NEWSCAST - Recreational Fisheries News June 2021

[mrsswordfisherman]

NEWSCAST an information bulletin for recreational fishers   June 2021

 

Have you thought about a career as a Fisheries Officer? NSW DPI Fisheries is looking for passionate individuals who love the great outdoors and getting out from behind the desk! As a Fisheries Officer you will play a critical role in protecting our aquatic ecosystems and continuing to promote best practices for fisheries management, while getting out on the water and engaging with fishers on a daily basis. Ask yourself these questions to check if this is the career for you: Are you passionate about the great outdoors and the state’s fisheries resources? Are you willing to work early mornings, nights and weekends? Do you have the self-confidence to be assertive in difficult or confronting situations? Would you like training and career development opportunities? To find out more about this role or to apply visit: https://fal.cn/3g5cG Applications close Sunday 4th July 2021.

 

Have you ever thought of a career as a NSW DPI Fisheries Officer?

 

Sydney Ferry Wharves: Great For Fishing, Not For Fires! Sydney’s ferry wharves can provide some red-hot fishing in these cold winter conditions but remember to only take your rods and leave the gas burners, heaters, butane cookers, fire pits and similar devices at home (these are a fire hazard and safety risk). It is important fishers use common sense by doing the right thing on the wharves and respecting the privilege we all have in being able to throw a line in at these locations. Please also remember that the primary function of these wharves is to allow commuters to safely use ferries as transport to and from the city. When ferries approach the wharf to pick up or unload passengers, do the right thing by clearing your lines and showing respect and courtesy to ferry staff and commuters.  Be aware that due to increasing complaints about inappropriate behaviour by a minority of irresponsible fishers, NSW Police are conducting regular patrols around the ferry wharves targeting anti-social and unsafe behaviour. Heavy penalties can apply if you are caught doing the wrong thing.

 

 

 

Gone Fishing Day Is On Again!  Mark Sunday 10 October 2021 in your calendar as NSW Gone Fishing Day is on again! It doesn't matter if you haven't fished before or if you're the keenest of anglers, Gone Fishing Day is for everyone! Free community fishing events will be hosted by DPI across NSW to celebrate our love of fishing and encourage everyone to get out on the water. Once again, clubs and organisations are encouraged to host their own event with options to apply for grant funding of up to $2,000 or for a Gone Fishing Day package which includes 30 rod and reel sets to assist with your event and giveaways/prizes and advisory information. Application forms and grant funding guidelines are available at: https://bit.ly/3pk6E5p. The closing date for grant applications is 23rd July 2021. Gone Fishing Day is run in collaboration with the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation.  Activities in NSW are supported by the Recreational Fishing Trusts and NSW DPI.

 

 

 

FADs retrieved for winter maintenance We know it's hard to believe but the warm water fishing season has rapidly drawn to a close. Cold fronts are beginning to rear their heads along the NSW coast, bringing westerly winds and a slowing of the East Australian Current.   Coinciding with this change of season, the retrieval of NSW DPI's network of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) for winter maintenance is almost complete. Retrievals of the remaining FADs at South West Rocks, Laurieton and Forster are planned for late June.  Excellent fishing was experienced throughout the 2020/21 FADs season right along the NSW coast with some fantastic inshore warm water and plenty of dolphinfish. The good news is that we're already gearing up for next season with deployments scheduled to start taking place from September onwards.   Keep up to date with the current status or coordinates of FADs nearest to you on the DPI webpage at https://bit.ly/2hpCZpl or download our DPI FishSmart app 📲

 

 

 

