we have undertaken to try to minimise the final impact on anglers. Contrary to what some in the angling community believe to be the case, VRFish has argued from the outset that: That Marine National Parks will not protect or enhance fish stocks. That Marine National Parks will do little, if anything to enhance the marine environment. That there are a number of real threats to the marine environment that are not addressed through implementation of Marine National Parks. That recreational fishing has little impact on the marine environment. Whilst VRFish is disappointed with the outcome, we feel that we have done the best we can to negotiate the best possible outcome for anglers. VRFish accepts that we have had our critics on how we have handled this process and it is opportune that we address this issue. The main areas of criticism appear to have been as follows: VRFish should have opposed all of the proposed Marine National Parks from day one. VRFish should have organised street demonstrations. VRFish should have pressed for a similar system that was implemented for the Great Barrier Reef. VRFish should have collaborated more with Seafood Industry Victoria (SIV) (the commercial fishers Peak Body). Let us address these points one at a time: The Government made it very clear to us at initial meetings that whether there would be Marine National Parks or not was not on the table for debate. By definition, Marine National Parks precluded all forms of extractive activity. We took the view (and correctly so) that it was best to negotiate to minimise the impact as a totally negative attitude would probably have meant that we would be excluded from any further negotiations - and possibly finish up losing everything. VRFish believes that street demonstrations can only work if many thousands of people are willing to commit themselves to attend - and we did not believe that this could be achieved. This proved to be the case when efforts by others to organise street demonstrations achieved only very small attendances - in spite of being well publicised over popular electronic media. Quite naturally, these poorly attended demonstrations proved to be counter productive and sent a message to the Government that anglers were not too concerned about Marine National Parks. We tried to convince the organisers of some of these demonstrations that they were a tactical error, but to no avail. Some have claimed that the Great Barrier Reef was a better system for Marine National Parks and claimed that recreational angling was not banned anywhere - therefore, we should push for this model in Victoria. In fact, not only does the Great Barrier Reef model have 'no take' areas, it actually has 'no go' areas as well. This can be confirmed by visiting the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Web Site http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au. We actually did endeavour to work with SIV, but they were less enthusiastic than VRFish. At one stage, we did issue a joint press release and this was a VRFish initiative. In summary, we are disappointed that the Bracks Government has not accepted some of the arguments we have put to them, but we were successful in achieving some major changes to the original ECC proposals. VRFish Chairman's Report VRFish Chairman, Pat Washington reported the following at the VRFish General Meeting on 14 June 2002: "Unfortunately Trevor Stow has had to resign from the Board because of the pressure of business and family reasons and he will be replaced by Christopher Collins who was elected at the recent election for that vacancy. I welcome him onto the Board. It is also pleasing that the VPC has nominated Miles Hodge and George Hardwick as their representatives, the MAA has nominated Russell Conway as its representative, the South Gippsland Angling Clubs Association has nominated Max Fletcher and Neville Clark as its representatives, the Australian Federation of Course Anglers Association Inc has nominated Voy Waruszynski and Alan Wood as its representatives and the Midland & North Central Angling Association has nominated Stan Sundblom as its representative to replace John Laird. I welcome them to the VRFish Family. As you are now no doubt aware, the Marine Parks Bill has passed through the Lower House and the Upper House, with the support of the Liberal Opposition. Closures will commence in November of this year and will be progressively introduced over the next three years. The Minister Sherryl Garbutt, has also agreed to discuss with VRFish the possibility of opening up access to other areas to replace some of the areas lost. That is currently with Parks Victoria for recommendations. We will continue to press the Government for beach fishing to be allowed at Point Addis and other areas as we believe we have made a good case for this fishing method to continue. We have seen the final boundary changes and they are available on the NRE website or telephone 136186. Changes have been made to the boundaries at Discovery Bay to allow for fishing off the rock platforms. Beach fishing at the Twelve Apostles will be permitted. The wedge inside Port Phillip Head has been significantly reduced. Quiet Corner has been excluded from the Parks at Ricketts Point, this area is on the city end of the Park and is a very popular fishing destination. We are very disappointed that there have been no changes in Westernport. We still feel that our original proposal should have been acceptable. Despite the disappointment in the final legislation, I feel that we have made significant changes to the legislation and our position in this debate has been justified. The introduction of the these Parks was inevitable and the changes made through VRFish negotiating with Government have been significant