Your fees at work 2020-21
Every year the Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) Trust Account allocates the fees you pay for a fishing licence to projects that directly improve recreational fishing in Victoria.
Large Grants Program
Through the 2020-21 round of the Recreational Fishing Grants Program – Large Grants Program, $527,682.50 will be allocated to the following 9 projects:
- $110,000 for a Gippsland Lakes Habitat Restoration project. The East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority will install woody habitat in the Gippsland Lakes which will benefit key species such as black bream, estuary perch and Australian bass.
- $100,000 for a Waranga Basin native fish habitat project. The Goulburn Valley Association of Angling Clubs will lead a project to create additional habitat in Waranga Basin for native fish species such as golden perch.
- $84,830 for an upgrade of the jetty at Pritchards Landing on the Glenelg River. The Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority will replace the existing small, fixed jetty with a larger pontoon-based jetty, which will improve access for recreational fishers.
- $81,235 for a Victorian Wild Trout Fisheries Management Program. The Australian Trout Foundation will implement a range of programs and research and educational activities to safeguard the future of Victorian wild trout fisheries.
- $40,991 to increase fish habitat in the Little Murray River - Phase Three. The North Central Catchment Management Authority will install additional woody habitat and snag structures to improve the recreational fishery for native fish in the Little Murray River.
- $34,523.50 to increase fish habitat in the Pyramid Creek. The North Central Catchment Management Authority will install additional woody habitat and snag structures to improve the recreational fishery for native fish in the Pyramid Creek.
- $31,202 to enhance fish habitat in the Goulburn River at Eildon Waters. The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority will install woody structure to improve fish habitat in the Goulburn River near Eildon.
- $27,774 to increase fish habitat in the Goulburn River at Wyuna. The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority will install additional woody structure to improve fish habitat in the Goulburn River near Wyuna.
- $17,127 to increase fish habitat in the Goulburn River at Trawool. The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority will install additional woody structure to improve fish habitat in the Goulburn River near Trawool.
Commissioning grants program
The following two projects will be funded through the 2020-21 round of the Recreational Fishing Grants Program - Commissioning Grants Program.
Informing sustainable management of Victoria’s wild catch fisheries
The aim of this project is to collect catch and effort data from recreational fishers at key locations in Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, the Gippsland Lakes, Corner Inlet and the coastal Lakes Entrance fishery. The information is vital in providing measures of stock abundance, population structure, mortality and the effectiveness of bag and size limits.
The cost of the project is $138,000. This will enable 244 catch and effort survey days to be undertaken across Port Phillip Bay, Western Port, Corner Inlet and the Gippsland Lakes and Lake Entrance coastal fisheries which will involve interviewing and recording catch details from about 4,000 fishers.
Communication and compliance products
The aim of this project is to continue the range of products that assist recreational fishers to understand and comply with fishing rules, without having to refer to legislative documents that are often difficult to comprehend.
The cost of this project is $259,749. The Victorian Fisheries Authority will produce and distribute the following products to anglers:
- 135,000 copies of the 2022 recreational fishing guide (including 10,000 in Chinese and 5,000 in Vietnamese)
- 200,000 fish length rulers (100,000 saltwater and 100,000 freshwater)
- 20,000 Murray cod length/weight rulers
- 15,000 Murray spiny and general freshwater crayfish measures
- 13,000 rock lobster measures, and
- 10,000 abalone measures.
Other RFL trust account expenditure
During 2020-21, RFL revenue will also fund:
- Increased fish stocking into lakes and rivers;
- The deployment of thirteen Fisheries Officers to boost enforcement and education;
- Initiatives and programs under the phase 2 of the Victorian Government's plan to get more people fishing, more often;
- VRFish, to provide advice to the Victorian Government about the broad range of recreational fishers’ views on the management of the State’s fisheries resources;
- The Victorian Fishcare program, which delivers responsible fishing education and events to the community;
- Projects approved through previous rounds of the Recreational Fishing Grants Program for access and facilities, education, information and training, recreational fisheries research and fish habitat improvement.
- Recreational Fishing Licence commissions paid to sellers; and
- The costs incurred in the administration of the Recreational Fishing Licence, Grants Program and the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Advisory Committee.
2020-21 Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account Report
A report is tabled in Parliament each year concerning all RFL Trust Account revenue and expenditure. The 2020-21 Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account Report is available for revenue spent in that and previous years.