Fish for the Future
Douglas Shire’s Community Sustainability Initiative, “Fish for the Future” seeks to support the community’s vision for an abundant and resilient local fishery cared for by the community.
It provides a foundation for the community to build a business case for a community managed fishery with a particular focus on protecting recreational and cultural fishing values in the inshore and near-shore environments.
It achieves this by identifying actions the community can take to support the achievement of this vision and goals that support this vision.
It supports:
A growth in stewardship of the fishery
Recognition of community values linked to recreational and cultural fishing
Fishing tourism industry growth (all fishing experiences)
An understanding of the dynamics of the local fishery, and
Identification of opportunities for resources sharing supporting an abundant and resilient fishery.
The development of this document has been supported by a community consultation and engagement process.
Three community workshops were held to promote stewardship and best practice by recreational and charter fishers and to discuss and identify issues and opportunities that can affect the future of the local fishery. These workshops were followed up with individual consultations with stakeholders representing Traditional Owners, fishing tackle sales, recreational fishers, commercial fishers, Marine Park Management, Fisheries Management, charter fishing, game fishing, regional tourism organisation, Chamber of Commerce, Local Marine Advisory Committee. A total of 63 stakeholders have been directly engaged through this process
