Fremantle Fishing Community form OzFish Chapter for Fish Habitat
OzFish Unlimited, Australia’s fastest growing fishing conservation charity, announces the establishment of its latest Chapter in Fremantle, WA.
Supported by BCF - Boating, Camping, Fishing stores throughout Australia, OzFish Unlimited is a fishing conservation charity which helps recreational fishers to improve the health of their local waterways by undertaking habitat restoration work.
The results of OzFish’s Seeds for Snapper seagrass restoration project in Cockburn Sound, motivated local fishers to form an OzFish group to support fish habitat projects for their local Fremantle area.
Fremantle is well known for its fishing roots and equally popular seafood culture which is the life blood of Fremantle’s famous boat harbour. Local fishers want to see improvements in fish habitat and increase the productivity of existing marine infrastructure.
Logan Penman, Co-President of the OzFish Fremantle Chapter, first got involved in 2019 as a dive volunteer for Seeds for Snapper and said recreational fishers and divers understand the importance of healthy habitat supporting sustainable fisheries.
“I saw firsthand while volunteering, the work being done in Cockburn Sound to restore the lost seagrass for baby pink snapper and wanted to investigate other habitat opportunities in the Fremantle region,” said Penman.
“I’ve now completed my Master’s degree in Environmental Science (Marine and Coastal) at The University of Western Australia last year so I’m eager to use those skills in a practical way”, said Logan.
“We started meeting socially to discuss all things diving and fishing, so it was just a natural progression to set up our own Chapter and start looking for new habitat enhancement and restoration projects,” said Logan.
Working with up-and-coming marine scientists who want to undertake fish habitat enhancement work will be a huge plus for fish and Fremantle locals. To learn more about the new OzFish Fremantle Chapter and how you can get involved, the community is invited to an information session at the Fremantle Yacht Club on Tuesday 18 May.
The Seeds for Snapper team will be updating the community on the restoration projects, special guest James Florisson from Recfishwest will be discussing the benefits and successes of the ‘Reef Vision’ citizen science reef monitoring program and will include a Q&A session to hear ideas on what habitat restoration in the area is needed.