and could not have been achieved through any other method. I have recently returned from the World Recreational Fishing Conference in Darwin and it was a very informative week. The issue of bag, size, limits and possession in the recreational fishery was a continuing subject of debate as was the issue of no take areas and Environmentally Sustainable Development. There is clearly more and more pressure on the wild fish resources of the world. This is something that we are going to have to address in the coming years in a sensible manner if we are to continue to enjoy recreational fishing. There is a push by some groups to have the resource allocated to sectors, that is a percentage to the recreational sector, a percentage to the commercial sector, a percentage to the indigenous sector, and if and when these quantities are taken then the fishery would be closed. There are real problems with how the recreational catch would be monitored in high value fisheries. We need to be alert for any attempt to introduce a tag purchase system for specific species. There were several papers on the ethics of recreational fishing and some of these were excellent with detailed codes. Recfish is currently working on a code of ethics for Australia and it is something that we should review and implement. There were several papers on catch and release methods and the mortality involved using standard hooks and circular hooks. I have given these papers to the Secretariat and no doubt you will see them in upcoming newsletters. The conference was made up of approximately the following groups: Recreational Fishing Interests 25 delegates, Indigenous Interests 13 delegates, Commercial Interests 7 delegates, Green Interests 4 delegates, Government Interests 141 delegates. The workshop today is an important step in defining the goals that we want to achieve for the next five years. I encourage you all to spend time to think into the future and commit to these goals so that we can move ahead into the new millennium. At the VRFish General Meeting held on Saturday 15 June 2002, VRFish Member Christopher Collins, representing the Council of Victorian Fly Fishing Clubs, was confirmed as the new Freshwater VRFish Board Member. Christopher replaces Trevor Stow. VRFish Board Members' Activity Reports Rob Loats Reports: 17/4/02 Attended VRFish Board Meeting. 6/5/02 Attended information meeting at Birchip regarding piping of the Wimmera-Mallee open channel system. 10/5/02 Represented VRFish at the environmental flows methodology meeting at Horsham. (Stream Flow Management Plan for the upper Wimmera River catchment) 14/5/02 Assisted with the release of native fish in the Richardson River. Due to the shortfall of supply only half of the agreed allocation of fish were available. Liased with Regional Fisheries staff due to the finding of a dead European carp at Lake Charlegrark. 15/5/02 Represented VRFish at the Wimmera Water Resources Management Plan meeting at Ararat (Stream Flow Management Plan for the upper Wimmera River catchment) 28/5/02 Attended a survey conducted by MAFRI and Victorian Fisheries staff at Lake Charlegrark. The survey was conducted to determine if any European carp were present in the lake. This survey was implemented due to the finding of a dead European carp on the shoreline. 3/6/02 Represented VRFish as part of the Project Group for the development of the Loddon Bulk Water Entitlement Process held at Bendigo. 5/6/02 Met with district anglers to draft a response to the NSW Species Impact Statement. 11/6/02 Attended information meeting held at Donald regarding piping the Wimmera-Mallee open channel system. 14/6/02 Attended VRFish Board Meeting. 15/6/02 Attended VRFish General Meeting.
	Geoff Cramer Reports: 5/4/02 Reviewed regulatory impact statement " Water Industry (Waterways Land) Regulations 2002. The updated regulations had no impact on recreational fishing so no action was warranted. 17/4/02 VRFish Board Meeting - Apology, unable to attend. 24/4/02 Chaired Lake Wendouree Aquatic Association meeting dealing with conflict between various user groups. 29/4/02 Prepared submission on the draft Victorian River Health Strategy. Submission reviewed by Chairman and Executive Manager and submitted to DNRE. 14/5/02 Attended Ballarat District Anglers Association meeting and reported on current VRFish issues. 6/6/02 Attended Victorian River Health Strategy - Reference group meeting in Fitzroy to review submissions on the draft document. 14/6/02 Attended VRFish Board Meeting. 15/6/02 Attended VRFish General Meeting.
	Priya Cardinaletti Reports: 8/4/02 Attended Artificial Reefs Policy Meeting. 9/4/02 Attended FRAC Meeting. 17/4/02 Attended VRFish Board Meeting. 4/5/02 Organised display and stand for Water Safety Day for SDFV on Underwater Safety. 8/5/02 Attending Meeting on Port Phillip Heads - Channel Deepening Update. 14/5/02 Input into abalone cutting issue for Meeting with Fisheries. 14/6/02 Attended VRFish Board Meeting. 15/6/02 Attended VRFish General Meeting.
