Melbourne to host World Recreational Fishing Conference

02 July 2021

View original release here.

The Victorian Government has secured the hosting rights for the 10th World Recreational Fishing Conference in 2023.

The winning bid for World Recreational Fishing Conference’s (WRFC) host city was announced on Monday night, 28 June, at the Ninth WRFC in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Melbourne will host the event from February 19-23, 2023 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre while also being broadcast digitally around the world.

The event is held every three years for researchers, recreational fishers, angling organisations and government to meet and exchange knowledge about hot topics in recreational fishing.

The Government’s bid was led by the Victorian Fisheries Authority in partnership with recreational fishing organisations including VRFish, FutureFish Foundation, Women in Recreational Fishing Network, Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation, Fisheries Research and Develop Corporation, the Melbourne Convention Bureau, Visit Victoria and leading recreational fisheries scientists in Australia.

The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation has been named as a major partner of the event.

Past WRFC conferences have been held in Canada, Brazil, Germany, USA, Norway, Australia (Darwin), Canada and Ireland.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Fishing and Boating Melissa Horne

“Bringing the World Recreational Fishing Conference to Melbourne will allow us to showcase our state’s incredible waterways to the rest of the world.”

“Being named as the host for this worldwide conference shows the importance we place on recreational fishing in Victoria through our continued investment to get more people fishing, more often.”

Quote attributable to Member for Albert Park Martin Foley

“We are proud to host this event in Melbourne at our iconic convention and exhibition centre and show the world what our great state has to offer.”