Fishing Legend Rex Hunt Spearheads National Organisation To Fight For Angler Rights & Protect Our Fishing Heritage
Keep Australia Fishing (KAF), a national lobbying and advocacy organisation representing Australia’s five million recreational anglers, will fight against politically motivated antifishing campaigns while highlighting environmental issues threatening our waterways and fish stocks.
To be launched on June 30 and supported by a national advertising campaign, KAF will
initially campaign against Minister Burke’s proposed federal Marine Parks network. These
marine parks plans threaten to lock Australian anglers and their families out of vast areas of ocean in northern and south-western Australia.
“We want and expect good protection for our marine resources but Aussie anglers just don’t accept being locked out when there is no reason given,” said KAF spokesman, Rex Hunt.
“These lock-outs also set a dangerous precedent,” Hunt, who is set to officially launch KAF
on his popular Off The Hook radio station, said. “Acceptance of these no-fishing zones
without any scientific backing or justification means anglers could well face more lock-outs
in the future.” Catch Off The Hook hosted by Rex Hunt and Lee Rayner every Saturday on
Melbourne’s SEN 1116 and throughout Victoria and Southern NSW.
KAF will lobby the Federal Government to design alternative marine zones which provide
maximum environmental protection while allowing for sustainable and well managed
recreational fishing.
The central plank of KAF’s marine parks policies would see recreational fishing, which is
currently classified as being the same as industrial trawling, long-lining or mining, be
treated as non-extractive and thus allowed in most or all of the zones currently earmarked
for total protection.
“You can’t in all seriousness lump a rec angler in with industrial trawling or mining,” Rex
Hunt said. “That’s ridiculous. Compared to those industrial operations, rec fishing has no
impact on the environment or fish habitat. The Government knows this but they’ve been
hoodwinked by extremist groups who just don’t understand how important continued
recreational fishing is to our society and culture.”
KAF has major concerns about possible socio-economic fall-out if the Government
discriminates against recreational fishing via its marine parks plans.
“Recreational fishing is the lifeblood of many regional communities,” Rex Hunt said.
“Fishing brings in significant economic benefits as well as being part of our great lifestyle. It
is vital our young people have the opportunity to experience nature and the outdoors via
the simple thrill of catching a fish. Establishing lock-outs cements the idea is people’s minds
that fishing is somehow bad. And I just don’t buy that. It’s not right. It’s just not on and our Government just should not be heading down this path.”
KAF is also spearheading a campaign to stop the construction of a massive pipeline to
extract water from the Macquarie River in central western NSW. KAF is concerned that
Orange City Council’s plans to build the pipeline will destroy one of the last pristine
sections of wild river in NSW as well as threaten many species of endangered native fish
including the Murray cod, the trout cod, the Macquarie perch and the river blackfish.
Along with local anglers and conservation groups, KAF is urging the Orange City Council to
reject the pipeline plan in favour of one or other of a variety of alternative options available
to it.
The pipeline being pushed as being necessary to “drought proof” the central-western city of Orange but water from the Macquarie is also earmarked for use by a nearby goldmine.
KAF rejects the need for the pipeline and says the Macquarie’s unique eco-system and the
iconic native fish it supports are too important to destroy so that a goldmine can access
cheap water.
For more details on KAF campaigns and policy platforms, see
keepaustraliafishing.com.au
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