	John Corbett Reports: Attended the Goulburn Valley Association of Anglers Club Meeting as Guest Speaker. Attended AC Meetings in relation to fish habitat improvements to lakes in Central Victoria.Conducted preliminary discussions to restore the operation of a fish hatchery in Central Victoria. Attended VRFish Board and General Meetings. Bob Pearce Reports: Correspondence to Werribee Angling Club re Commercial netting effort. Attended meeting with Minister Garbutt's Adviser re Marine Parks Attended Albert Park Yachting & Angling Clubs to address Meeting. Attended to phone calls and correspondence re Marine National Parks. Attended to access issues in the Portland area. Attended VRFish Board and General Meetings. Wimmera Anglers Association - Bill Rowe Reports: We are almost half way into our sixth straight year of dry conditions. Many of our favourite angling waters are dry with the remainder very low. The Wimmera region urgently requires above average rainfalls to improve this drastic situation. Native Title claims still remain an ongoing issue, with new claims being added to the original list. This will only prolong the consultation process even further and we all hope for a positive outcome. An enterprising landowner is developing a native fish hatchery at the base of the Grampians. DNRE staff have recently netted some catfish from the Wimmera river for brood stock. Up to 30 fish are required as brood stock, in exchange for 9000 fingerlings to stock waters in our region. Access to our major angling waters is a paramount concern as we are currently experiencing restricted access to sections of the Wimmera river, Police Paddock Dam Horsham, and Taylors Lake (West Side). Wimmera Angling Association is currently involved in discussions with DNRE, Horsham Rural City Council and Wimmera Mallee Water trying to resolve this issue. The Association has invited local Member of Parliament Hugh Delahunty to our annual dinner as guest speaker and we will be requesting assistance from him and VRFish to resolve this issue. Midland & North Central Angling Association - Stephen Mueller Reports: The MNCAA would like to thank Joe Singe for his time as president of the Association. Joe has been ill and we hope all goes well in the future for him and his family. We have held our AGM and there have been some changes. Jack Cottingham was elected President of the Assoc. John Laird has stepped down as VRFish representative and we take this opportunity to thank John for his dedicated work as our rep. Thanks John. In John's place Stan Sundblom was elected and he will have his first meeting on the 15 June. Stan is a keen fisherman in both fresh and salt water so he will have input on a wide range of topics. I am still in talks with the Bendigo City Council in regard to the jetty at Lake Eppalock and slow progress is being made. Lack of water has made fishing a real challenge in central Victoria at the moment. We like so many other areas need rain now. The Northwest - Colin Mansell Reports: Since the last meeting, the Northwest Region has seen some activity worthy of note. While we are still busy with Native Title Claims covering NSW and Victoria along the Murray in particular, from the SA border to just past Kerang. These claims impact upon the recreational fishers from the South Australian border to the top end of the Murray River. Any fisher that is impacted upon by these claims are being represented. We have also been involved with Mr Richard Rogala, Project Officer for the Schools Program, Sport and Recreation Victoria. Richard was in the Northwest attending two primary schools. The writer was approached for volunteers for this program. The Mildura RSL Angling Club become involved to help with this schools program. Nangiloc/Colignan Primary School was the first of the two, on Monday and Tuesday. President of the Angling Club Mr Noel Carter and myself in attendance. We were required to teach the school children of grades 4 - 6 how to tie knots and how to cast. The second day we were requested to do an advanced knot and casting clinic, followed with an afternoon at the river fishing. Irymple South Primary School was the second, with again Mr Noel Carter and myself in attendance on the first day, with help at the fishing afternoon by Mr John Searle and Mr Allan Wilson. We each took a group of children and helped them if they had any difficulties. We are also responding to a report on the Species Impact Statement in the Lower Murray Catchment. This document has ramifications to attend to before the five yearly regulation review. Goulburn Valley Association of Angling Clubs - Mike Edwards Reports: Our Association continues to gain member clubs and has been working hard expanding our contacts with key organisations and the media in our area of operations. We have been working in partnership with Gordon O'Brien of the GBCMA in preparing a submission for funding for a number of all weather, all water level boat ramps at strategic sites along the Broken and Goulburn Rivers. Gordon was able to inform the Association that we had been successful in obtaining funding for the first of these ramps to be built next to McCoy's Bridge at the Echuca end of the Goulburn. Thanks to Gordon and the GBMCA for their efforts in securing this funding. The Nagambie Angling Club has successfully applied for a grant to expand their clubrooms. We were able to provide support for their application. Nagambie Angling Club has also applied for funding for a project to investigate the current fish population of Lake Nagambie and attempt to identify why the fishing has continued to deteriorate over the past 10 years. Thanks to Dave Trickey of DNRE for all of his assistance in preparing this application. We are hopeful that funds will be made available. We had a representative from GM-Water attend our last meeting and lively discussion took place about how our Association might work more closely with GMW, to better manage the recreational component of the waterways and storages under GMW control to improve fishing outcomes and access for anglers. Our Association extends an invitation to all VRFish Members to attend a weekend tour of the very successful Fish Ways program sites that has been carried out on the Broken and Nine Mile Creeks in Northern Victoria. We hope to have details of this tour to the Members by the next General Meeting. We have a number of Streamflow Management Plans in development in streams in the Goulburn North East and we will report on progress on these important plans as