Participants at a national workshop on recreational fishing in 2005 identified a need for increased investment in RD&E addressing national priorities for the recreational sector, and maximisation of benefits flowing from that investment. Recfishing Research was established to address this need.
Since then Recfishing Research has provided leadership in identifying and dealing with relevant national RD&E priorities, and communicating results to end-users. Achievements to date include:
-maintaining and communicating an annual business plan articulating national priorities for the recreational sector;
-delivering workshops and conferences to develop consensus on priorities for specific issues;
-guiding the development and delivery of projects responding to national priorities (e.g. improvement of fisheries statistics, understanding sector value, projects under the Recreational Fishing Industry Development Strategy);
-development and distribution of extension products (articles, websites, podcasts, brochures etc) to increase awareness of R&D findings.
And there is still much to do. Delegates at the National Recreational Fishing Conference in 2012 reaffirmed the need to deal with national issues including confirming social/economic benefits associated with fishing, improving sectoral leadership capacity, and greater collaboration to communicate the needs of the recreational sector to external parties. The need to enhance fishing outcomes through improved fish habitat was also recognised, as was the challenge of developing an agreed method for funding these and other national priorities for the sector. RD&E aspects associated with the above-mentioned issues, and other national priorities identified by the sector will be progressed in this project. Opportunities for evolution in the delivery of Recfishing Research's functions will also be explored to maximise benefit to the recreational sector and other key stakeholders.
Final report