Tag: King Reef Exmouth

Exmouth’s King of the Reef competition flexing its species diversity muscle

We’re nearly halfway through Exmouth’s King of the Reef competition, and we’ve already seen a fantastic variety of species caught and released at the artificial reef and surrounds. 

To celebrate the spectacular fishing on offer at Exmouth’s King Reef, Recfishwest teamed up with Woodside Energy and the Exmouth Game Fishing Club to deliver the ’King of the Reef’ competition, inviting fishers to wet a line around the reef and contribute to marine science by entering their catches via the Track My Fish App (more info here). 

In June alone, 74 fish were measured and logged by competitors, with many being released. Some of the species bending rods around the artificial reef included spangled emperor, golden trevally, blue-lined emperor, Charlie Court and Spanish mackerel – just to name a few!    

The four-month-long competition runs to the end of September, so if you haven’t entered yet there is still plenty of time to have a crack at the $15,000 worth of prizes on offer! 

Given the abundance of species that are known to make reels sing around King Reef, the ‘Most Species Caught on King Reef’ major prize category has certainly got anglers buzzing to get out there! The fisher who catches the most species in this category (a minimum of 10 different species must be logged) will claim the top prize of an awesome $2,000 Surge Orion fishing kayak! 

The King of the Reef competition is ramping up and some top-quality catches are being entered into the Track My Fish app, including coral trout and red emperor.

It’s not just adults getting in on the action either, there is a competition category for young fishers aged 16/under for whoever catches the longest and mystery length Charlie Court each month. The longest overall eligible Charlie Court entry will take home a $400 Tackle World Exmouth gear pack! 

“The longest Charlie category for the kids has surprisingly been the most popular category so far!” said Recfishwest’s Artificial Reefs Officer Eligh Quigley. “It is great to see young anglers targeting an alternative species which is plentiful in the region.” 

“The catch data from the community is helping us not only better understand the species diversity around King Reef, but is also strengthening the case for more artificial reefs to be deployed around WA in the future, so get out there and have a crack!”  

Click here to see the competition’s prize categories!  

For more info on the competition and to see updates on catches, make sure you follow the Exmouth Game Fishing Club Facebook page and for the best advice on how to fish King Reef, check out the top tips from Exmouth Tackle & Camping’s Steve Riley in the video below! 

In 2018, a collaboration between Recfishwest, the Exmouth community and other stakeholders resulted in King Reef – the first integrated artificial reef to be deployed in the southern hemisphere. King Reef involved repurposing decommissioned steel buoys from BHP’s Griffin Field augmented with purpose-built concrete modules. 

With ongoing support from Woodside, King Reef has become a biodiversity hotspot, offering new fishing opportunities for locals and visitors to Exmouth while providing major ecological benefits.  

King of the Reef crown and $15k up for grabs in Exmouth Fishing for Science comp!

To celebrate the spectacular fishing on offer at Exmouth’s King Reef, Recfishwest is teaming up with Woodside Energy and the Exmouth Game Fishing Club to deliver the ’King of the Reef’ Fishing for Science competition!

The four-month-long comp invites fishers to fish around the King Reef artificial reef system and contribute to science by entering their catches via the Track My Fish App (more info here).

All entrants will be in the running for a swag of cracking fishing prizes valued at $15,000!

For more info on the King of the Reef competition check out the details below and make sure you enter the competition by clicking here!

A myriad of species 

The competition features overall, monthly and mystery length prizes for the myriad of species commonly found around King Reef such as red emperor, coral trout, Spanish mackerel, trevally and many others – all you have to do is catch them, measure them, then log the data into the App!

While entrants are not limited to fishing at King Reef, a Surge Orion fishing kayak valued at $2,000 is up for grabs for the most species caught at the reef over the competition period!

Want the best fishing tips for King Reef? Check out the amazing advice from Exmouth Tackle & Camping’s Steve Riley in the video below!

Exmouth Game Fishing Club President Ben Knaggs said, “We’re particularly happy to see so many family groups entering and competing and we’ve had kids as young as three years old already reporting solid captures.

“The King of the Reef competition also has the added benefit of providing some important catch data to Recfishwest on the wide variety of species that call this reef system home.

