The one thing these members all have in common is they care about the habitat their beloved target species lives within the pristine Gold Coast freshwater, estuarine and oceanic bodies. Together they know they are making a difference and leaving a legacy for the next generation of fishers.
We are growing our membership base on the Gold Coast and engaging with other recreational fishers who are interested in the work we do.
With more people involved, we can create better fish habitat which will improve opportunities for all recreational fishers in our beautiful region.
The Gold Coast Chapter doesn’t focus on a particular area of habitat restoration so the fishing and habitat improvement projects are vast and varied. From the Broadwater to the open waters, to the rivers, canels and estuaries, every fish and habitat needs work.
The traditional owners of the land on which the OzFish Gold Coast Chapter was founded are the Bundjalung and Yuggera people.
Kaidon first heard about OzFish in his local BCF store when staff asked if he’d like to make a donation with his purchase. Kaidon did a little bit more than that, not only did he become a member, he put his hand up and started running the Gold Coast Chapter himself.
Kaidon is an environmental scientist by trade but also loves fishing, so OzFish was a good place to partner his two interests and do some good work in the community. On his days off, you will find Kaidon out in the freshwater rivers of the Gold Coast Hinterland looking for good runs of Bass to hook on light gear.
The Gold Coast City Council undertook a major project to stabilise the foreshore in the upper estuary at Damian Leeding Memorial Park, on the Coomera River.
In 2015, the upper estuary had significant bank scour and there was a threat that the river could break into the recreational lake.
Before works started, many areas along the Coomera were affected by litter, erosion, runoff, and there was very little in the way of fish habitat.
The OzFish Gold Coast Chapter got involved in the project and helped monitor fish populations at the sites using BRUVs. Fish were present at the sites where habitat had been installed and absent at the control sites which didn’t have habitat installed.
Riparian revegetation helps filter runoff from urban areas and prevent further erosion. This helps fish by improving water quality and the snags are great fish habitat.
The Chapter also takes part in Clean Up Australia Day events every year which is a fantastic way to get the families involved and see how the health of their waterways are going. Sadly, litter poses a vast and growing threat to the marine and coastal environment. Around 8 million items of litter enter the marine environment every day which has a profound and damaging impact on the fish and wildlife using our rivers and on the ecosystem.
The Gold Coast Chapter has been out experimenting and having a bit of fun with the BRUV, monitoring the snags placed in restored parts of the rivers. Members have noticed that they see a tonne of the bream, mangrove jacks, groper and even mud crabs around the structures providing homes for the fish to bread, feed and shelter. Gold Coast Chapter volunteers also get their hands dirty recently taking part in a range of citizen science projects, the latest being Pesticide Detectives. The volunteer OzFish members has gathered the data and is keen to get the results in. It's these projects which usually help the Chapter ascertain what they should take on next, for example, what is coming off urban areas or agricultural cropping areas.
The Chapter volunteers also assisted the Coomera River Catchment Association in planting 500 native trees along the banks of the Coomera River. These plants will assist in preventing erosion during flood events. The event was well attended by volunteers of all ages and was great to see people who care so much about the river.
Every new member will receive an OzFish cap, sticker, facemasks and a $10 BCF Gift Card courtesy of our major partner.
The Gold Coast is in a fantastic place for fishing, most Sunday afternoons you will find locals pulling into their local servos to grab some prawns and worms and swing back out on the highway to go and catch a feed.
The upper reaches of the Gold Coast give you some beautiful rainforest hinterland as well, the beautiful trees open up into good holes to catch bass and other freshwater species.
Further east into the canals there are also plenty of fish that like to hang around the mooring and pontoon structures, you will find whiting and trevally, weirs, and saltwater weirs.
Along the beautiful Gold Coasts Broadwater serves anglers well if you are looking to snag a flathead or even mulloway.
Bond University has some surprisingly big silvers flashes under the water around the tidal gates, the sand pumping jetting out at Gold Coast Seaway will have you hooking the biggens as well.
If you are lucky enough to hop on a bigger boat that gets you offshore, you will not be disappointed. Offshore anglers often come home bagged out with mackerel, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail kingfish, even marlin with the Surfers Paradise skyline still in sight.
OzFish Unlimited, in partnership with the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, are today calling on Queensland rec fishers to look after their tackle in a bid to reduce fishing litter in local waterways with more ways to get involved.
A clever new initiative has just been launched to restore the once-thriving fish populations of the Logan and Albert Rivers. For some people, it is hard to associate planting trees with a healthy and abundant fish population. But trees create shade, shore up the bank from erosion, provide fish food by way of insect fall, filter water that comes from urban landscapes, shade out weeds, and make future homes and habitat for native fish.