$360,000 Study into North coast recreational fishing havens

Three North Coast rivers will be the focus of a major study into the benefits of recreational fishing havens.

The three-year, $360,000 study will be supported by the recreational fishing licence, and will look at recreational catches and fish stocks in the Tweed, Richmond and Camden Haven rivers.

Researchers from Southern Cross University will sample the types, size and abundance of fish inside and outside the three havens in April this year.

The main objective of this research is to help ensure recreational fisheries are managed sustainably, and to better understand the impact of recreational and commercial fishing.

The study will look at:

• Are there more fish species of recreational importance within the havens compared to areas near them?
• Are there higher recreational catches in havens compared to areas near them?
• Do anglers have a better angling experience in havens?

The project will include surveys of anglers to gauge community attitudes on recreational fishing havens.

The research will give the NSW Government an even better idea of the impact of the State's 30 recreational fishing havens, which were created in 2002 after extensive community consultation.

The study will complement a separate research project involving interviewing around 3000 anglers at Lake Macquarie and 900 at Tuross Lake recreational fishing havens.