Fines for Prohibited Sized Fish and Possession Limit A couple have been convicted of 10 offences and fined $2400 for possessing 103 prohibited sized fish and exceeding the possession limit of fish on 5 May 2021. Last year in January, the offenders were inspected by NSW Fisheries Officers while fishing from a wharf at North Entrance, NSW. The officers located a bucket on the wharf containing a number of prohibited sized fish and on further investigations, a large quantity of fish was located within an esky in the boot of the vehicle. The couple indicated they had caught most of the fish in Lake Macquarie during the previous 24-hour period and had stopped in at North Entrance for a fish before returning to Sydney. We encourage the public to stay up to date with fishing regulations to help ensure healthy and sustainable fisheries for future generations. Size limits aim to allow fish to reach maturity and complete their breeding cycle, while bag limits help make sure everyone gets a fair share of the resource and species are not overfished. For more information go to: https://fal.cn/3fMUA Members of the public are urged to report suspected illegal fishing activity by calling the NSW DPI Fishers Watch service on 1800 043 536 or report it online at: https://fal.cn/3fMUz

 

 

 

Go fishing on a licenced NSW Charter Fishing boat over the upcoming Winter School Holidays Winter presents some quality fishing opportunities onboard licenced NSW charter fishing boats. Snapper, Morwong and other reef species are commonly caught along NSW inshore reefs. Whilst for the more adventurous, Gamefishing charters are shifting their focus towards targeting tuna species. Be sure to book a licence fishing charter this upcoming school holidays. The NSW Charter Fishing fleet has you covered for a fun safe, adventure for young and old. Simply visit the Go Charter Fishing webpage to find and book your ideal fishing charter.

 

 

 

Kindy Kids Enjoy Trout Stocking!  A bunch of excited kiddies from the Pied Piper Preschool at Wallerawang recently got to help the team from our Dutton Trout Hatchery release 2000 “advanced” rainbow fingerlings in to Lake Wallace, near Lithgow. As you can see from the images, the kids were extremely interested in the wriggly little fish... Hopefully this experience will result in these pre-schoolers developing a lifelong interest in the wonderful sport of fishing! Stocking larger 180-200mm trout fingerlings into redfin-affected waters such as Lake Wallace maximises survivability and increases local fishing opportunities. The rainbows released in the latest stocking event should have excellent growth grates and are expected to reach catchable size of 25cm within a matter of months. This is another example of your fishing fees at work.

 

 

 

Reminder about rule changes for Yabby traps  A reminder that recreational fishing rules relating to the use of ‘Opera House’ style yabby traps came into effect from Friday 30 April 2021. Yabby traps are a drowning hazard for local wildlife including turtles, waterbirds and platypus.  Platypus spotting is one of the joys of freshwater fishing and anglers have always been great advocates for these iconic Aussie creatures. You can help reduce wildlife drownings by replacing old ‘opera house’ style traps with open style pyramid nets. The new rule has been implemented to better protect our precious aquatic wildlife and provide long term fishing opportunities.   More information about yabbies in NSW can be found at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/yabby-crab-faq

 

 

 

Two New Go Fishing Guides! With Spring just around the corner, the Go Fishing guide series has got even better with new guides to Windamere Dam and the Bermagui region being added. Just like all the other guides, these two new publications are packed full of great info! With the addition of Windamere Dam and Bermagui guides, there are now 14 Go Fishing guides available. Other areas covered include Jervis Bay, Tuross Lake, St Georges Basin, Lake Macquarie, Botany Bay, Sydney’s Middle and North Harbour, Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers, Sydney Harbour, Coffs Coast, Hawkesbury River the Snowies and Blowering Dam. Each guide feature maps detailing proven locations, handy tips for key species, techniques, tackle suggestions, seasons, basic rules and regulations, responsible fishing messaging, area overviews and more. To download one or all of them today for free, check out the website! Make sure to click the ‘Go Fishing’ tab once you are on the page. The DPI “Go Fishing” guides are a great example of your fishing fees at work.

 

 

 

Murray Crayfish Season is Now Open! Fishers in southern NSW are set to brave the cold this winter with the Murray Crayfish season officially open! Murray Crayfish are only permitted to be taken during the months of June, July and August in selected reaches of the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers, to protect the species and assist with its recovery. More information on crayfish fishing rules and regulations can be found at the DPI website.  Report any suspected illegal fishing activity through the FishSmart app or to the Fishers Watch phone line on 1800 043 536.

