There’s nothing more important than returning home safe after a day’s fishing. Continue reading “We want everyone to return home safe after a day’s fishing”
Tag: angel ring
Community heroes keeping fishers safe in the Gascoyne
It is common knowledge that the WA coast can be unforgiving. In our State alone we have lost 27 people from rock fishing incidents since 2002, an alarmingly high number for our beloved past time. This is a strong reminder that fishers must always consider the dangers when fishing along our coast. Continue reading “Community heroes keeping fishers safe in the Gascoyne”
Fishing Safety – It’s Your Responsibility
With the saddening news of the latest rock fishing fatality at Quobba, Recfishwest is appealing to rock fishers to fish safely, especially during the Winter months.
Our condolences are with the man’s family, who tragically lost his life while fishing from Quobba’s High Rock, after being swept in on August 13.
Quobba can produce some great land based fishing opportunities, but the risk to you, your friends and family is very high. With vertical cliffs, jagged sharp rocks and big swell, Quobba fishing should only be attempted by people with the right gear and are experienced rock fishers.
Recfishwest has been working with the owners of Quobba Station over the past few months who have recently installed new Angel Rings (Life Rings) at high risk fishing locations along the Quobba coast. We understand that one of the Angel Rings was thrown in a rescue attempt during the incident.
Locations of the Nine Angel Rings recently installed at Quobba are:
Blowholes
Old Boundary
Loopy’s
High Rock
2 Mile
Whistling Rock
The Ledge
Camp Rock
The Caves
Angel Rings are not the only safety equipment that can be used at Quobba to ensure you return home safe. Quobba Stationis a location for Recfishwest’s FREE Life Jacket Loan Scheme, where FREE compact fishing life jackets can be loaned for rock fishers. FREE life jackets can also be loaned from Carnarvon Tackle and Marine, and Tel-O-Mac Tackle (Carnarvon).
Some time ago, passionate and safe rock fishers, also installed rock anchor points into the cliffs at Quobba, adding an additional option for rock fishers to tie themselves onto.
Knowing winter serves up rougher weather conditions (particularly on the West Coast), it is a strong reminder that fishers must always consider the dangers when fishing along our coast.
Recfishwest Fishing Safety Officer Bronte Nardi said a lot of people in the WA (and Australian) community are working tirelessly to keep rock fishers safe, now it’s time for rock fishers to help by minimising the risk of them going in the water.
“Over 150 FREE Life Jackets can loaned from a lot WA tackle shops, Angel Rings are being installed by land managers at high risk fishing locations, fishing safety awareness material are being produced – now we need people who fish from rocks to eliminate
the risks, prepare accordingly and return home safe,” Ms Nardi appealed.
“It’s never nice hearing the news of a missing fisher, and the feeling was definitely echoed through the community, as the majority of people understand the dangers of rock fishing,” Ms Nardi said.
“Recfishwest are once again stressing the importance of taking personal responsibility of your own safety while fishing, by observing conditions and using appropriate safety equipment.”
If you must fish from the rocks, please follow these simple fishing safety messages:
• Know how to swim
• Wear a life jacket
• Never fish alone
• Observe first, fish later
• Use appropriate safety equipment
• Tell someone your plans
For more Information on rock fishing safety please visit, http://recfishwest.org.au/our-services/fishing-safety/ or www.fishandsurvive.com.au
WA Needs More Fishing Heroes!
Our Purpose is to ensure Great Fishing Experiences for all in the WA community forever.
Our Commitment is to Protect, Promote and Develop Sustainable, Accessible, Enjoyable and Safe fishing for the benefit of the community.
Thanks to our current supporters, Recfishwest can continue the fight to keep fishing great in WA.
Our role is to:
– Be your voice that would not otherwise be heard
– Be the voice of the fish that otherwise goes unheard or ignored
– Keep you informed of all thing affecting your fishing, 24/7; we believe you need to know!
– Strive to ensure you and your family return home safe after a day’s fishing
– Defend your fishing rights when your local fishing spot is under threat
– Fight when access to fishing areas is put at risk
– Roll up our sleeves and find a solution when no one else will.
Contribute to what we do and support us, become a member and let us do the hard yakka on your behalf. We don’t make profits here at Recfishwest and we make sure all our resources go directly towards our action to protect, promote and develop our fishing environments and to keep you fishing.
