Gentlemen,
thank you for your questions. I'll try to answer them all.
I've never been part of a forum before, so I'd appreciate if you could give me a chance to get up to speed.
Firstly, I am a fisher and I am a member of a fishing club and have been for about 15 years. I've fished Port Phillip Bay, Westernport, Eildon, the Goulburn, the Murray, Portland, Bemm River etc and have also fished the NT rivers for Barra, Bermagui for Marlin and Tuna and I've fished Broome for Sails. As always, sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you are not. Either way, it is just great to go fishing and relax.
I enjoy my fishing when I get the chance, but I also volunteer my time to VRFish to represent fishers when government, councils and other entities try to implement changes that affect our ability to go fishing.
To set the record straight, VRFish is not a government organisation or a quasi political organisation. We are a-political, meaning we work with all political parties, local government, water authorities, industry organisations and anyone who has an affect on fishing, to get them to understand how valuable recreational fishing is to Victoria, Victorian fishers, our families, our kids and our friends. Only a fisher can understand the adrenaline rush we get when we catch a fish - whether it is a small fish or that fish of a lifetime.
Membership of VRFish is open to anyone in Victoria and our quarterly meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend. The annual meeting dates are on our website.
We have 3 classes of membership - (1) Affiated (representatives from large Clubs and regional fishing associations), (2) Unaffiated (your average fisher who is not a member of a Club or association) and (3) representatives from Kindred interests such as Spearfishers, Native Fish Australia, Fishcare, Victorian Game Fishing Association and a host of other entities interested in recreational fishing. This gives the organisation the opportunity to consult with a wide range of people to provide advice and input into recreational fishing policy which represents the views of fishers across Victoria and across many issues. We try to represent the views of all fishers, not just specific groups.
In relation to the TeaTree snapper competition, I can only say that the organisers are very aware of the number of fish that are captured each year and they have voluntarilly changed the competition rules over the years to minimise any possible negative images or perceptions. They have openly worked with VRFish and Dr. Paul Hardy-Smith (A Vet) to ensure that fish caught in the competition are properly looked after by the competition participants, whether they wish to keep a fish for the table or release it after capture. The competition is also now based on the capture of up to only two fish, with prizes based on a lucky draw and not on the size of the fish. This has removed the need for "high grading" to a huge extent.
I am probably taking up too much of your time so I will close by saying that I am a volunteer and all the members of VRFish are also volunteers. We completed a study a few years ago and calculated that the volunteer members had given up approximately 10,000 hours of their collective time to fight to ensure that all Victorian fishers can continue to enjoy their fishing. If any of you reading this reply would like to be part of VRFish, even just as a supporter and not actually giving up any time attending meetings and workshops, I would love to hear from you.
My name is Russell Conway and you can email me at
russell@vrfish.com.au or you can call our Office in Williamstown and talk to Dallas D'Silva on 9397 6318.
This forum process is a new experience for me, but please feel free to contact me with your ideas or concerns and I will try to assist where I or VRFish can. Hopefully the next reply from me will be much shorter.
Thanks Russell.