Recreational Fishing
Spanish Mackerel
Golden Trevalley
Fishing is one of Australia's largest single outdoor participatory activities. Each year, about 3.5 million keen anglers enjoy fishing for sport and recreation, injecting millions of dollars into the Australian economy in terms of fishing gear, boats and tourism.
While most Australians live on the coastal fringe, close to recreational fishing opportunities in estuaries, bays, inlets and ocean waters, freshwater fishing is popular in lakes, rivers and streams.
The enormous popularity of recreational fishing can contribute to overfishing and to the destruction of vital fish habitat. Anglers can help in a number of ways, including taking care to not damage the environment and imprtant fish habitat, understanding and complying with fishing regulations and bag limits, taking no more than they need, and quickly returning unwanted fishes to the water.