Environmentally friendly recreational fishing policy promoting eco fishing and sustainable fishing practices throughout Australia and the world.

Eco-fishing Policy
Promoting eco fishing and sustainable fishing practices throughout Australia and the world

For over 20 years Craig McGill has been promoting and supporting sustainable fishing practices throughout Australia. His ethos has formed the cornerstone of FishAbout Tours eco-fishing policies that are summaries in this section. Mark Hutchinson, who worked as a fly fishing guide for several years all over the world, has also taken lesson learned from North America on how to protect a fisheries and promote fishery management to ensure future enjoyment for anglers for generations to come.

There is a common misconception that in order to protect a fishery, strict catch and release needs to be applied and that vast areas of water/coastline need to be locked away from recreational fishermen. This is not necessarily the case for the following reasons;

• Recreational fishermen spend large amounts of money on guides, gear and tackle, fishing licences, with a lot of this money then being spent to fisheries protection and promotion of sustainable fishing practices

• With fishing guides having access to waterways they can provide essential monitoring of illegal fishing activity and vital information on fish numbers for research purposes

• Harvesting fish from our waterways, by adhering strictly to size and bag limits, can be the most environmentally friendly way to eat fish for the following reasons;

     - You can target the exact species you want to eat and throw back all by catch
     - The fish can be humanely and quickly killed, not drowned in nets
     - The fish is usually fresher and has been handled well to improve the taste

We agree that breeding grounds need to be protected and “green” zones are a great way to promote fish numbers, however unless these areas are continuously monitored they are in danger of being illegally fished, polluted and damaged further.

Craig’s steps to releasing fish
Environmentally friendly recreational fishing policy

Environmentally friendly recreational fishing policy

An alarming statistic, depending on which research you read, is that between 10% and 50% of all fish released actually die due to;

• Anglers not reviving the fish properly before releasing

• Using dry hands full of sun cream, insect repellent etc... that can eat away at the protective membrane that allows the fish to survive in the water

• Keeping the fish out of the water for too long for photos

• Holding fish up by the gills, mouth or with grips and not supporting the fishes weight – this can dislocate the jaw or cause massive muscle tearing potentially limiting the fishes feeding ability

• Landing fish in old nets that damage and rip scales

Here are some easy steps to ensuring your good intentions of releasing a fish actually result in it surviving;

1. Use heavy enough line to not unnecessarily prolong the fight and exhaust the fish to the point that it cannot be revived

2. Use barbless hooks where possible
     a. Hooks that are lodged in the lips and mouth that are visible should be carefully removed but hooks lodged
         near the gills, throat or deeper should not be removed . Cut the line as close to the hook as possible.

3. Land the fish either in an eco-net or leave in the water for release
     a. Do not lay fish on the ground

4. Wet hands and ensure you have no chemicals on your hands when touching the fish to avoid removing fishes protective slime

5. Support the head and body of the fish when taking photos or measuring

6. Revive the fish for an adequate period of time in the water, by swimming it next to the boat or in the shallows on shore

Changing attitudes in the public that in fact recreational fishing is a great way to protect fish stocks by practicing simple fishing principles, we can ensure that the sport we love will thrive for generations to come.

We will be adding to this site regularly with interesting articles and we would love to hear your comments.