Tag: fish samples

Dampier fishers back science and sustainability at Classic comp

Challenging weather couldn’t dampen spirits at the 49th King Bay Game Fishing Club Dampier Classic, with the iconic event once again highlighting the importance of fishing to Pilbara coastal communities.

It also showed how much Pilbara fishers care about their fishery, with many donating their catches to Recfishwest’s Fishing for Science program, supported by Woodside North West.

Fishing for Science in action

Across four days and 19 boats, competitors contributed 79 samples from species including Spanish mackerel, queenfish, cobia, trevally and spangled emperor. In return, our Fishing for Science team filleted fishers’ catches and provided DPIRD Research Scientist Paul Lewis with mackerel samples to support a Department stock assessment.

We also ran a popular Healthway Kids Fishing Clinic, where more than 60 young fishers learned how to catch, handle and release a variety of Pilbara species such as whiting, bream, tuskfish and cod.

Check out the highlights from the Dampier Classic and our kids’ fishing clinic in the video below!

Competition highlights

  • Most species (boat): Hashtag with 19 species.

  • Tag and release (boat): MICX crew with 58 tags across 13 species.

  • Junior tag and release: Max Grasso with 39 tags across 11 species.

  • Junior most species: Mia Grasso with six species.

  • Stand-out catch: A near 17kg Spanish mackerel landed on just 3kg line.

What they said.

Recfishwest Senior Operations Officer Sam Russel:

“It was a fantastic response from the Dampier fishing community, who are just as passionate as we are about fish sustainability and research. Fishing for Science is a great way for fishers to learn more about the species they love to catch, while contributing to data that will benefit the fishery in the future.”

King Bay Game Fishing Club President Scott Sharp:

“Kids are the future of fishing, and it was fantastic to see so many youngsters excitedly wetting a line and asking questions at the Fishing for Science table. Despite the weather, the strong junior presence bodes well for next year’s 50th edition.”

It was fantastic to see the youngsters in Dampier getting stuck into catching and releasing numerous Pilbara species and helping out our Fishing for Science team at the samples table!

A special thanks to our sponsor Woodside North West and all the competition sponsors for making this another brilliant event, we look forward to seeing you in 2026 for the big 50th edition!

Looking ahead

Recfishwest looks forward to returning in 2026 to help celebrate the half-century edition of this much-loved Pilbara competition — and thanks all fishers who generously donated their samples to Fishing for Science.

Dampier community fishes for fun and for science!

We had a fantastic response to our Fishing for Science fish sampling table and fishing clinic in Dampier coinciding with King Bay Game Fishing Club’s recent Dampier classic.

The great response to these activities and the dozens of boats in the competition shows just how important fishing for regional communities continues to be.

Wahoo, Spanish mackerel, queenfish, longtail tuna, barracuda and golden trevally – these were just some of the species local anglers landed throughout our five-day visit to the northern coastal fishing jewel.

Our Sunsmart Fishing Clinic saw more than 40 eager kids wet a line off the shore, with plenty of great catches of species such as bluebone and stripey snapper providing great memories and snaps for the next generation of anglers.

We had a great time showing future generations how to safely catch, handle and release fish!

Following the Sunsmart Fishing Clinics in the mornings, the icing on the cake for our Recfishwest team was the many fish given to us to sample for our Fishing for Science Program at the end of each day’s weigh-in from 67 competitors wetting a line from 21 vessels.

Fishing for Science is a community engagement program that enables local communities to better understand scientifically the fish species that underpin prized fishing experiences.

READ MORE ABOUT OUR FISHING FOR SCIENCE PROGRAM HERE

In total, more than 50 fish across 15 different species were brought to the sampling table, for measuring, sexing and having belly tissue samples taken to freeze for future scientific studies and monitoring of our fish stocks.

Other data gathered for our Fishing for Science program across the competition included the weight, condition, sex, parasites and maturity stage of each fish, providing useful knowledge for locals while allowing them to give back in protecting our fisheries.

Sam Russell and Danielle Hartshorn always had a great bunch of kids eager to see the fish gender reveals!

Operations Officer Sam Russell said both the fishing clinics and positive engagement with the competition participants provided invaluable information on the importance of these special ocean habitats to our northern communities.

“A big thanks to the Dampier fishing communities, King Bay Game Fishing Club and Sunsmart for allowing us to run these clinics and engage with hundreds of Dampier and Karratha locals again this year – and a big thanks to our Fishing for Science partners Woodside Energy for supporting this great community program”