news becomes available. The NorthEast-Laurie Moretti Reports: Bernie Evans continues to attend the Ovens River Streamflow Management Committee Meetings as well as Lake Mokoan Management Meetings. Stafford Simpson has been attending Kiewa River Streamflow Management Committee Meetings. The Report is now finished and is out for public comment. Kelvin Gilder from Greenwells Flyfishing Club has been seconded to our Committee and has been appointed to the Nariel Creek Streamflow Management Committee. Laurie Moretti spoke on the Marine Parks Legislation and other matters on the Fishtalk Radio show. Laurie Moretti attended the NSW Fisheries Meeting on the Species Impact Statement in the Lower Murray River Catchment which is now part of the Murray Darling Endangered Ecological Community. VRFish/Sport & Recreation Victoria The Victorian Recreational Fishing Small Grants Program 2002 VRFish is pleased to advise that sixteen recreational fishing organisations have received funding to carry out a range of projects that will increase participation and enhance recreational fishing opportunities. If you require more information please contact the VRFish Secretariat. Applications for the Small Grants Program 2003 will open again this year at the start of the Fishing Show in early October. VRFish encourages all interested recreational fishing organisations to obtain a copy of the guidelines and application forms. A copy of the 2002 form is available on the VRFish website www.vrfish.com.au. We are now into the last year of paying off the loan for the buy-out of commercial Netting licenses and by this time next year there will be around $4m funding for recreational fishing improvements, this is in addition to the $5m already provided by Government. I know there are some who believe that these funds should be in their hands. This will not happen while VRFish continues to be successful in representing recreational fishing interests in Victoria. As the recognised Peak-Body we must all continue to be pro-active in developing policy and be active in putting forward issues that concern recreational fishers. I am encouraged by the response of VRFish Members to the Marine National Park issue. It would have been easy to follow the few loud voices and allow them to take over the debate. However, VRFish Members decided as a majority, to pursue a strategy of consultation and negotiation with Government. It is interesting to see the comments now being made by some. Many of these people have changed their tune a number of times and their credibility is in question. VRFish Members must continue to develop policy positions on many issues that impact on recreational fishing. Some of these include, water availability, better management of the fish resource, improved enforcement, the development of a vision, access issues, habitat restoration, ballast water, artificial reefs, improved research and communication with fishers. As you see, we have major issues that need addressing and we can only be successful if we all work together. I call on all recreational organisations and individuals to make an effort to assist VRFish in providing a unified voice in addressing these important issues. We must not fail. Good Fishing. Recreational Fishers and their rubbish Andrew Martin VRFish Deputy Chairman As a member of a number of non-fishing committees and boards, I hear comments from a broad range of the community on the behaviour of recreational fishers. Unfortunately, not many of the comments are positive. I am embarrassed to have to sit through descriptions of the rubbish left by recreational fishers along the banks of one of the most popular estuaries in Victoria; the Tambo River. Every time the fishing improves in the Tambo - the volume of rubbish on the river increases dramatically. Rubbish is not the only negative impact recreational fishers have on the banks of the Tambo. Many recreational fishers seem to need to light a fire on the bank of the river in order to enjoy their outdoor experience. This may seem a harmless enough activity in isolation, but consider that there are literally hundreds of people who visit the Tambo ever week during popular fishing times. Imagine if even a small proportion of these light fires on the bank. Fires are illegal for a start. Then consider that every fire needs kindling to start it - and the damage to bank side vegetation starts. Hardly anyone who lights a fires brings their own wood - or enough wood. They insist on breaking branches and in some cases whole trees down to try and keep warm. Fires also seem to make the rubbish issue even worse - in case anyone who lights a fire on the banks of the river is reading this, cans and bottles don't burn well, and yet they are often thrown into the base of a fire. The lack of rubbish bins on the bank of the river is not an excuse to leave your rubbish everywhere. As someone who has done it for many years, it is really not very difficult to take your rubbish out with you. Next time you have the urge to light a fire on the bank of the river - consider the damage you may be causing to the environment you are enjoying, by doing so. As someone who fishes through Victorian winters year after year, I can recommend modern thermal underwear as a far less time consuming and more effective method of keeping warm while fishing than lighting a fire. If night fishing is your thing and your excuse for lighting a fire is light - consider the excellent range of head torches, gas lanterns and battery powered lights on the market. Let's see the image of recreational fishers improved by good behaviour and ethics, not damaged by bad behaviour and poor ethics. Recreational fishers are always seeking to maintain access to existing waterways and improve access in the future, if