The RAP Report

July 2019 newsletter

Welcome to the new NSW Research Angler Program (RAP) newsletter for July 2019. It's exciting times for the RAP program with new donation locations and new species to donate. We’ve undergone some changes in the past few months but rest assured, we’re still keen to receive your fish bits! Each month we will focus on a couple of species and provide an overview of all things aging and tagging. Further, there will be an annual in-depth report covering all species and the yearly ‘Top Five’s'.

Although it’s been a while since our last newsletter, looking forward we’ll be updating you monthly on all the great results from this program. We hope you like the new format!

Monthly prize draw winner

It’s obvious that plenty of keen anglers have been out catching some great fish in recent times. The Birt family who fish the Hunter River and Lake Macquarie provided a number of great fish donations along with plenty of tagged fish. Matthew Birt was our monthly prize draw winner for this 96 cm Mulloway aged at five years old.

New RAP species

The RAP has expanded to include eight species, with the addition of Black Bream. Along with Mulloway, Kingfish, Snapper, Dusky Flathead, Tailor, Spanish, and Spotted Mackerel, we’ll have plenty to talk about. Don’t forget every donation you make gives you an entry into our lucky angler draw for a $50 gift voucher at selected tackle stores.

‘TOP FIVE’…Frame donors, largest fish & oldest fish

'Top Five' Frame Donors

Chris Graham caught a fish of a lifetime which was an impressive 142 cm and was aged at 18 years old. This was the largest and oldest Mulloway for this period. John St Vincent Welch (pictured below) was also able to connect with some quality Clarence Mulloway with two fish making the Top Five oldest fish and three in the Top Five largest, along with the most donations in this period. David Birt rounded out the Top Five Oldest fish for the period with his best of measuring 105 cm and estimated 8 years old.

'Top Five' Oldest Mulloway

‘Top Five’ Largest Mulloway Donated This Period

Tagging & Recaptures

Participants of the NSW RAP-ANSA Mulloway tagging program have also been hard at work. A total of 331 fish were tagged in the last 12 months with Luke Riley managing to tag an impressive 12 fish ranging from 59 cm to 121 cm. Ross Billing has also contributed 35 fish ranging from 44 cm to 88 cm in the Hawkesbury region taking out the top tagger spot.

Several fish recorded over this period exceeded 100cm (check out the bar graph), including three that were a massive 140 cm! All three of these fish were tagged by gun angler Lachlan Monro from the Coffs Harbour region. One of his fish has already been recaptured and is currently being aged - stay tuned for the Guess the Fish’s Age post on DPI Fisheries Facebook page.

'Top Five' Taggers

'Top Five' Largest Mulloway Tagged

It’s great to also see numerous recaptures right along the coast, with 47 recaptures recorded in the past 12 months. Fifteen of these fish travelled less than one nautical mile from their release site while two of these fish were recaptured by the anglers that originally tagged them, both in Newcastle! Scott McIntyre was able to recapture a 76cm fish four days after originally tagging it and David Birt's 68cm Mulloway was at liberty for 21 days before he re-caught it - a testament to Scott and David’s excellent post-capture handling and release skills. David Birt was also lucky enough to recapture another tagged Mulloway during this period, this time tagged by his son. Chad Kelly was also able to provide some valuable data by recapturing two tagged Mulloway that appeared to have stayed in the Hunter River system during their time at liberty.

Mick Carrambine recaptured a Mulloway originally tagged by Ivan Maric in February 2016 in Botany Bay. Time at liberty was 865 days and the fish was 30 cm larger after heading south 109 km to the Shoalhaven River. This fish represents the longest distance travelled by a Mulloway in this period. Dan Conquest recaptured a Mulloway originally tagged in December 2015 by Chris Cleaver. The fish was recaptured 55 km north in the Hawkesbury River and is the longest time recorded at liberty at 1155 days. Over this time the fish had grown from 60 cm to an impressive 108 cm.

How can you get involved?

Donate your frames

If you're interested in citizen science and are lucky enough to catch a Mulloway, Kingfish, Snapper, Dusky Flathead, Tailor, Black Bream, Spanish or Spotted Mackerel of any legal size, donate your fish frame at any participating drop-off point.

Join the Keen Anglers or tagging program

If you're an avid angler and would like to join the RAP team we are looking for anglers to join the Keen Angler Program and Mulloway Tagging Program. Please send us an email to find out more.

Monthly prize draws

All fish frame donations made to the RAP program gain one entry into the monthly prize draw for a $50 gift voucher at selected tackle stores. We are currently aging the last round of donations and will notify our monthly winners for April, May, and June in our next newsletter.