In another major step towards safeguarding the lives of recreational fishers, 10 new Angel Rings will soon be installed at popular rock fishing locations around Albany.
Rock fishing is a very dangerous pastime and many lives have been lost, not just along the south coast but all along the WA coastline.
Prevention is the best cure and there are many steps rock fishers can take to ensure their safety, and tips on these can be found at www.fishandsurvive.org.au
However, Angel Rings are life buoys which can be thrown to anyone who unfortunately finds themselves in the water, and greatly increase the chance to survival until rescue in that scenario.
Recfishwest, with the help of community partners, are helping get Angel Rings placed at a number of key rock fishing locations around WA.
Spots close to Albany where new Angel Rings are soon to be installed are The Deeps, Lowland, Cable Beach, Blow Holes, The Steps, Tourist Rock at Cheynes Beach, Three Stripes at Cheynes Beach, Dunsky’s and Maitraya.
There were already Angel Rings in place at the Salmon Holes, and they have also been installed at locations around Kalbarri and Esperance recently with Denmark’s rings not too far away from being installed. The latest installations in Albany have been driven by the Department of Parks and Wildlife and the City of Albany. The City of Albany’s Cameron Woods welcomed the installations as a great community asset.
“The installations are an important part of the mix to keep local residents and our visitors safe whilst enjoying our amazing coastal environments,” he said.
“The installations combined with signage and an education awareness campaign is designed to reduce the loss of life and the associated impact this has on families and communities.”
Local rock fishing safety advocate Andrew Jarvis welcomed the news.
“I am very pleased to have been part of the group that has organised to get the Angel Rings in place and it is good to see different government departments working together,” he said.
“I believe Peter Hartley, the district manager from DPaW, has been the primary driver behind the push on rock fishing safety and he deserves a big pat on the back for his efforts.”
With our state government 3-year rock fishing safety funding coming to a close, Recfishwest will be pushing to receive another round of funding to keep fishers safe in WA and incite behaviour change within our communities.