we foul the areas we are allowed in now - we will have a tough job encouraging private land-holders and governments to allow us to retain and improve access in the future. VRFish Chairman, Pat Washington OAM Reports The World Recreational Fishing Conference Darwin May 21-24 The Conference was held at the Carlton Hotel in Darwin and was locally organised by John Harrison and the Amateur Fisherman's Association of the Northern Territory (A.F.A.N.T.) and John and AFANT deserve our hearty congratulations on a well organised and run conference. The Conference was opened by the Hon Claire Martin MLA, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory at Parliament House on the Monday night to the accompaniment of fine wine, ales and good food. The Conference got underway on the Tuesday morning and there were some excellent papers presented by the participants. The Local Larrakia Nation welcomed all delegates. It is obviously impossible to go over all of the papers in this report but I will try to give a general summation of some of the more topical ones. For those who are interested a full copy of the papers presented will be in the office in the next couple of months and available for people to read. Gary Henry and his staff did a presentation on the recently released National Recreational and Indigenous Fishing Survey and detailed the difficulties they encountered in this large survey and the full results of this will be available towards the end of this year. One striking result was that the Eastern States have the least number of fishers. Robert Krix presented a paper on the current status of the Victorian Recreational license trust account and Paul Brown presented a very interesting paper on the use of engineered rather than natural materials in habitat Restoration. Day Two Rex Hunt addressed the Conference on the value of recreational fishing and spoke passionately about getting kids involved in fishing. Murray MacDonald presented a paper on allocation of fish stocks between the recreational, commercial and indigenous sectors and that is an issue we will have to address in the near future. There were several papers presented which referred to this issue none of which solved the problem but it is obviously taking up a lot of peoples time. Simon Conron presented a very good paper on the diary program being run by MaFRI and there were several very interesting papers from South Africa, Canada and the United States. The paper on the American Bass fishing tournaments was particularly interesting. These tournaments are a multi billion-dollar industry in the United States with the end of year competition generating over twenty five million dollars for one tournament alone. Sandy Morrison presented an excellent paper on the Commercial license buy out in Victoria, which generated a lot of interest and several questions. Day Three was spent in a workshop revising and producing a recreational code of conduct which will come out in draft form around the end of the year. Day Four saw Margaret Moore from the World Wildlife Fund for Nature address the conference on Sustainability and Environmentally Sustainable Development issues and also touched on the ethics of recreational fishing. We also had a presentation from Denmark where they have two forms of fishers Recreational Fishers and Anglers. Recent changes to the regulations now have restricted recreational fishers to Three Gill Nets and five set lines, how about that! Neville Fowler presented a good paper on engaging the community in recreational fishing issues, and there was a paper showing that surveys reveal that there is a declining interest in recreational fishing in Australia, which is something else to worry about. The main theme to come through was the sustainability of recreational fishing and the environmental damage caused by recreational fishers. The quantity of fish taken by recreational fishers was also the subject of much discussion and there are several studies underway to try and quantify this. Indigenous rights also took up a large part of the conference and who owns what. There were more issues raised than were resolved and the bureaucrats were overly represented with probably 80% of the delegates being employees of Government. Nevertheless the conference was well run and relevant and John Harrison and his staff should be congratulated on their efforts.
	VRFish Daily Happenings Meetings: 4/4/02 Victorian Abalone Divers Assoc. General Meeting. Ray Page addressed the Meeting. 8/4/02 Artificial Reefs Meeting. Ray Page attended. 8/4/02 Meeting with Liberal Shadow Minister re Marine National Parks Legislation. Pat Washington and Ray Page attended. 9/4/02 Meeting with Minister Broad and Fisheries Executive Director re VRFish Issues. Pat Washington and Ray Page attended. 11/4/02 Meeting with Greg Hayes Fisheries re Inlets. Ray Page attended. 14/4/02 VRFish Board Meeting. 23/5/02 Artificial Reefs Meeting. Ray Page attended. 14/6/02 VRFish Board Meeting. 15/6/02 VRFish General Meeting. 25/6/02 Artificial Reefs Meeting. Ray Page attended. Media: 9/04/02 Radio Port Phillip Interview Ray Page - Marine Parks and RFL. 26/4/02 Radio Port Phillip Bay Interview Ray Page - Marine Parks. 27/4/02 3AK Fishing Program Interview Ray Page - Marine Parks. 23/5/02 Radio Albury Interview Ray Page - VRFish issues. 25/5/02 3AK Fishing Program Interview Ray Page - Marine Parks. 29/5/02 3AK Talk 1116 Drive Time Interview Ray Page-Marine Parks. 16/6/02 Herald Sun Interview Ray Page VRFish 5 Year Vision - published Herald Sun 17/6/02. 17/6/02 ABC Radio National Interview Ray Page - Marine Parks. 20/6/02 Radio Albury Interview Ray Page - VRFish Issues. Events: 16-17/4/02 Victorian Coastal Conference. Ray Page attended. 6/05/02 Geelong Field & Game Meeting. Ray Page Guest Speaker. 