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Key Issues: Fishing : Recreational Fishing

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Fishing is a key part of Australian culture. Whether we go out to cast a line with friends, are a serious game fisher or simply enjoy a seafood barbie, most of us appreciate fishing at some level.

NPA~Marine is supportive of sustainable fishing in NSW. We understand the importance of providing healthy habitats for our fish and other marine creatures and want to work with the fishing community to ensure that NSW's fish species survive well into the future to be enjoyed by all.

More info
Click on the links below for more information on fishing

• A global issue
• NSW
• Threatened species
• Commerical fishing
• Recreational fishing

Approx 1million people in NSW fish at least once a year. It is an integral part of Australian culture, but unfortunately one that is having an impact on our oceans.

NPA~Marine recognizes that most recreational fishers are conservationists who individually have limited impact on the marine environment. However, collectively the impact can be significant. There are few long-term fishers that do not recognize the difference in their catches today as opposed to when they first cast a line.

It is estimated that recreational fishing is about 30% of the commercial catch. This indicates a strong contribution to pressures on resources from recreational fishers. As recreational fishing is difficult to manage through input controls (eg. regulating fisher numbers) and output controls (eg. bag limits) are difficult to monitor and enforce, marine sanctuaries provide one of the few available means of maintaining a proportion of unfished biomass to replenish fish stocks.

While the effects of commercial fishing have been widely acknowledged, recreational fishing impacts often escape notice. Recreational fishing tends to target the largest and most aggressive fish in a population which studies have suggested can lead to maladaptive genetic selection for smaller, slower maturing less aggressive fish which has negative implications for productivity and population recovery. Such smaller fish produce less young and have more unstable populations which are more at risk of collapse from fluctuations arising from climate change.

Snapper as an example
An example of this process at work can be seen in the snapper population of NSW. Snapper are long-lived and slow-growing fish reportedly living up to 35 years. Snapper are recognised as being "growth over-fished" by NSW Fisheries, where the average size of fish landed is declining.

Targetting species such as snapper can also have implications on our complex food webs. For example reduction in snapper can lead to an increase in numbers of their prey such as sea urchins. Urchin increases lead to intensified grazing of these creatures on kelp, resulting in 'urchin barrens' - areas where kelp has been removed to such an extent that habitat changes from kelp beds to bare sandy seafloors littered with the excess urchin population.

Other implications
Additionally, recreational fishing can impact on marine habitats and species through anchor damage, increased boat traffic increasing the spread of invasive weeds (eg Caulerpa taxifolia) and discarded fishing gear.

Sanctuaries as solutions
Marine sanctuaries provide opportunities for recreational fishers to benefit from improved fishing in their surrounding waters. 'Spillover' from the larger, increased population of the sanctuary can mean better catches when casting a line outside of these protected areas.

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