To give you an idea of where your support helps us make fishing better:
• Stocking of important recreational fish species around WA, including Pink Snapper, Barramundi, Prawns, Mulloway and Freshwater Trout
• Development, design and deployment of Artificial Reefs in Western Australia
• Development of important fishing research and conservation programs
• Development of WA’s ‘Fish and Survive’ program, to ensure all fishers come home safe after a day’s fishing
• Delivery of WA’s only state-wide fishing clinic program to thousands of kids in both metro and regional areas
A strong membership base allows us to pursue matters that affect your fishing with added confidence knowing you’ve got our back, just like we’ve got yours!
For just 50c per week, you can help us protect and develop fishing experiences in Western Australia, for the community forever.
Angel Ring Saves Lives in Esperance
The recent investment in rock fishing safety initiatives is starting to make a real difference in WA and lives are being saved as a result. Initiatives such as Angel Rings (life rings) are proving genuine life savers, as was the case recently at Esperance.
A father of two was fishing from the rocks at Hellfire Bay while his children, aged 11 and 15, swam from the nearby beach. While he was fishing he saw his children being swept out to sea by a strong rip current. His quick thinking had him grab the near by Angel Ring and he attempted to get it in the water as quickly as possible. Unfortunately he was hit by a large wave and swept in himself, placing all three of them in danger in what could have been a major tragedy. Fortunately he kept hold of the Angel Ring and was able to use it to support all three of them while they swam back to shore. The alarm was raised by others, but the trio made it safely back to dry land without assistance.
This is the first time it has been confirmed an Angel Ring has been used to save lives along the south coast of WA, although we believe it has happened on other occasions from local reports including Quobba and Albany. There is no doubt the immediate availability of the Angel Ring played a huge part in the positive outcome, potentially saving three lives. This story highlights the importance of continuing to invest in safety initiatives across the state.
Recfishwest CEO Andrew Rowland said the work done by community partners in Esperance to ensure Angel Rings were installed shouldn’t be forgotten.
“The Department of Parks and Wildlife, the Shire of Esperance and the South East Coast Recreational Fishing Council all played huge roles in installing Angel Rings in and around Esperance and the recent incident and the positive outcome is a testament to their work to keep the community safe,” Andrew said.
“This incident is a reminder of the importance of on ground safety equipment installations supported by local expertise and the need for the government to continue financial support for this initiative.”
Although Angel Rings are installed at many of the popular rock fishing destinations around WA, we still highly recommend the use of a life jacket while fishing, especially the new era of compact, self-inflating life jackets available which can be worn rock, boat or kayak fishing. Check out how popular these jackets are here.
Recfishwest wants you and your family to return home safe after a day of fishing, and because of that we are proud to work with our community partners, government and the public to make that a reality through safety initiatives around WA.
Kalbarri Fishing Club Making Safety Happen
The Kalbarri Offshore and Angling Club, along with community partners and the Department of Parks and Wildlife are doing their bit to keep fishers safe around the coast of Kalbarri.
A renown rock fishing location, the cliffs of Kalbarri present huge challenges for both beginners and experienced fishers. Although quality fish can be caught from the Kalbarri cliffs, the dangers that come with fishing here outweigh any fish.
Recfishwest provided 5 Angel Rings to the Kalbarri Offshore and Angling Club and DPaW to install at designated high-risk fishing locations, and with no hesitations installed the rings to ensure fishers are kept as safe as possible when rock fishing.
As reported in our last Broad Cast, Kalbarri Sports and Dive tackle shop are now a Free Life Jacket Loan location with 5 jackets available to hire for anyone going rock fishing in an extension of the state wide Life Jacket Loan scheme bringing the number of locations to 19. Recfishwest is thrilled with the efforts of the local fishing club, the tackle shop and community partners and shows they care about public safety and willing to help at all costs.
Kalbarri Angling and Offshore Fishing Club President Cheryl Eley said fishing is such an important recreation for locals and tourists here, that installing safety equipment on the rocks was essential to keeping fishers safe.
“We’re not experts in safety, but any safety initiative that involves the local community and strives to keep people safe, is a win win for the fishing club and the Kalbarri community” Cheryl said.
“We’re proud to be a part of the rock fishing safety initiative and the club guys who installed the rings deserve a huge pat on the back.”
“We had a local go in off the rocks over the Christmas period and one of the existing Angel Rings was used to save his life. That’s proof these devices work and we’re happy to have new ones installed in case someone else goes in.”
With the recent success of the Kalbarri Sports Classic and the huge influx of tourists during the holiday season, these safety initiatives couldn’t have come at a better time.
Albany to get 10 New Angel Rings
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.