19-24/5/02 World Recreational Fishing Conference Darwin. Pat Washington attended. 31/5/02 Launch Gippsland Lakes Future Directions and Actions Plan by Minister Garbutt at Paynesville. Pat Washington attended. 12/6/02 Game Fishing Association of Victoria Meeting. Ray Page Guest Speaker. 20/6/02 Launch of the start of the MaFRI New Development by Minister Broad. Ray Page attended. 20/6/02 Coast Guard Boat Launch and MaFRI New Development Launch by Minister Broad. Wally Nicolson attended. Coming Events: 9/7/02 National Seafood Industry Leadership Dinner. Ray Page to attend. 10/7/02 Fisheries Co-Management Meeting. Ray Page to attend. 12/8/02 VRFish Board Meeting. 21/9/02 VRFish General Meeting (10.00am) Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron, Foreshore Beaumaris. All welcome. 3-6/10/02 Mercury Fishing Show and Great Outdoors Expo. Melbourne Exhibition Centre. VRFish Stand No. 777.
	VICTAG Update Patrick Coutin Fisheries Scientist VICTAG is an angler-based fish tagging program that was established by the Australian National Sportfishing Association in 1994. Silver Trevally is just one of the marine species that anglers have been tagging. These are the results: 232 tagged Trevally released near Portland of which 11 were recaptured (4.7%). Most were recaptured within the vicinity of Portland Bay. One was recaptured off Warrnambool after 242 days and one off Williamstown in Port Phillip Bay after 177 days. 77 tagged Trevally were released near Apollo Bay of which 7 were recaptured (9%). Most were recaptured within the vicinity of Apollo Bay, but others were recaptured off the River Aire (127 days), Lorne (232 days) and Port Melbourne (282 days). 162 tagged Trevally were released in Port Phillip Bay of which 6 were recaptured (3.7%). All were recaptured within PPB close to their release location. The greatest movement was from Cape Schank to the Yarra River in 90 days. Trevally tagged in Corner Inlet were recaptured there. A tagged Trevally released near the Snowy River moved east to Eden in 213 days. The annual growth of Trevally is 2-3cm per year for 20-32 cm released fish. Overall 611 Trevally were released and 28 were recaptured and reported (4.6%). For more information please contact Patrick at Patrick.Coutin@nre.vic.gov.au. Good catches ahead for two of the bay's most popular fish Julie Murphy, Science Extension Officer, MaFRI Scientists at Queenscliff's Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute (MaFRI) are predicting good catches of King George whiting and snapper over the next few years. MaFRI Scientists have been closely monitoring the young of many popular fish species in Port Phillip Bay for a number of years. Larval and young fish are collected, sorted and counted each year to provide fisheries managers with an indication of the potential future catches of selected species. Information on catches of undersized fish is also collected from commercial and recreational fishers. Dr. Greg Jenkins, Program Leader at MaFRI says that the information collected from the fish surveys has been crucial to gaining a better understanding of the status of King George Whiting and Snapper stocks in the bay. "This year, a lot of undersized King George Whiting have been caught in the bay by professional and amateur fishers", explained Greg. "This is what we predicted back in 2000 when we caught large number of larval whiting coming into the bay". These large numbers of undersized whiting will reach the legal minimum size of 27cm by next year, and that's good news for whiting fishers. MaFRI scientists are predicting a decent period of good catches for King George Whiting next year and for about the next three years. This year's fish surveys have also found a much greater normal number of baby Snapper in Port Phillip Bay. "The small Snapper we are catching in our trawl surveys are about 120mm long", explained Greg. "These snapper are about one year old and were spawned during the summer of 2001". Even though it will take a few years for these Snapper to reach catchable size, scientists are predicting that there will be some good Snapper fishing in the bay in years to come. The MAFRI research, funded by Fisheries Victoria, is showing that the survival of baby fish is of paramount importance to the future of recreational and commercial fisheries. "We can make good predictions about future fish catches based on the numbers of baby fish that we catch from year to year", explained Greg. "Ultimately, the protection of the habitats on which these baby fish depend is critical to their future". A Keilor Downs person was convicted and fined $200 for taking/possessing undersize fish. Place of offence from Victorian waters near Newport. Offence occurred 8 April 2001. A Clayton South person was convicted and fined an aggregate of $8000 abalone equipment and motor vehicle forfeited, prior abalone conviction from Albury on 8/8/2000 admitted for possessing more than twice the abalone catch limit, receiving abalone without authority, taking abalone during closed. Offence occurred at Clayton South on 19 October 2001. A Footscray West person was convicted and fined $250 for taking/possessing undersize fish, taking/possessing in excess of catch limit and not possessing a recreational fishery licence. Offence occurred near Williamston on 3 April 2001. A Mornington person was fined $500 for using snare gaff hook whilst dive fishing and possessing a snare gaff hook whilst dive fishing. Offence occurred at Cape Schank on 29 December 2001. A Bairnsdale person was convicted and fined an aggregate of $750.00 for not possessing a recreational fishery licence, taking/possession excess of catch limit. Offence occurred on Morass Creek near Benambra on 2 September 2001. A Footscray person was