Tag: gascoyne

Families flock to Denham to celebrate fishing in the Gascoyne at Shark Bay Fiesta

The hundreds of visitors from across WA and Australia, who ventured to Denham for the week-long Shark Bay Fiesta to celebrate all things fishing swelled the population of the coastal town by half!  

For around 850 people who call Denham home, the annual Shark Bay Fiesta community event plays a big part in the community’s cultural life and social calendar, as well as bringing a welcome annual boost to local businesses.  

Since it started as a weekend fishing competition in 1996, the event has now blossomed into a week-long, program-packed community event with an array of social activities organised by local fundraising community groups.  

With impressive prizes up for grabs for the best catches, more than 119 competitors on 42 boats ventured into Shark Bay to experience the safe, sustainable, enjoyable and accessible fishing on offer, with many punching out wide to renowned fishing spots such as Dirk Hartog Island and Steep Point to chase Spanish mackerel, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, red emperor, goldband snapper, pearl perch and many others.  

Notable eyebrow-raising catches from the Fiesta, held between 19-26 May, included a 23.3kg Spanish mackerel, 7.54kg coral trout, 10.33kg red emperor and 92cm tailor.  

For a full summary of the 2023 Shark Bay Fiesta results, click here.  

This wahoo weighing over 20kg caught by Daryl Anesbury was just one of the spectacular fish landed during the week-long Shark Bay Fiesta competition, with 119 competitors on 42 boats bringing in great catches to the weigh-in each afternoon.

While the fishing action was non-stop, so was the Fiesta entertainment in Denham, with a huge range of family-friendly activities including live music, local business stalls, daily catch weigh-ins, quiz and bingo nights, workshops, auctions, fireworks and much more. 

Shark Bay Community Resource Centre Executive Officer Jamie Burton, who has helped coordinate the event for years, said the annual festivities never fail to create a great buzz around the town.  

“The Shark Bay Fiesta is easily the biggest community tourism boost each year in the region celebrating the importance of fishing in Shark Bay to the community while showcasing local businesses and the pristine waters of the area,” she said.  

“It’s high-class fishing to bingo, high teas, live music and fun competitions like a blindfolded pancake eating competition – there’s something for everyone of all ages.”  

Another welcome addition to this year’s Fiesta was the introduction of the ‘catch and return’ category in the fishing competition – where demersal species are caught and weighed in catch bags to reduce direct handling and potential damage to the fish, before they are safely released. Being able to safely catch and release these demersal species while still having the chance to take out impressive prizes prompted a lot of positive feedback,” added Jamie.

A lively awards ceremony reflected another successful year for the Fiesta.

A fun-packed Fiesta fishing clinic!

Recfishwest was also there to help teach the next generation of fishers how to catch, handle and release great species of fish in our SunSmart fishing clinic, with 38 kids from all around WA wetting a line for three hours and catching and releasing more than 100 fish including bluebone, black snapper, tarwhine and many other species.  

“This was one of the most productive and energetic fishing clinics that Recfishwest has coordinated as all 38 kids and their parents were kept busy catching a wide variety of impressive species off the local Denham jetties. One kid even managed to pull in a 1.8kg bluebone,” said Recfishwest Senior Operations Officer Sam Russell.  

“It was great to see visitors from inland regions experience the great coastal fishing on offer. We had several clinic attendees that had travelled from Alice Springs and they were blown away by the accessible and rewarding fishing on offer in Shark Bay. We’re sure they can’t wait to get back there and wet a line again. 

“A big thanks to Jamie Burton and the Denham community for having us and hosting another awesome Shark Bay Fiesta, we’re looking forward to coming back between 17-24 May in 2024.”  

Want to know more about the 2023 Shark Bay Fishing Fiesta? Check out their website here.  

A big thanks to all 38 kids and their families who enjoyed wetting a line with Recfishwest during our three-hour long SunSmart fishing clinic off the jetties in Denham!

Extreme sportfish catches recorded at GAMEX 2023

With 237 tag-and-released billfish, including 161 black marlin, 68 sailfish and two pending State and national queenfish and spangled emperor records — the 55th GAMEX fishing tournament once again lived up to its reputation as one of the premier fishing competitions in Australia! 

A healthy contingent of 245 avid competitors on 58 boats flocked to Exmouth from across the State between 17-25 March, with Recfishwest researchers also in attendance to collect vital species data for our Fishing for Science program and to coordinate a fishing clinic for dozens of excited kids. 

A smorgasbord of point-scoring species were weighed in across the comp, including Spanish mackerel, shark mackerel, school mackerel, queenfish, golden trevally, cobia, dolphinfish, yellowfin tuna, striped tuna, wahoo, barracuda and spangled emperor. 

From these captures are two pending records, both from the same angler in Luke Mounsey, who landed a 5.16kg queenfish on 4kg line — a pending Western Australian Male Small Fry record — and a 2.24kg spangled emperor on 1kg line — a pending National Male Small Fry record. 

68 sailfish in total were tagged and released across GAMEX, including this stunning electric-blue fish by Chris Tanti.

