RecfishSA DO NOT

REPRESENT SA Anglers

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RecfishSA (RFSA) cannot be a "peak body" because it was contracted by the government for a fee of $120,000 to act as the exclusive voice of the recreational fishing community.

 

RecFish SA is funded for administrating their activities and for the co-management in relation to the development of fisheries management plans and fisheries resource allocation issues to bring a bit more cohesive view of the recreational sector back to the department and government for those developments, [Prof. Doroudi PIRSA July 2013]

 

RFSA is a "top down" appointee rather than any bottom-up representative of the community. A contract between PIRSA and RFSA has been invoked to simply exclude the whole recreational fishing community, comprising some 270,000 anglers, from any democratic right to pursue its own collective decisions, policies and goals.  While PIRSA openly accepts the recreational fishing sector as a major stakeholder in the SA Fishery, PIRSA also deliberately denies it any matching role by only liaising with RFSA.

 

More importantly RFSA has consistently supported, or failed to voice opposition, to government decisions (both past and present), which are contrary to the outcome sought by SA anglers. The media reports summarised,  plainly underline why groups like SAFA, RecfishCentral, FishinSA and Aust Angling Assoc (SA Div) chose to form an unified front to restore the democratic rights' of SA anglers.

 

Our collective call for justice has been heard by the Liberal Party in a pre-election promise to remove RFSA's present status with PIRSA and allow a representative Recreational Fishing Council to be formed.  While RFSA has responded with copious disinformation aimed at the Liberal Party and the groups opposing its dictatorial position, SAFA looks forward to a new era of involvement by SA anglers in their own future.