convicted and fined $650.00, all equipment seized and forfeited and destroyed for taking/possessing in excess of catch limit. Offence occurred at Port Phillip Bay on 10 November 2000. Quote of the Month "Had we been designed to think in groups, we would not have been given separate brains." P.K.Shaw Snags a success in Tambo and Mitchell Rivers The East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority recently implemented the first stage of a significant estuarine project - funded by recreational fishing licence funds. The project, involving the reinstatement of large woody debris (snags) in the lower estuarine reaches of the Tambo and Mitchell rivers, is a first in Australia. Snags have been reinstated in areas currently lacking in "in stream" habitat. Interestingly, almost as soon as the snags were placed in the river, there was an obvious increase in fish activity in the area. Locals have already caught good numbers of Estuary Perch amongst the newly placed snag piles. Stage two of the project involves re-planting the banks adjacent to where the snags have been placed, to provide a future source of in-stream habitat. The vegetation will also serve to protect the river bank from further erosion. Andrew Martin VRFish Deputy Chairman The snags in the Tambo have already endured one flood - and came through with flying colours. Interestingly, the snags help reduce river flow velocity and as such should reduce the damage caused by flood events. Hopefully this reinstatement of large woody debris in estuarine waters will be the first of many such projects - particularly given the important food and shelter roles snags play for black bream, estuary perch and luderick. This project is the result of the combination of the catchment management authority, Gippsland Angling Clubs Association and member clubs, RFL funds and MAFRI. Victorian Coastal Conference A Sustainable Coast April 2002- Ray Page VRFish Executive Officer I attended this Conference representing VRFish and the two days were very interesting in content and speakers. Mr Barry Jones AO presented the keynote address. Barry highlighted the issue of population and indicated that the current levels of population in Australia are not enough. We need to increase our population numbers in the near future. He also said that the current levels of fishing are unsustainable and needed to be reduced. Habitat destruction is a major issue that needs addressing, also the introduction of exotic species into the marine environment is a major problem that can only get worse. The major issue for the future is climate change; (this was a constant theme through the Conference). This will lead to altered eco-systems. Barry finished by saying, "it is the footprint we leave on the environment that is important". Chloe Munro Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Victoria Some of the social issues that are important; Environmental changes that need to be managed in the future; Climate change will be a major problem. There is an aging population moving into coastal areas, increased growth along the coastal regions and recreational patterns are changing. There will be significant economic changes in the type of industries along the coast, for example the commercial fishing industry. New opportunities for new industries will take place. There will need to be infrastructure changes. The three issues of importance for the future: Planning must be holistic; Integrated catchment model is the way of the future and community engagement. John Collins Department of Infrastructure Growth in tourism and population shift will need to be managed in a coordinated manner if it is to be successful. There is an aging community population. The second day speakers included; John Lord AM Director, Marine Safety Victoria. Richard McLoughlin on Aquaculture, John Sherwood Chairman of the Fisheries Co-Management Council and Amanda Martin Manager Policy Parks Victoria. The message for VRFish is very clear. We need to be continuing to monitor policy changes and make sure our members are active in the regions. The footprint comment is one that we need to embrace. It is now a common term used to describe impacts on the environment. We need to focus on the impacts that recreational fishing has on the environment and limit where necessary any adverse impacts, such as litter, and confused messages from the recreational fishing organisations. We cannot be divided in responding to issues if we are to succeed in influencing outcomes. Climate change could have a major impact on the environment over the next twenty years. It has the capacity to significantly impact on fish stocks and alter the environment in an adverse manner. It is likely that there will be major policy changes in the fishing industry over the next ten years. These changes will impact on the commercial and recreational fishing sectors. Overall, I believe VRFish is well placed in terms of policy development and organisation structure as a Peak-Body. However, it is the members that will need to be more pro-active and get involved in policy debate and formulation of policy in many of the areas highlighted by this conference. There is some background material at the Secretariat for those interested. Public Liability Insurance VRFish has been seeking a resolution to the problem of public liability insurance cover for recreational fishing organisations. VRFish approached our insurance company seeking a "group insurance policy". This policy would be taken out by VRFish and would cover any recreational fishing organisation conducting public events. The policy would be funded by VRFish making application for a grant from the RFL Trust Fund, to date we have received no response. VRFish also provided a submission to the