ASFB Home > Recreational Fisheries Sub-Committee Newsletter No 2 May 1996

Recreational Fisheries Sub-Committee Newsletter No 2 May 1996

Regional Updates

Editor: David McGlennon: SARDI, PO Box 120, Henley Beach SA 5022
Ph: (08) 200 2448, Fax: (08) 200 2481
E-mail: mcglennon.david@pi.sa.gov.au

The ASFB Recreational Fisheries Sub-Committee was formed at the conclusion of the Workshop titled "What's the Catch" held in Canberra in 1994. It was felt that a need existed for a forum in which Society members engaged in research and management of recreational fisheries could maintain contact and exchange information on their current and future work.

There has been considerable activity in recreational fisheries research around Australia over the last six months. At a national level, two major projects are underway. The first is a national survey of recreational fishing. Only one previous study has provided a description of recreational fishing on this scale and that was completed in 1983/4. The impetus for the current proposed study has come from the establishment of a Fishcare programme in the Department of Primary Industry and Energy. Strong support for a national survey came from a round of State meetings of Fishcare personnel and the project has been accepted as a priority for funding. A meeting of State and Territory scientists and managers, together with Recfish and Fishcare representatives, was held in Canberra to plan the requirements of a national survey and to establish a Steering Committee to implement the project. The Steering Committee met again in March to prepare a set of tender documents and timeline for the first stages of the project.

Expressions of interest have now been called for organisations wishing to design the national survey. At the time of writing, these Expressions were being evaluated for a shortlist of three to complete design details of the survey. Once this stage has been completed, the full survey will be dependent on raising the necessary funding from State and Territory agencies to complement the Fishcare funding.

Further details can be obtained from Grant Johnson, Fishcare, DPIE
Ph: (06) 272 5031

The second national project concerns the development of a database and user front-end for the storage of recreational fishing research data. The project has the acronym of SIRFIS.

The project entitled "Development and implementation of a national standard for a recreational fisheries database by all fisheries agencies" was approved for funding by FRDC in June 1995 (proposal 95/054). The proposal received wide support from all fisheries agencies throughout Australia and officially commenced on the 1st October 1995 once recruitment to the SIRFIS project team had been finalised.

In summary, the project will provide a "front end" and database structure capable of running on both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems and accessing whatever database engine an agency is using. The first step of the project has just been completed with the production of a requirements document. The requirements document will be used as a basis for proceeding into the design phase of the SIRFIS project.

Further details can be obtained from: Andrew Thwaites, Team Co-ordinator (SIRFIS), QFMA
Ph: (07) 3227 6544
E-mail: andrew@sunfish.cbd.dpi.qld.gov.au

Regional updates:

Northern Territory

The sampling of recreational fishing in Fishcount '95 has now been completed and final data collection, validation and entry is taking place. Analyses will commence after this process is completed.

Anne Coleman
Recreational Fishing Assessment Officer
Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries
Ph: (089) 811475

New South Wales

We have in the last 6 months completed an internal report entitled "Recreational Use of Fisheries Resources in Northern NSW". This report contains information about:

  1. A coastal survey of early morning recreational angling in the area from Coffs Harbour to Tweed Heads during the period March 1994 to February 1995 inclusive. This work was done to estimate recreational fishing effort, harvest rates and the annual harvest of shore-based anglers who had fished during the early morning, that period during which daytime angling harvests were expected to be greatest, from beaches and rocky headlands along the coastal fringe.
  2. River surveys of daytime (sunrise to sunset) recreational fishing effort in seven selected waterways in the Northern Rivers Region of NSW in the annual period March 1994 to February 1995 inclusive. This work was done to estimate the annual riverine fishing effort of recreational anglers (shore and boat-based) who had fished during the day (sunrise to sunset) in the navigable reaches of the Tweed, Clarence, Richmond, Brunswick, Wooli and Sandon Rivers and Mooball Creek.
  3. A coastal survey of night-time (sunset to sunrise) recreational angling from Ballina to Tweed Heads in the ten week period between August 1994 and mid-October 1994. This logistically difficult survey work required that we obtain the best possible estimate of recreational fishing effort and harvest of shore-based anglers who had fished at night in the coastal stretch between Ballina and Tweed Heads.

Roving survey methods were used during all three components of this work. We are waiting for this report to be printed (with some nice colour pictures) before a public release. Copies will then be made available to all interested persons.

We are also madly analysing and writing up our trailer boat survey data. We plan to have this completed by the end of the financial year. Reports and papers will be produced after our submission of the final report to FRDC.

