Your fees at work 2021-22

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 2021-22 round of the Recreational Fishing Grants Program – Large Grants Program, $916,883 will be allocated to the following 10 projects:

$216,229 for research into the residency and movement of yellowtail kingfish. Deakin University will undertake a three-year acoustic tagging research program to develop a better understanding of the residency and movement of yellowtail kingfish.
$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.
$110,000 for an Ouyen Lake Floating Fishing Pontoon and Walkway. The Ouyen Inc. community organisation will lead a project to instal a floating fishing pontoon and walkway at Ouyen Lake to provide more fishing opportunity for land-based fishers.
$85,000 for a program to develop report cards on the status of key native recreational ﬁsheries. The Victorian Fisheries Authority will develop report cards on key recreational fisheries for native species such as Murray cod, trout god, golden perch, silver perch and Australian bass.
$81,139 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.
$80,000 to increase fish habitat in Lake Eppalock. Ozfish unlimited will improve recreational fishing opportunities by undertaking a habitat restoration project in Lake Eppalock which will see the installation of 50 large woody habitat complexes.
$79,500 to improve the Kalimna Jetty at Metung. The Gippsland Ports Committee of Management will extend the current jetty head by approximately 6m to provide more room for recreational fishers as well as make the jetty accessible for all abilities.
$70,000 to upgrade the boat ramp and jetty at Kangaroo Lake. The Gannawarra Shire Council will upgrade the boat ramp and jetty at Kangaroo Lake which is a key recreational fishery near Kerang.
$58,975 to undertake fish stock assessments in key waterways. The University of Melbourne will trial a new method of assessing stocks of key recreational species in waterways which involves sampling the presence of environmental DNA.
$26,040 to increase fish habitat for river blackfish in the Tullaroop Catchment. The North Central Catchment Management Authority will install additional woody structure to improve fish habitat for river blackfish at five sites between Newlyn Reservoir and Tullaroop Reservoir.

Intermediate Grants Program

The Recreational Fishing Grants Program – Intermediate Grants Program will fund the following two projects.

$51,865 to the Association of Geelong and District Angling Clubs for a project that will improve access for recreational fishers to the Painkalac Creek at Airey’s Inlet. The project will see the construction of a fishing platform on the corner known as Butlers bend on the Painkalac Creek at Airey's Inlet, which will provide all-abilities access. The Painkalac Creek provides very good fishing for bream and estuary perch.
$38,402 to the Alpine Fly Fishers for a project that will enhance the value of the Ovens River as a recreational fishery, in an area close to Bright. The project will involve the installation of large boulders to create greater variability in flows, leading to scour-pool development and creating fish resting areas, the construction of log jams to create further habitat niches, and the re-establishment of riparian vegetation to enhance in-stream shade, cover, and insect activity (food sources), and bank stabilisation.

Commissioning grants program

The following two projects will be funded through the 2021-22 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 $139,000. 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 $257,450. The Victorian Fisheries Authority will produce and distribute the following products to anglers:

135,000 copies of the 2023 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
12,000 abalone measures.

Other RFL trust account expenditure

During 2021-22, 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.

2021-22 Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account Report

A report is tabled in Parliament each year concerning all RFL Trust Account revenue and expenditure. The 2021-22 Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account Report is available for revenue spent in that and previous years.

Click here to view the report