P8 - FISH & BOAT, April 2019 Fishing Tiny Actions, Big Returns By Matt Leavy pride of place in the school foyer Each year William Ross State inspiring the next generation. That Waiting for their new home. High School grow out a small recaptured fish has been recorded batch of healthy barramundi over 80 cm’s indicating a significant as part of their science program. Thegrowth rate in as little as two years. fish are sourced from Ron Shaw of in rorams have been well ‘Giru Barramundi and Crayfish’, established throughout Queensland who supplies the genetic strand of for some time now from various or- barramundi for the mid north east ganisations. The health of the fish- coast strain. (There are up to six dif-ery seems to be at the heart of it all. ferent strains throughout Queens- I am mindful that it could be ob- land.) This year, I had the pleasure ofserved as some sort of fish tagging assisting the school with the releasecontest. With that in mind, these through my role with the Townsville groups generally have a monitoring Barramundi Stocking Society. plan in place. This helps to focus The first thing I noticed on arrivaltheir time and resources, which is was how healthy the fish where. This limited, on the highest priority is- is a real credit to capabilities of both sues. the staff and students of the school. The information gathered far out The students were enthusiastic and ways the temporary discomfort to engaged in the whole process. The the fish in my opinion. For example. fish had their measurements record- The tag returns of the William Ross ed before being tagged courtesy of SHS fish tells us two things. Firstly, members from the Stocking Society some of the fish have survived and and ANSA Qld who kindly donated are in good health. Secondly, that the tags. they were caught within 200 metres It is easy to understate the value offrom the release location. With a small actions we make, yet even the larger sample size, better decisions magnificent rain trees that are foundaround fishery management can be along the Ross River started as just made in the future. In the 1990s, a study conducted on a seed once. In comparison to what There was a secondary benefit to the value of stocked barramundi to stocking groups do, this is a much the tagging that I hadn’t consideredthe Queensland Economy projected smaller scale operation. when I had first approached ANSA a benefit of $8 million to $15 million You would be forgiven for think- QLD for assistance. Economic val- per annum. I could only imagine ing that the effects would be insig- ue. ANSA QLD are running a tag- what that might look like today. The nificant. This, however, is not the ging competition called the ‘Lazy impoundment competition scene, as case. As the weeks have unfolded Grander’. You could win a $1000 well as television coverage of some the returns on the effort and time ‘Mo tackle’ voucher just for taking of Queensland, stocked impound- of the students and volunteers have a happy snap with a fish sporting a ments would suggest that they are already been felt. Two of the tagged pink ANSA tag. doing well. Barramundi are not al- barramundi have since been caught, The details are available on their ways the easiest fish to catch for a one of those fish twice in two weeks!website, and you don’t have to be a newcomer to the sport. To aid to the That means somebody has already member. This kind of promotion success of the travelling angler, FADs benefited from these actions. Al- potentially opens many avenues of (fish aggregating devices) could be though only small, I have never seen opportunity. Regions looking to put in place to easily accessible ar- someone unhappy to catch a barra- generate interest to the recreationaleas. This would allow protection to mundi! These fish will grow out over fishing opportunities on offer couldthe native bait species’ population Ready for tagging. the next few years I am sure. use this type of incentive. This sort ofand create fishing hotspots. If the As it turned out, I had the pleasureinitiative has been successful alreadyjuvenile barra were released at these of presenting a recapture certificatein Australia. The ‘Million Dollar same locations. Research would sug- to school for one of their earlier Fish’ in the Northern Territory is ingest that at least half the fish would releases, a certificate that now has its fourth season for example. stay close to the areas that they were tagged. Bill Sawynok from Infofish Australia revealed on radio that up to 57% of the 54 fish captured in the ‘Million Dollar Fish’ competition where caught in the same place that they were tagged. A bit of food for thought for local councils looking to get better value for money on their rec fishing investments. It is an exciting time for our stocked impoundments. Community science plays a pivotal role as it promotes positive outcomes for communities and individuals whilst safeguard- ing the asset for future generations. The smallest actions can have great outcomes. Just remember if you plan on fishing our wonderful impound- ments, you will need to purchase a Hard at work. SIPS permit. This can be done on- Great returns. line quite easily with a basic search on Google. It’s back that’s right, it’s back and better than ever The Laser Pro 120MT Available in Halco’s new clear polymer & traditional finishes. The Laser Pro 120MT features forged chemically sharpened Mustad trebles for easy hook sets on all those hard mouthed river monsters. With two bib depths (1m & 2.5m) and plenty of colour options, HALCO IS TAKING YOU BACK TO THE FUTURE! www.halcotackle.com Over 50 years of Australian Innovation