Recreational Fishing App

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber about the development of a new recreational fishing app and voluntary reporting system for recreational fishers?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:39): I thank the honourable member for his question. PIRSA is commencing development of an improved recreational fishing app that will eventually replace the SA Fishing app, which has served the recreational fishing communities since 2013. The new app is due for release around mid-2025 and is being designed in a way to enable fishers to easily obtain the latest information on recreational fishing rules, regulations and area closures and provide a range of useful tools to anglers to enhance their fishing experience.

PIRSA has brought together a stakeholder working group, which includes RecFish SA, to help drive development of the new app and advise on what kind of features and functions the sector regards as priorities for the app to include. An important part of the new app will be the development of a voluntary reporting mechanism, which will provide the opportunity for recreational fishers to record their catch. I emphasise this will be voluntary. In adopting voluntary reporting South Australia will come into line with best practice nationally, with many other states using this approach to collect data on recreational catches, which assists in making better informed decisions for fisheries management and stock sustainability.

Of the many topics that come up around the fishing sectors the collection of data and improving the way in which recreational fishing data is captured has come up very frequently. The state government certainly understands that improvements can be made in this space and has heard from a range of stakeholders about their thoughts on how this could occur, including from RecFish SA, which made it very clear that they were opposed to a mandatory reporting system.

Mandatory reporting is in place currently for snapper in the South-East, given the need to protect that species, and this has been widely accepted as a measure which can assist the fishery to be managed to maintain access and sustainability; however, there are no plans to introduce mandatory reporting across other recreational fisheries.

The manner in which recreational data is collected at the moment is through the extensive survey conducted by SARDI every five years, with the latest data coming in the 2021-22 survey and planning already commenced for the 2026-27 survey. The surveys will remain as an important part of data collection for the recreational sector, with the data collected from voluntary reporting providing another input that will no doubt provide a further improved picture of recreational fishing activity.

The development of voluntary catch reporting follows recent Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) funded research by SARDI, which evaluated an app-based recreational fishing survey against the traditional five-yearly survey. The research found that this approach can produce valuable insight into fishing activity and catch rates. Once the app is developed the data obtained would be subject to ongoing refinement to ensure it is representative of the broader recreational fishing community, with learnings no doubt making for continuous improvement in how the data is collected and used.

I have met, of course, many recreational fishers through my role as minister, and it has always been evident that the number one concern they have is maintaining sustainability of our fisheries. Often they say they want their kids and grandkids to be able to enjoy the same opportunities to go fishing—and explore our incredible state while doing so—that they themselves have been able to have.

The new fishing app will no doubt enhance their fishing experience and provide a better platform to deliver information, but the implementation of voluntary reporting will give South Australian anglers a chance to also contribute directly to our fisheries' ongoing sustainability, indeed from the palm of their hand.

I am pleased, in speaking with RecFish SA, that they are supportive of this approach, and I look forward to their input through the app development and voluntary reporting implementation processes.