 

 

 

Reminder - Annual Fishing Closure in Trout Streams has Commenced!  Anglers are reminded that the annual fishing closure in trout streams commenced 15 June and ends at midnight on 1 October 2021.  Fishing is prohibited in general trout, artificial fly and lure and trout spawning streams over this time, however anglers can continue to fish during the closure in general trout and artificial fly and lure dams, as well as in non-trout dams and rivers across the State.   Please visit https://fal.cn/3g00C for more information regarding the annual fishing closure in NSW trout streams.

 

 

 

Clean For Life, Fish For Life!  Clean waterways are important for making better fisheries, so across NSW the Fishcare team have been busy getting out and about doing ‘Fish For Life Clean-up Days’ a new and ongoing initiative from NSW DPI.  Recently the western NSW region headed to Jemalong Creek at Forbes, with staff and Fishcare volunteer Russel joined by Ozfish River Repair Bus Coordinator, David ‘Harro’ and Ozfish members, Ray and Noelene. Trailer loads of rubbish were sent to the tip. In the coming weeks the team will follow up with some weeding to control the palm trees that have overtaken the area.  On the coast, since March the south coast team has kicked off a series of cleans at Lake Illawarra, Greenwell Point and Christie Drive at Port Kembla, with more locations planned over the coming months.  We are keen to learn of any areas in your local area that may need some work, drop an email to NSW Fisheries at fisheries.info@dpi.nsw.gov.au and we can consider the location for future cleanup sites.

 

 

 

Updated Dietary Advice for Crab Consumpton in Lake Macquarie  The NSW EPA has updated the precautionary advice for the consumption of Giant Mud Crab and Blue Swimmer Crab caught in Lake Macquarie. For more information see the NSW EPA website.  https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/contaminated-land/pfas-investigation-program/pfas-investigation-sites/lake-macquarie

 

 

Port Stephens Oyster Reef Restoration Project Complete! The NSW Shellfish Reef Restoration Team is excited to announce that construction of the Port Stephens Shellfish Reef Restoration Project is complete!  In total 7.5 hectares (an area roughly the size of 11 international soccer pitches) of new shellfish reef habitat has been constructed at two restoration areas in Port Stephens. Four hectares were restored near the mouth of the Myall River and an additional 3.5 hectares were restored near the mouth of the Karuah River.  Significantly, these restoration sites have been named by the Worimi Knowledgeholders Aboriginal Corporation using the Worimi language of Gathang as 'Bindayimaguba Ninang' translated - Pindimar’s (home of the black possum) Oysters, and 'Garuwaguba Ninang' translated - Karuah’s (Sea Country) Oysters in recognition of the strong cultural connection of the Worimi people to Sea Country.  Stay tuned for more updates to see the biological development of these new reefs. DPI monitoring of the reef bases from stage 1 reveal they are well on their way to becoming solidified biogenic structures that are full of fish and other marine life and are providing important ecological services, a fantastic result for their tender age of just 16 months! This restoration project was funded by the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Australian Government's Reef Builder initiative.

 

 

 

Threatened Fish Updates! If you’d like to know what DPI Fisheries is doing on recovering threatened fish species have a look at our updated webpages under ‘Current Threatened Species Projects’. This include quick stories, photos and videos on the wide range of recovery work being undertaken in NSW for many of our threatened fish. Just click on a photo of a species to see what current projects are being implemented for the species: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/species-protection/current-threatened-species-projects Thanks to all our partners helping to deliver these projects.

 

 

 

Download the Free FishSmart App for the Latest Information Did you know DPI has a free app that provides recreational fishers with 24/7 access to essential info they need to know to fish in NSW, such as a pictorial guide of common recreational species, bag & size limits, closed seasons and fishing gear rules, real-time maps to locate your nearest FADs (Fish Aggregation Devices), artificial reefs, Recreational Fishing Havens and Marine Park Zones, local weather, tide, moon phase and barometric pressure to help choose best time to fish, your very own catch log plus more!  Download the FishSmart NSW app from Google Play at: http://bit.ly/2hO7jLZ or the iTunes app store at https://appsto.re/au/FY3gbb.i