The week long GAMEX competition held by the Exmouth Game Fishing Club’s (EGFC) from March 16-24 brought thousands of visitors once again to the regional town of Exmouth.
As one of the biggest fishing competitions in Australia, GAMEX provides significant benefits back to the local community, including in influx of visitors associated with the event.
The importance of events such as this to local communities can not be underestimated, with previous GAMEX events having injected more than $1 million into the local economy in just over a week that competitors and their families spend in town.
Opportunities for tourism and marketing around fishing events are enormous and can reap huge rewards for small coastal communities.
“We see people hiring a car, filling up at the petrol station, driving out to their accommodation, dining in local restaurants and heading out on the water, stocking up on their bait and tackle supply beforehand,” Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said.
“WA is renowned for quality recreational fishing experiences and with more than 266 fishers in this year’s event, it demonstrates once again the important contribution the EGFC provides to the Exmouth Community.”
Exmouth Tackle Word Owner Jeni Gates said that events such as GAMEX have highlighted the quality of fishing available in Exmouth to an international community.
“Some of the numbers of billfish we have seen caught and released during GAMEX over the past few years combined with the 1084lb blue marlin caught earlier this year has really put Exmouth on the map as a world class billfish destination,” Jeni said.
“Over the last 12 months we’ve seen an influx of anglers from all around the world. Earlier this year we had multiple families visit form South East Asia who all came with the intent of tangling with a big Marlin.”
GAMEX also highlights just how important fishing is to the social fabric of small coastal communities.
Fishing continues to provide significant health and wellbeing benefits in many small coastal communities in WA, and fishing events such as GAMEX continue to promote the quality of fishing experiences available on our doorstep.
Recfishwest looks forward to being a part of GAMEX 2019 and congratulates the EGFC and Exmouth community on pulling together such a beneficial event.
