After a deluxe display of species diversity last year, the King of the Reef competition is returning from 1 May – 31 August to allow fishers to contribute to science – and have a crack at some fantastic prizes!
Recfishwest is teaming up once again with Woodside Energy and the Exmouth Game Fishing Club (EGFC) to deliver the competition, inviting fishers of all ages to wet a line at the King Reef artificial reef and surrounding areas.
In its inaugural year last year, the competition proved to be a reel-screaming success with more than 280 fish caught by nearly 80 anglers spanning 20 different species (on King Reef alone), highlighting the rich biodiversity that continues to grow in the area as a result of the artificial reef.
Home to more than 120 species, King Reef’s six large, repurposed steel structures and 49 concrete purpose-built modules spanning across an area the size of five footy fields have quickly helped it become the fastest growing artificial reef in the southern hemisphere since its deployment in 2018.
Competitors can easily enter their catches via the Track My Fish App (more info here), where the data is analysed to help improve the understanding of the value of artificial reefs in West Aussie waters.
The prize pool includes a swag of mouth-watering prizes, with the top prize of a Shimano Stella 18000 worth $1,500 sure to get fishers ‘reely’ pumped!
For more info on the competition and to enter, click here!
Recfishwest’s Artificial Reefs Approvals Officer Eligh Quigley said, “The catch data we collected from the fishing community last year helped us better understand the species diversity at the reef which has been created using repurposed infrastructure.
“By contributing to our scientific understanding of the artificial reef, participating fishers are developing greater stewardship of their local environment – another positive spin off from the competition.
“It cemented the case for deploying more artificial reefs around WA in the future, including those using repurposed infrastructure, because it’s the prime example of how an artificial reef can greatly benefit both the environment and community.”
EGFC Events Manager Ben Knaggs said there was a great range of junior (18) and senior (60) competitors last year due to the proximity of the reef to town, allowing a wider collective of fishers to easily have a crack.
“Given King Reef is only 6.4km North-East of Exmouth Marina boat ramp even families in a tinny can enjoy that species diversity excitement.
“A lot of competitions are traditionally fished fairly offshore, but you don’t need a massive boat to catch coral trout, trevally, Spanish mackerel and other top species at King Reef given it’s right on Exmouth’s doorstep.”
Make sure you give the competition a go this year and a big Recfishwest thanks to all competitors who contributed to science by logging their catches last year!
