Research & Development for The Game Fishing Association of Australia
THE GAME FISHING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION LTD
ACN. 065 992 092 CORRESPONDENCE PO. BOX 623 BUDDINA QLD 4575
GFAA R & D FOUNDATION REPORT AUGUST 2005
The past year has been a relatively quiet one for the Foundation, however it has been one of consolidation that prepares us for a number of challenges in the near future.
Fundraising is one of those challenges. Plans are underway to improve the financial position even further over the next 12 months. In past years, extra funds were raised by running an auction at the AIBT and the committee has agreed to take this concept on again, although in a different format. In order to widen the range and appeal, it is proposed to hold the auction over the internet, giving more people the chance to view and buy the goods and services on offer. Already a number of companies and individuals have pledged their support and we are currently in the process of building an interactive website to allow the auction to proceed. As the site comes closer to completion, our webmaster will be in touch with the GFAA webmaster to arrange links and a working arrangement. Announcements regarding the auction will then be made in the pages of BlueWater Boats and Sportsfishing, as well as through the GFAA website. The GFAA R&D Board has been planning this for quite a while and is moving slowly to fruition. It has taken longer than expected, however it is not something to be started off without having everything perfectly in place. In the meantime, another option for raising some funds a little more quickly is in the pipeline and an announcement can be expected shortly.
On a sad note, I must acknowledge the passing of our Trustee Member, Tom Roche
after a long illness. Tom was made a Life Member of GFAA last year in recognition
of his tremendous service to our sport. He was an avid supporter of junior
anglers, always willing to assist in any way possible and his enthusiasm for
the sport was boundless. Tom was of course a great supporter of the Foundation
and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
Distribution of the Billfish tag to the charter fleet is done by Bob Lowe
on behalf of the Foundation and our thanks go to him for continuing with
this. It is a means of raising our profile with the skippers, who have accepted
the tags with great enthusiasm, increasing participation levels well above
those of the past five years or so. Being able to concentrate on billfish
only with this part of the tagging program is a great research tool. Both
NSW Fisheries and the other financial supporters of the program deserve our
thanks for keeping it going, as do all of those anglers, skippers and crews
who follow the correct procedures to ensure the returns have maximum value.
We finally have tags being distributed with the correct terminology printed on them (For use in billfish only), rather than the original wording (For use in marlin only). It is very disappointing to see that after the Foundation paid for the change to occur, its logo has not been included on the new card. Maintaining the Foundation’s profile amongst anglers is imperative and this oversight has totally removed that profile from billfish anglers until the next batch of tag cards is printed.
We are looking at a research project to investigate mercury levels in striped marlin, which will be carried out by a PhD student in NSW. Potentially, the results can have great significance, because there is a genuine fear that current levels of mercury are very high and could be hazardous to human health.
In addition, the Foundation may have some role in the celebrations next year of the fortieth anniversary of the landing of the first grander black marlin in Cairns in 1966. The Cairns Professional Game Fishing Association, in conjunction with the Half Moon Bay Game Fish Club, is organising a special tournament to mark the milestone and two day international Pelagic Ecosystems and Billfish Symposium is being run in Cairns at the same time. This will be a significant event for the history of marlin fishing in Australia and at the presentation dinner following the tournament, the first inductees into the Cairns Black Marlin Hall of Fame will be announced.
Membership has grown slightly over the past year and it is heartening to see more game fishing clubs supporting us by taking out life membership. We sincerely thank them for that. One of the problems of limited bank balances has been the reluctance to use valuable funds for individual communication with members. Communications will improve, particularly once the auction is up and running, and members can look forward to newsletters and updates about the Foundation’s activities with the website becoming a focus of our communications.
Following this year’s AGM, the Board of Directors for 05/06 are:
President: Graham Woollard
Vice-President: Ian Bladin
Treasurer: Grahame Williams
Directors: Colin Earle, Robert Lowe, Colin Roberts.
Secretary: Dawn Earle