Dr Aldo Steffe
Fisheries Research Institute, Cronulla, NSW
Ph: 02 527 8519
steffea@fisheries.nsw.gov.au

Queensland

We are currently analysing data collected from 2 separate projects. The first project is the collection of longitudinal information from a sample of 900 anglers who kept diaries from Oct 94 to Dec 95. The second project is a collection of information from Queensland caravan parks. We have been conducting counts and interviews of interstate fishers with boats, as well as counts in caravan parks of interstate and resident caravan dwellers.

Darren Cameron
Southern Fisheries Centre
Deception Bay, Qld.
Ph: (07) 203 1444
camerod@planet.mh.dpi.qld.gov.au

Queensland

Recreational Fishing Information System: Overview
In November 1995, the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority (QFMA) commenced a Recreational Fishing Project (RFISH) to collect information to assist with the monitoring and assessment of recreational fishing in Queensland. The information collected will be used with other information, such as that collected on commercial fishing activities, to enable fisheries management to make informed decisions relating to the appropriate use, development and protection of fisheries resources.

Recreational Fishing Information Coordination Committee:
A Recreational Fishing Information Coordination Committee has been established to ensure that appropriate strategies are designed and implemented to collect information on recreational fishing activities. This committee is comprised of:
David Bateman SUNFISH
Colin Bishop QCFO
John Doohan SUNFISH
Malcolm Dunning QDPI
Trevor Fuller SUNFISH
Bill Sawynok SUNFISH
Neil Trainor QFMA (Chair)

Recreational Fishing Information Project Team:

Miss Sandra Cormack has been appointed to the position of Project Manager of the Recreational Fishing Information System, to implement the various data collection strategies. Working with Sandra on the project is Mrs Sangita Patel, who is developing a computer database to store this information, and Miss Tracey Harding, who will undertake the data entry and other project administration duties.

Data Collection Strategies:

A number of processes are currently in place to collect information on recreational fishing activities, including:

  • collection of competition results from fishing club competitions;
  • collection of information from commercial fishing tour operators on fishing catch and effort; and
  • collection of information by both Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol Officers and Park Rangers through interviews and inspections with recreational fishers.

There have also been a number of species specific and location specific surveys completed or nearing completion.

After consultation with various organisations including SUNFISH, QCFO, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Queensland Department of Environment, CRC Reef Research Centre, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol, it is proposed that the above methods of data collection be refined and enhanced, and that a state-wide telephone survey be conducted.

An estimated 22,000 telephone calls will be made to households throughout Queensland, with the goal of obtaining some estimate of participation levels in recreational fishing throughout Queensland. The telephone survey will also be used to identify volunteers willing to participate in a diary program, where for a duration of twelve months, volunteers will be requested to maintain a diary of their fishing activities. It is estimated that 4000 diary participants will be required to gain an accurate estimate of fishing effort and total and regional recreational catches of different species of fish. Supplementary written surveys will also be issued to diary participants to help gain some insight into the social and economic values of recreational fishing.

Queensland

The planned commencement date for the telephone survey and diary program is September/October 1996. Once collected, all information will be entered into a recreational fishing computer database, providing a central repository of fisheries information for management decision support.

Sandra Cormack
Queensland Fisheries Management Authority
PO Box 344
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
Ph: (07) 322 78791, Fax: (07) 322 78788
cormacs@sunfish.cbd.dpi.qld.gov.au

South Australia

Sampling in the Statewide bus-route creel survey has now been completed and analyses are well underway. Some preliminary results are available for Gulf St Vincent waters. Fishing effort totalled 425,525 boathours (equivalent to approximately 85,000 boat trips) for the year. Of this, 70% was undertaken off the metropolitan coast. The three primary target species were King George whiting (64% interviewees), garfish (41%) and calamari (36%). The total catch of King George whiting was estimated at 78 tonnes which was 46% of the total catch of the species during that period. The catches of garfish and calamari were both 31 & 34 tonnes representing around 15% of the total catch for each species.

These early results confirm the significance of recreational catches in SA.

David McGlennon
SA Research and Development Institute (SARDI)
Ph: (08) 200 2448
mcglennon.david@pi.sa.gov.au

Tasmania

A new licensing system for recreational fishers started in November 1995 with the main change being the introduction of licences to use nets. The dive licence has also been split into three separate licences for scallops, abalone and crayfish. Revenue in excess of last year is going into a Trust fund to finance work on recreational fishing. About 60% of licence holders have provided estimates of the number of days they fished in the previous 12 months. These data will assist with summaries on recreational catch.

A new Fisheries Act has been enacted and draft management plans are being prepared.

A requirement to clip lobster tails taken recreationally is expected to reduce illegal sales.

