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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-02-23 Daily Xml
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Recreational Fishing Survey

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber about the recently released South Australian recreational fishing survey?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for her question. This week saw the release of the South Australian recreational fishing survey, with some positive and interesting results. The South Australian recreational fishing survey was led by SARDI in partnership with the University of Tasmania. The project was jointly funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) on behalf of the Australian government and the South Australian government.

Researchers used a combination of methods to obtain data for a one-year period between March 2021 and February 2022. At various points in time, these methods included phone screening, diary surveys and boat-ramp interviews, otherwise known as onsite surveys. The type of data collected included estimates of participation, effort and catch, including total retained and released and by weight, with the additional objective to report on the demographic and behavioural characteristics of recreational fishers in South Australia.

The last time a statewide survey was conducted was in 2013-14, and at that time it showed approximately 277,000 people fished on a regular basis in South Australia. Research released by Deloitte Access Economics in 2017 showed that recreational fishing was worth around $160 million to the state's economy in 2015-16. The data that has been collected through multiple surveys has clearly shown that recreational fishing has always been an important social and economic driver in our state.

The SARDI survey released this week shows that recreational anglers have increased in numbers, now estimated to be almost 360,000, or just under one in four South Australians. The survey further indicates that of those roughly 360,000 approximately 230,000 are male and just under 130,000 are female, equating to around 36 to 37 per cent of anglers. That is why the government's election commitments around increasing participation amongst women, children and multicultural communities are important, and work continues alongside RecFish SA to boost those numbers.

According to the survey, there were approximately 1.3 million days of fishing effort recorded, which works out to an average of around three to four days of fishing effort per person. Of an estimated nearly five million fish caught in South Australia over the survey period, 38 per cent of those were estimated to be King George whiting; 14 per cent were Australian herring, better known as tommy rough; 7 per cent were southern garfish; and 6 per cent were Australian salmon. The rest of the estimated catch, 35 per cent, was made up of other fish species.

Of the estimated nearly six million invertebrates caught, 32 per cent were recorded as blue swimmer crab, 28 per cent were pipi, 16 per cent were yabby and 9 per cent were calamari, with 15 per cent being made up of other invertebrates. The majority of species I mentioned are sustainable according to SARDI stock assessment reports, and of course it is the priority of not only the government but also the commercial, recreational and charter sectors that sustainability remains a top goal. I look forward to continuing to work with the recreational fishing community, RecFish SA and Minister Hildyard in the other place in growing participation and maintaining a sustainable fishery.

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