Federal Government as part of a Ministerial meeting on the issue. Also the Victorian State Government was asked to take our concerns to Canberra. VRFish has been advised by the State Minister for Finance John Lenders that the Insurance Council of Australia has established a free Public Liability information Service to assist members of the community experiencing difficulties in obtaining affordable cover. Contact numbers for the service are 9629 4109 or 1300 363 683. In addition, the State Government in conjunction with Vic Sport has been examining the possibility of establishing group buying arrangements in public liability. This is a serious threat to the long-term future of many recreational fishing organisations and sporting bodies in general. Australian Volunteer Coast Guard New Vessel On Thursday 20 June 2002 Candy Broad, Minister for Ports, launched at Queenscliff a new search and rescue vessel for the Coast Guard. The vessel the "QUEENSCLIFF" will be berthed at Queenscliff and used in Southern Port Phillip Bay and Northern Bass Strait waters. It is a Bass Straits Boat "RESCUE 9000" manufactured in Gippsland. It is 9.0m long has a 3.0m beam and is powered by twin Mercruiser D4.2L turbocharged, intercooler diesel engines with counter rotating Bravo 2X legs, 23 pitch 3 bladed propellers, carries 800 litres of fuel and cruises at 28 knots. Marine equipment on the Queenscliff consists of 27mhz, VHF and HF radios, 24 nautical mile radar, GPS, depth sounder, offshore compass, charts, standard instrumentation and Coast Guard "Vessel Tracking System". This is a sister vessel for a similar 7.0m unit at Carrum to service the top end of the Bay. Both are very impressive units which have been well received by their new owners/operators. At this launch the Minister announced that 4-5 similar but not necessarily the same vessels are planed for commission in the next few years. The Minister for Energy and Resources Candy Broad launched the start of a new Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute at the narrows at Queenscliff on Thursday 20 June 2002. The new $18m development has been designed in accordance with the most stringent environmental best practice guidelines. Marine Safety Victoria Recreational Boating Advisory Group - (RecBAG) The inaugural Meeting of this newly formed group was held on 12 April 2002. The meeting was chaired by John Lord, Director, Marine Safety Victoria. Broad "Terms of Reference" were established with a special request for environmental issues to be included - discharge from boats in inland waters being the main area of concern. All other aspects were dedicated marine/boat safety issues. Amongst these were the following: Concern regarding enforcement of "Personal Water Craft" regulations was expressed, particularly in inland waters where additional focus will be required - both education and enforcement. Because of an increasing number of reported marine incidents the possibility of legislation making the wearing of life jackets compulsory at all times - similar to car seat belts - was presented as a means of reducing fatalities. Initiatives to further promote marine safety through the internet, all forms of print media and Boating Safety Week were considered and will be pursued leading up to the next boating season. Marine Radio Changes July 2002 From July 2002 Melbourne Radio will close and Minister Candy Broad has advised VRFish that new arrangements will be made to cover the closure. There is information and stickers available for boaters. For further information call 1800 100770 or go to www.marinesafety.vic.gov.au Also for weather broadcasts outside Port Phillip Bay contact the Bureau of Meteorology on 03 9669 4574 or go to www.bom.gov.au/marine. Funding Success Breeds Success The initial successful funding application to the Fisheries Revenue Allocation Committee was largely prepared by the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, who have the skills and resources to efficiently prepare such bids. After the funding was approved, the CMA prepared an NHT (Natural Heritage Trust) bid using the first pool of money as matching funds - this almost doubled the size of the project. The CMA suggested that they prepare a bid for the Gippsland Angling Clubs Association to seek funds from the State Government. This bid was also successful and what started as a $90,000 project has ended up a $210,000 project - through co-operation and working with people who have the skills to prepare funding applications on a timely basis. Being successful in achieving funding for projects to improve recreational fishing is not rocket science - in fact it relatively simple. To achieve successful funding applications you need to: Ensure you all the relevant local authorities are involved and consent to the use of the funds - it is no use having an application which will not be supported by your local council. Use the skills of those who work for local catchment management and water authorities, to ensure you end up with a professional application - these organisations prepare funding bids on a regular basis and for funding sources like NHT are often also involved in the approval process. Be proactive - work on developing relationships with the relevant people who work for water authorities and CMAs, they often have objectives which are not dissimilar to us, and being involved with organisations like fishing clubs gives them the opportunity to seek funds from new areas - and implement new types of works. Andrew Martin VRFish Deputy Chairman VRFish - Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak Body 3/250 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne VIC 3002 Phone: (03) 9412 5164 Fax: (03) 9412 5159 Email: info@VRFish.com.au Web: www.vrfish.com.au