A major project to estimate recreational catch has been submitted to FRDC.

John Smith
Principal Management Officer, DPIF
Ph: (002) 333523

The Inland Fisheries Commission is under going a major review with recreational fishing featuring prominently in the terms of reference. Submissions have been received and the first stage is expected to be completed by June.

Dr Andrew Sanger
Inland Fisheries Commission
Ph: (002) 236622

Victoria

We have just completed a two year bus route survey of the Corner Inlet trailer boat fishery, a two year roving creel survey of the Gippsland Lakes boat fishery, and a two year bus route survey of the Port Phillip Bay trailer boat snapper fishery. These surveys were undertaken during our more popular holiday fishing season (Dec-Apr) and we are currently enjoying the writing up phase. The second year of data is being collected at Portland (access point boat ramp survey) and for the Gippsland Lakes shoreline winter bream fishery (roving creel survey). Work is also being done on the errors associated with effort estimates from the bus route method, with a view to producing a procedure which can help optimise the available interview time. We have also developed a technique for generating confidence limits around skewed catch rate distributions which will be reported on later this year.

Simon Conron
Victorian Fisheries Research Institute
Queenscliff, Victoria
Ph: (052) 580235
s.conron@msl.oz.au

Next year we are planning to repeat the night time snapper survey in Port Phillip Bay and intend to increase the sampling intensity and optimise interview time in order to improve estimates of catch and effort. It is hoped that a second year of sampling for the winter survey in the Gippsland Lakes will be funded and a summer survey of Mallacoota and Lake Tyers will take place.

Patrick Coutin
Victorian Fisheries Research Institute
Queenscliff, Victoria
Ph: (052) 580235
p.coutin@msl.oz.au

A recreational diver survey has been in operation since November 1995. The survey includes the random distribution of questionnaires to all dive shop outlets in the state. The questionnaires ask for specific information on the catch and effort relating to rock lobster and abalone. Returns are being linked with estimates of the total number of air fills as an indication of the number of dives per year. The results from the questionnaire are complimentary to Fisheries and Wildlife Officer diver interview surveys as well as the recently established log book database developed for charter boat operators and major dive clubs in Victoria. Survey results are currently being analysed with the view to incorporating a catch and area specific effort component in the Victorian rock lobster stock assessment.

Tom Ryan
Victorian Fisheries Research Institute
PO Box 114
Queenscliff, Victoria
Ph: (052) 580250
t.ryan@msl.oz.au

Victoria

Recreational fisheries mailing list
A mailing list has been established by the Victorian Fisheries Research Institute for government and academic workers with an interest in recreational fishing in Australia.

Titled recfish, you can subscribe by sending e-mail to "majordomo@msl.oz.au" with the line "subscribe recfish" in the body of the text (without quotes).

A second mailing list is available to all persons interested in Australian recreational angling. Subscription to this list can be made as above but by replacing recfish with "oz-angling".

You can also send a "help" message to majordomo and a "who" message to find out who is on the list. When sending e-mail to majordomo, remember to turn off your signature or finish your message with the "end" command.

If you have a Web browser, you may be interested to visit the site:
http://www.ph.unimelb.edu.au/~djd/fishing/fish.html which is all about angling in Australia, provided by David Dryden djd@physics.unimelb.edu.au

Recent Publications

1. Conron, S. and P. Coutin 1995. A pilot survey of the night time recreational snapper fishery of Port Phillip Bay 1994/95. Victorian Fisheries Research Institute, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Internal Report, Progress Report No.1.

2. Conron, S. and P. Coutin 1995. A survey of the recreational fishery in Nooramunga and Corner Inlet. Victorian Fisheries Research Institute, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Internal Report, Progress Report No.1.

3. Conron, S. and P. Coutin 1995. A survey of the recreational fishery in Gippsland Lakes 1994/95. Victorian Fisheries Research Institute, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Internal Report, Progress Report No.1.

4. Coutin, P., S. Conron, and C.M. MacDonald 1995. The daytime recreational fishery in Port Phillip Bay 1989-94. Victorian Fisheries Research Institute, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Internal Report 50p.

5. McGlennon, D & Branden, KL 1994. Comparison of catch and effort of marine recreational anglers fishing on artificial reefs and natural seabed in Gulf St Vincent, South Australia. Bulletin of Marine Science 55: 510-523.

6. Thwaites, AJ and Williams, LE. 1994 The summer whiting fishery in southeast Queensland. Mem. Qld. Museum 35(1):249-254

7. West, RJ & Gordon, GNG 1994. Commercial and recreational harvest of fish from two Australian coastal rivers. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 45: 1259-1279.