Not only does GAMEX produce some of the best catches of any fishing tournament in the land — but it also had the most impressive booty of prizes up for grabs which included a $50,000 Northbank trailerboat package draw for one lucky competitor, fuelling fantastic fishing and fierce competition across the tournament.  

The team aboard Fatal Attraction enjoyed a fantastic tournament, winning a range of categories including the Overall Capture/Tag & Release category with 11 species across 11 line classes landed, Matt Gates winning Champion Male Angler with nine species across 10 line classes, along with their crew member Dean Gates winning Champion Small Fry Angler.  

Bri Bollard aboard Dickens Cider claimed the Champion Female Angler title for five species across eight line classes, with Jessica Hournhardt winning Champion Junior Angler (16yrs/U) of five species across eight line classes and Luke Mounsey winning Champion Small Fry Angler (11yrs/U) with three species across four line classes.   

Bri Bollard had a cracker of a tournament, taking out the Champion Female Angler title for five species across eight line classes.

With over $1 million pumped into the Exmouth regional economy each year from GAMEX visitors thanks to the hard-fighting and abundant fish species on offer, it’s clear how important fishing tournaments like GAMEX are to regional towns across Western Australia.  

Ben Knaggs, Club Manager of the Exmouth Game Fishing Club (EGFC), said it is the most highly anticipated fishing event on the calendar each year for Exmouth and it has been part of the fabric of the town for over half a century. 

“GAMEX is a highly important milestone on the social calendar each year, particularly for mad-keen fishers. Economically, it has a huge part to play each year and it marks the start of the tourist season around Exmouth, which forms the foundations of the livelihoods of many businesses in the region,” said Ben.  

“There is such a wide variety of species on offer during the competition and it showcases the fishing in Exmouth on a national and international perspective. It puts the spotlight on Exmouth as the world-class sportfishing destination it is.”  

Thanks to the kind fishers who let Recfishwest Operations Officers Sam Russell and Levi De Boni sample their catches, they were able to collect data from loads of fish during the Exmouth Game Fishing Club-held (EGFC) comp. 

Data collected included weight, length, condition, sex and maturity stage, while tissue samples from each fish’s belly were also taken for future research. 

“Thanks again to the EGFC and its weigh-in committee for the help throughout this year’s GAMEX and for supporting Fishing for Science, along with all fishers who let us sample the fish that they caught – you’ve helped collect valuable data regarding important recreational species,” said Sam.   

“Our fishing clinic was also a great success for the youngsters, we had dozens of kids landing some impressive catches that are highly abundant and easily accessible year-round from the Exmouth marina. This region is always rewarding when it comes to teaching kids about sustainability and catching fish.” 

Recfishwest’s Operations Officers Sam Russell (pictured left) and Levi De Boni were kept busy baiting lines and unhooking great catches for dozens of kids during the recent Exmouth fishing clinics!

Scott’s Species – Long-nose emperor, the forearm burners

Long-nosed emperor

Lethrinus olivaceus

Eating: 3 stars

ID – Extended snout, mottled blue/grey colouration.

I will never forget my first long-nosed emperor. We were fishing off Ningaloo Reef in around 50m and I had put an unweighted bait out, with a whole mulie on ganged hooks.

I was expecting a Spaniard or other pelagic and instead caught a thumping long-nosed, the first I have ever seen. I took a picture of Andrew Pickard holding it and it became a cover shot for Western Angler. That was a remarkable day, as I subsequently caught a dolphinfish and sailfish on the same outfit, making it something special.

Steve Palumbo had a ball on long-nosed emperor on the Rowley Shoals flats.

It was a long time before I encountered this species again, but a trip to the Rowley Shoals showed just how much fun they can be. The bluewater fishing at the Rowley’s was slow, but we had incredible fun inside the lagoon, where we found big packs of long-nosed that were willing lure takers.

We could often see them in the shallows and they had no qualms chasing down our offerings. One day we were all standing on the gunwales of Steve Palumbo’s boat when we spotted a big school of them right up in the shallows, leading to some frenetic action for the next few minutes. It was some of the best flats fishing I have done.

Andrew Pickard with a good Ningaloo long-nosed emperor.

Like most emperor, long-nosed have brutish strength and fight hard for their size, with those typically dogged surges towards any nearby cover. They also used their broad sides well to make them tough to pull to the boat.

We found they were responsive to most types of lures in the shallows, with sinking stickbaits probably most effective. Soft plastics also worked well. They can also be caught on poppers at times. We didn’t need especially heavy gear for them, but there was lots of structure so we lost a few battles. There were often other bigger fish such as GTs and maori wrasse that would suddenly appear and do us over. A spinning outfit around 7-9kg with some heavier leader was our preferred approach.

Long-nosed would usually be an occasional catch offshore, as with my Ningaloo fish, and would hit baits such as squid and mulies aimed at other bottom fish, or jigs and soft plastics.

There seem to be one or two caught on our annual Mackerel Islands trip each year and often in good sizes. Found from Ningaloo north, long-nosed are known to grow to about 10 kilos, but the ones we caught at the Rowley’s were mainly 3-4kgfish. They are primarily an inshore fish, but do find their way out to 200m of water.

