An estimated 3-5 million people in Australia fish each year. In New South Wales, one in four people identify themselves as a recreational fisher. Until recently this large stakeholder group had been largely overlooked in natural resource management activities including fisheries management. The understanding of the relationship between habitat and fisheries productivity by this large stakeholder group was also recognised as limited.
This disengagement is in stark contrast to recreational fishers in the Northern hemisphere where individual fishers, fishing clubs and organisations play a pivotal role in protecting and restoring their rivers, lakes and estuaries, and are considered as active conservationists.
In recognition of this paucity of fisher engagement, Fisheries NSW launched the Fishers for Fish Habitat Program in 2008 with funding from the NSW Recreational Fishing Trusts. The Fishers for Fish Habitat (F4FH) Program developed an evidence-based approach to communicating with the highly diverse recreational fishing community about habitat and pursued multiple strategies for improving levels of participation in habitat-related activities.
The Fish Habitat Network (FHN) is one of the Program’s key communication strategies. Established in 2009 as an informal collective of like-minded people, supported by government representatives, the FHN is the first and only fish habitat focused partnership. With nearly 20 organisations and a network of everyday fishers the Network’s collective vision is to improve the quality of fishing through Australia through active engagement of Australia’s recreational fishing community in the protection, restoration and enhancement of fish habitat.