Fishing Australia

Marine Parks afforded no protection from coastal developments but anglers locked out
Some news in from the Recreational Fishing Alliance team. UNESCO, the UN body in charge of protecting world heritage sites, has just released a report slamming the impact massive new coal and coal seam gas export facilities will have on the Great Barrier Reef. UNESCO released their findings from their investigation into the Great Barrier Reef's World Heritage status and slammed the Australian government for mismanaging the Reef.

The World Heritage authority expressed 'extreme concern' about existing and future industrial expansion plans, warning the government they have eight months to lift their game before the Reef may be officially declared 'in danger.' The world's most important environmental protection body is now recommending an immediate halt to any new industrial expansion. Considering the high rate of approvals over the past 12 years, this unprecedented scale of development affecting or potentially affecting the property poses serious concerns over its long-term conservation, says the report.

It says no developments with the potential to affect the reef should continue until an overall strategic assessment of the area is completed. The report points to a 'range of unaddressed concerns' surrounding the approval and ongoing management of major liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants at Curtis Island, off the central Queensland coast.

'It does not appear that offsets that were part of the conditions for consenting developments in Gladstone Harbour and on Curtis Island are appropriate ...'. The dredging in Gladstone Harbour for the plants has been blamed by local environmentalists for the area's poor water quality and a skin disease affecting marine life.

Major findings: 'The rapid increase of coastal developments, including ports infrastructure is of significant concern'.

And yet the fishers are getting locked out, ironic isn’t!

Free rock fishing, freshwater fishing and spear fishing safety DVD kits available
The RFA of NSW has produced a series of award winning fishing safety DVDs. You can order a free DVD for yourself, your fishing club or your school, simply by emailing a request to Joe Garufi, Publicity Officer of the RFA of NSW, publicity.officer@rfansw.com.au

New Okuma x-factor rods
2012 has brought upon a further three models which continue to make X-Factor rods the choice for all serious anglers; the 8’ Squid Light and Squid Medium are dedicated EGI rods designed with specialist Fuji components to enhance your squid fishing experience; rated to fish jigs of 2.0-3.0 and 2.5-4.0 respectively. The third new addition to the X-Factor range is a highly requested 16’ 3 piece surf rod rated to fish 8-10kg for those anglers after a bit more reach.

Intricately machine woven graphite strands come together to present extremely responsive blanks which offer a med/fast taper with serious power in the butt section, the sophistication of the graphite weave is visible throughout the entire length of the blank denoting the sheer power of the construction. Featuring Fuji Guides & reel seat, the X-Factor rods are a must have for all serious anglers. All three new models feature the ‘bling’ and attributes of their original surf & rock predecessors; a stylish metallic silver/gold cosmetic with a gloss/matt combination black blank highlight & sleek clear protective coating. The fish won’t know what hit ‘em!

See you on the water
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