Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef stays off UNESCO danger list

reef

On Tuesday, a UNESCO heritage committee stopped short of listing the Great Barrier Reef as a site that is “in danger” but warned the world’s biggest coral reef ecosystem remained under “serious threat” from pollution and the warming of oceans. Australia has been lobbying for years to keep the reef  – which contributes about $6 billion to the economy and …

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Fish n’ SIPS Tagged Fish Competition update

Competition

Finally, we have a fourth winner in the Fish n’ SIPS Tagged Fish Competition – with only eleven tagged fish remaining to be caught in the five impoundments. Mark Hennessy from Brisbane with a 109cm barramundi caught in Lake Tinaroo on the Atherton Tablelands was a very happy chap. Mark has $3000 to fund his next trip to Lake Tinaroo …

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$160 million to address risks to Great Barrier Reef

Reef

The Albanese and Palaszczuk Labor Governments have announced critical funding to better protect threatened species that call the Great Barrier Reef home. Over $160 million will be delivered to significantly reduce net fishing and other high risk fishing activities impacting the reef. This includes ensuring the Great Barrier Reef is gillnet free by mid-2027. Destructive gillnet fishing injures and kills …

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World Oceans Day

World Oceans Day

Happy World Oceans Day! Did you know about 70% of the planet’s surface is covered by oceans? That’s one of the many reasons it’s so important to protect our seas. Sustainable fisheries are just one way we can ensure our oceans stay healthy, so future generations can enjoy fishing as much as we do. World Oceans Day is an international …

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Trip to Saumarez Reef

THERE’S not much to report on my fishing charters because I’ve only been out once over the past month. We caught a couple of flathead and a few small snapper, but I just haven’t been able to line up with any good weather, so hopefully next month will be better – we’ll see how we go. Saumarez Reef On the …

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Winter trip to Swains

THE snapper and pearl perch closed season for this year is now done and dusted and the overall feedback from most people is very supportive. There have been a few negative and veiled swipes at the closure conducted through the media, but they all link back to people who have a vested interest or who earn good money from being …

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Recent spike in Great Barrier Reef zoning offences

gbr zoning offences

DESPITE issuing a pre-Easter warning, Great Barrier Reef authorities were disappointed to encounter a high volume and array of illegal activity, including zoning offences, threatening the health of the Reef, and the communities dependent on it, over the long weekend. While data is still coming in from partner agencies, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the Great Barrier Reef Marine …

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Extended Swain Reefs charter part 2 – the fishing action!

swain reefs charter fishing trip carlo fishing charters

PICKING up where I left off last month on my week-long live-aboard Swain Reefs charter trip with Carlo Fishing Charters, we’d just wrapped up an incredible morning of fishing a glassed-out Great Barrier Reef. This unreal start to the fishing had us salivating, but not for lunch, rather to get back out in the dories and catch more epic fish! …

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Exceptional extended trip with Carlo Fishing Charters

carlo fishing charters great barrier reef

GOLDEN opportunities don’t come along too often, so when they do, you’re well advised to grab them with both hands. I was lucky enough to find myself in this situation recently when owner and operator of Carlo Fishing Charters Karl Kleimeyer invited me on a seven-day Swain Reefs fishing trip aboard the recently completed Carlo II mother ship. Karl has …

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Don’t zone out on the Reef this summer

great barrier reef zone

KNOW your zones and protect your patch when you’re out on the water this summer — that’s the message from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in the busy holiday period. With several recreational fishers convicted in recent months for fishing in no-take green zone areas, the Authority’s field management assistant director Ben Kettle said it was a timely reminder …

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