“The catch data submitted by competitors will help strengthen the case for more of these artificial reefs to be deployed around WA in the future.”

In 2018, a collaboration between Recfishwest, the Exmouth community and other stakeholders resulted in King Reef – the first integrated artificial reef to be deployed in the southern hemisphere. King Reef involved repurposing decommissioned steel buoys from BHP’s Griffin Field augmented with purpose-built concrete modules.

With ongoing support from Woodside, King Reef has become a biodiversity hotspot, offering new fishing opportunities and major ecological benefits. Watch the recent under water footage of King Reef captured by Blue Media Exmouth in the video below, which showcases the reef’s rapid development and biodiversity benefits!

COMPETITION DETAILS: 

SPECIES AND PRIZE DETAILS 

The past, present and future of WA’s artificial reefs and Recfishwest’s role!

Ever wanted to know the history of how artificial reefs became so successful around the world and the future reefs set to make a splash off our coastline?  

Recfishwest’s Programs Manager James Florisson also spoke with ABC Kimberley/Pilbara on the artificial reefs planned to be placed off the Broome and Carnarvon coasts along with FADs in our northern waters! Catch James’ radio interview by watching the video below!

Mark Pagano (DPIRD’s Aquatic Resource Management) also spoke to 6PR’s Glen Jakovich on artificial reef developments in the pipeline across WA, why certain reef materials are more productive, what species fishers can expect to catch and much more! You can catch Mark’s chat by clicking here. 

Want to know more about how Recfishwest is driving artificial reef deployments around WA? Click here.  

 

Happy 5th anniversary to Exmouth’s King Reef – a thriving fish habitat just five years after placement on the seabed

Five years ago, all that was there was the barren sandy seabed. 

Today, the area is teeming with vibrant colour, exotic coral and hundreds of marine species, including an array of fish species like trevally, coral trout, cod and mangrove jack.  

What has caused this dramatic transformation? The deployment of the six large, repurposed steel structures and nearly 50 concrete purpose-built modules that makes up King Reef – the fastest developing artificial reef in Australia! 

This latest spectacular video footage by underwater photographer Violeta J. Brosig from Blue Media Exmouth captures the rich biodiversity that has grown on the reef and seen the number of fish species observed on the reef rise to more than 100.  

In 2018, a collaboration between Recfishwest, the Exmouth local community, DPIRD, BHP, NERA, Subcon and Curtin University resulted in King Reef – the first integrated artificial reef deployed in the southern hemisphere covering an area of 27,000m³ – roughly the area of five footy ovals.  

With ongoing support from Woodside Energy, the reef has rapidly transformed the area from an underwater desert into a marine oasis with coral trout, bluebone, spangled emperor, red emperor, mangrove jack, cod, Spanish mackerel and even sailfish seen patrolling around the reef.  

An array of species are now commonly sighted by locals and tourists, spicing up the fishing opportunities and species diversity throughout the Gulf. 

Exmouth Tackle and Camping owner Steve Riley, who was instrumental in turning vision of a repurposed reef in Exmouth Gulf into a reality, said it provides great fishing for fishers in small boats.  

“King Reef is a very easy and accessible spot to fish and it’s brimming with life, so it’s perfect for small boat owners to get out for a fish,” he said.  

“Our record time for reaching the reef, having a troll and having two Spanish mackerel in the boat is seven minutes, that’s how good the fishing has become there!  

“Red emperor, amberjack and Rankin cod were barely reported at all throughout Exmouth Gulf before King Reef’s deployment, now these species are trickling outwards from the structure in great numbers and snorkelers have reported seeing red emperor in only four metres of water within the Gulf. It’s an unexpected, but welcome surprise.”   

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “King Reef is a perfect example of how repurposed structures like these can quickly create productive, abundant underwater habitats. It is a huge credit to the Exmouth community and all our partners who have helped bring this dynamic reef system to life. 

“Deploying habitat enhancement structures like King Reef is an internationally recognised and scientifically proven method to increase the productivity of our oceans. We are looking forward to seeing more of the structures creating new vibrant marine habitat like this in other parts of WA in the near future.” 

Check out more stunning imagery captured by Blue Media Exmouth below, showing the thriving fish and coral reef communities!