Meet Steve Pursell, Project Manager for Western Australia

Local communities require locals committed to driving and leading change. This is no different at OzFish.  

Over the coming months, we will continue to spotlight the OzFish team who serve the recreational fishing community in their area. These are our changemakers, driving fish habitat restoration in Australia, through empowering local community participation and ownership. We recently had a chat with the Westcoast based team member Steve Pursell based in Busselton Western Australia.  

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT OZFISH?

My role is to coordinate and lead fish habitat projects throughout Western Australia. Being based in the southwest, I look after our local OzFish Chapters but I am also looking to expand our reach by setting up new chapters in the region. 

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERTISE?

Having grown up and lived in the southwest for many years, I have an in-depth knowledge of the local waters and waterways. I completed my honors degree in Marine Science with a project–based here in Geographe Bay. In this project, I used BRUVS to identify local species and monitor fish behaviour in response to predator cues. 

WHICH AREAS DO YOU FOCUS ON? WHAT KIND OF HABITAT IS IN THIS AREA?

The first fish habitat project I worked on was the HMAS Perth used by the Royal Australian Navy during the early part of WWII, which was sunk in Albany about 20 years ago. My uncle is in the scrap metal business and had a contract to prepare the ship for sinking. Being young and flexible at the time, it was my job to crawl under the engine room at the bottom of the ship and pass up the 10kg lead ingots from the ballast. These were then taken up to the deck in the lift and sent down a shute to the barge below. Lunchtime bombies from the top deck were a definite highlight of the project! 

I’ve also been a high school teacher for the past 15 years. I enjoy volunteering and I am active in several community groups including Marine Rescue, Surf Lifesaving and Disabled Surfing Australia. Anything to do with the ocean really! 

PROJECTS YOU HAVE BEEN PART OF

As I am new to OzFish, I am just getting my teeth stuck into some WA projects.  I have recently been involved with the Seeds for Snapper project in Cockburn Sound. In this project, volunteers help us to harvest seagrass seeds for re-planting in areas of need. This season was our best yet with over 1 million seeds harvested. 

PROJECTS YOU ARE CURRENTLY DOING

I am currently working with The Nature Conservancy to facilitate a black pygmy mussel project in the Swan and Canning Rivers. Another project, which is due to begin shortly, is Pimp My Jetty. Together with the local OzFish chapter, we will offer support to increase the complexity of local shellfish habitat by adding ropes to private jetties in the Mandurah Canals. Private jetties are an excellent marine habitat, and this project was developed as a potential solution to add further habitat in areas that typically have sub-sufficient structures for the local fish populations.  

BEST FISHING EXPERIENCE

A real highlight experience must be catching some whopper black bream while visiting mates at Molloy Island in the mighty Blackwood River using only bread for bait. Also, I have just moved back to Busselton, so I am loving the experience of teaching my kids how to fish at the local beaches I grew up on. 

WHY OZFISH?

I am passionate about community-driven projects and initiatives, working for OzFish gives me the opportunity to inspire my local community to get involved in practical projects which can make a real difference to local waterways.