Research and Recfishing

When it comes to the allocation of research funds and the level understanding of commonly targeted species, the commercial fishery has been a long way in front of recreational fisheries. A lack of biological and catch and effort data for many important recreational species has meant a majority of relevant fisheries management decisions have had to rely on estimates and precaution rather than hard scientific evidence.

The reality is the Department of Fisheries has a limited budget, forcing them to prioritise which species receive a majority of research dollars and which don't. Priority generally has been given to commercially valuable species which has left a number of valued recreational species such as herring, tailor, whiting, skippy and dhufish with little research funding and a limited biological understanding.

What also makes recreational fisheries research distinctly different to commercial fisheries research is that it is extremely difficult to get an accurate understanding of catch and effort data when we don't accurately know how many people are actually recreationally fishing at any one time.

With the Department of Fisheries having now shifted to an integrated approach to fisheries management there has come an even greater need to understand the recreational fishing catch and effort for each fishery resource. Accurate resource allocations can not be made without an understanding of what historic and likely future recreational catches are for each species. More research time and money needs to be devoted to sourcing the required information about recreational catch and effort data which is so important under an IFM framework.

Fisheries scientists are now looking for adaptive changes to their methods of data collection to generate the information they require with minimal increases in cost. A number of projects are now enlisting the help of recreational fishers in the data collection process. It is the recreational fisher that is on the water and are able to provide the best indicator of what species are being targeted and caught. It makes perfect sense for recreational fishers be collaborative partners in research involving the recreational fishery.

What many recreational fishers don't realise is that every time we go fishing we could be collecting valuable information to help increase the knowledge about our fishery.

The Department of Fisheries, along with Recfishwest, have a number of scientific programs that enlist the help of your "Average Joe", as well as the very best recreational fishers to be involved in the collection of data.

A recent project that outlined how useful recreational fishers can be in collecting research data is the highly successful Samson Science project. This study involved the tagging of more than 4,000 Samson fish, mostly at aggregations west of Rottnest Island. This study largely relied on recreational anglers to do the tagging, which resulted in such large numbers being tagged. This would have never been possible without the help of dedicated recreational anglers.

The Samson Science project has resulted in some very interesting results and information about the species that we would have otherwise never known. Recaptures suggest that Samson fish travel considerable distances to aggregation sites off the west coast for mass spawning events. Two fish have been recaptured off Kangaroo Island in South Australia after being tagged off Rottnest Island. That is a journey of nearly 2,500 kms! Another interesting recapture is a Samson fish tagged off Rottnest and then recaptured 25 days later west of Esperance. That is an incredible total distance of 900 km at an average of 36 km/day.

The Samson Science project is regarded by Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) as a model for future collaborative research. Building on the success of the project, a joint FRDC application by Recfishwest and Department of Fisheries will aim to establish a framework for research collaboration between scientists and recreational fishers to facilitate greater recreational involvement in future fisheries data collection.

The project will involve a formal position of Research Liaison Officer at Recfishwest to be filled by Andrew Rowland. This position will build on the partnerships already developed through Samson Science as well as including maintenance of the ANSA based Westag Database, attending fishing competitions to collect data, production of extension material and chairing the stakeholder reference group.

The outcomes from Samson Science demonstrated the multiple benefits of research and development investment in collaborative studies involving researchers and recreational fishers. The project has proven that recreational fishers are capable of collecting quality scientific data and the involvement of recreational fishers needs to continue being developed. Community involvement is not only a cost effective, but also results in improved community understanding of project design and research outcomes.

The Department of Fisheries have recently launched their Research Angler Program (RAP) coordinated by researcher Dr Kim Smith. This program aims to support volunteer-based research where recreational fishers are responsible for data collection. Recreational fishers can participate in the RAP through a number of activities be it filling out Angler Log Books, collection of biological samples (fish frames) or dedicated fish tagging studies. To find out more contact the Research Angler Program on 92030111 or email researchvolunteers@fish.wa.gov.au

One of the easiest and most effective activity recreational fishers can do for research is filling out an Angler Log Book. It is not difficult to spend a little bit of extra time filling out a log book after each fishing trip to do a bit extra for recreational fisheries research. And don't worry, your favourite spots will be kept confidential!!

Or how about next time you catch a prized species like a dhufish or a mulloway why not think about donating the fish frame to research? The Department of Fisheries require fish frames to provide information about their age (extraction of ear bones (otoliths) reveals the fish's age through growth rings), growth rate and reproductive activity (gonads). It is another way that recreational fishers can easily help in research data collection. Frames can be frozen before being delivered and can even be arranged to be picked up by Fisheries Officers if you have multiple frames.

There are also a number of dedicated tagging studies currently running to help develop a greater biological understanding on important recreational species such as dhufish, pink snapper, tailor and mulloway. For recreational fishers that largely catch and release, tagging can be an easy way to do a bit extra for fisheries research.

Tagging studies on dhufish and pink snapper have provided interesting information about post-release survival. It has been found that dhufish are highly susceptible to barotrauma. Dhufish caught in waters deeper than 40 metres should be returned to the bottom with a release weight to maximise survival chances. Pink snapper on the other hand have been found to be much more robust species and much better adapted to tolerate release in water depths up to 100 metres. Information generated from tagging studies is increasing our knowledge on how each species cope differently with release, allowing measures to be developed to help maximise their survival.

Recreational fisheries research still has a long way to go before we can say we have an in depth understanding on what is going on, especially for species like herring and sand whiting. However, information is growing daily as more recreational fishers get involved in collecting data for our Fisheries Scientists to analysis. With more researchers realising the potential of recreational fishers to help in a collaborative approach to data collection the opportunities to help with research will increase.

So how about next time you go fishing let's think about how you can help to increase our knowledge about our recreational fisheries.



This page last updated on 17 January 2007.