Scott Coghlan used a sinking stickbait to catch this long-nosed emperor at the Rowley Shoals.

Future Focus for Gascoyne Pink Snapper

Pink snapper are the lifeblood of recreational fishing in the Gascoyne. These highly prized fish provide fantastic opportunity for both local and visiting fishers to tussle with a hard fighting, yet accessible sportfish that is also rated highly on the plate.

Managing our states fisheries is an exciting and challenging task

Readers might remember management changes for oceanic pink snapper were implemented last year, which included a snapper spawning closure north of Bernier Island, offshore from Carnarvon as well as a reduction in the allowable catch for the commercial fishing sector.

The community were consulted after a stock assessment indicated a risk to snapper numbers in the region, and agreed that these measures were appropriate to try and recover the snapper stock as quickly as possible. The spawning closure had over 96% support from the community. You can read more about it here.

Managing our states fisheries is an exciting and challenging task that takes place in a dynamic environment affected by many influences. This means that it’s important to constantly check-in on how management changes are affecting both our fish stocks and our fishing experiences.

In the case of Gascoyne pink snapper, Recfishwest recently met with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and representatives from the commercial fishing sector to further develop the recovery plan for the oceanic pink snapper resource in the Gascoyne region.

Recfishwest is proud to continue to work with all stakeholders to refine the recovery strategy in order to rebuild this snapper stock as soon as possible

This work includes reviewing current research and management actions, endorsing appropriate catch levels and timelines for future stock assessments and discussing future management to stimulate the fishery to recover at the desired rate.

Recfishwest is proud to continue to work with all stakeholders to refine the recovery strategy in order to rebuild this snapper stock as soon as possible.

Recreational fishing is an integral part of Carnarvon’s social fabric and local economy, so it’s vitally important that we balance the protection of this valuable resource with the opportunity to visit Carnarvon and fish in other places, or for different species. Through positive community engagement and consultation, this balance was achieved.

If you are planning on travelling to Carnarvon for a fishing trip, it is worth noting that the spawning closure is in effect from the 1st of June – 31st August. This doesn’t affect fishing for other species such as coral trout or red emperor.

Positive community engagement and consultation leads to better protection of these valuable fish

Abrolhos Islands National Park to Improve Tourism and Support Wilderness Fishing Experiences

Recfishwest is encouraged by the latest news from the WA Premier, Colin Barnett, that the iconic Abrolhos Islands are set to become a National Park that will both promote tourism while protecting it’s unique wilderness values and great fishing experiences. It is important to note that the proposed changes only affect the terrestrial portion (land) of the island chain and fishing rules and regulations will remain unchanged.

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland welcomed the announcement, suggesting management changes were needed to meet the challenges of increased public visitation to the islands in recent years.

“It is important that the Abrolhos Islands are actively managed to protect the things visiting fishers value most.”

“There’s always a fear that when management changes are made in highly valued areas, access to quality fishing is jeopardised by competing values. In this case, we are pleased to see the importance of fishing has been recognised by the Premier in the recent announcement.

We look forward to hearing more about this proposal and representing the WA fishing community in what would be a great move toward making an iconic WA location, a well-managed asset for the people of WA.

Recfishwest looks forward to being involved in the discussions that shape what the opportunity may look like.

Or to learn more about fishing at the Abrolhos Islands visit www.ilovefishing.com.au

 

Gascoyne Fish Trap Proposal – Recfishwest Statement

The Department of Fisheries have recently drafted a proposal to trial the use of fish traps between Steep Point and Coral Bay over the next three years.  Recfishwest is currently consulting with recreational fishers in the Gascoyne and note the strong community objection to this proposal.

Recfishwest has already met with local recreational fishers in Carnarvon, who raised their concerns directly with the Department of Fisheries representatives during a community focus group meeting organised by Recfishwest.

Concerns raised by the recreational fishing community include:
– Localised depletion of key species in important recreational fishing areas
– Introduction of traps will likely lead to a change of fishing behaviour as important recreational fishing areas will now become easily fished
– Any decrease in fishing quality will effect fishing based tourism, see a decrease in visitation and adversely impact local businesses
– Heavy traps are likely to damage to sensitive habitats such as coral reef
– There is no evidence to suggest traps will decrease shark predation for which it is claimed to do, allowing fish trapping would be treating the symptom not the cause
– There are concerns over ‘ghost’ fishing of lost traps
– The proposed ‘trial’ allows an unlimited number of traps in an unrestricted area
– The proposed ‘trial’ is unnecessarily long

Recfishwest share many of the concerns raised by worried fishers and Recfishwest will ensure the views of the local community and those who visit the region to enjoy the great fishing it has to offer are reflected in our submission to the Department which will be submitted on the 24th February.

The world class fishing opportunities throughout the Gascoyne are relished by locals and visitors alike and recreational fishing is an important economic contributor to local communities in the Gascoyne.

Recfishwest stands for sustainable, accessible, enjoyable and safe fishing for all West Australians.