Grand prize of a spectacular week-long charter fishing trip for two to the magical Montebello Islands has been won by Quinns Rocks’ recreational fisher Henry Boogaard for taking part in a competition to help vital Department of Fisheries’ research. The prize worth more than $5,000 was donated by Montebello Island Safaris. The prize was offered to fishers who donated the required fish skeletons and provided relevant catch details before June 2011.
The report said that the Department of Fisheries researchers used filleted fish skeletons, or frames, with the heads and guts still intact, to obtain valuable information on key finfish species like WA dhufish, tailor and herring. Department of Fisheries Director of Research Dr Rick Fletcher thanked Montebello Island Safaris and other sponsors who offered prizes to support the research initiative, as well as Recfishwest for helping to spread the word and encourage participation by the recreational fishing community.
Dr Fletcher said that this has been one of the most successful years for the collection of fish frames, with more than 7,500 demersal finfish and nearshore species frames donated by recreational fishers for the project. He added that fish frames were vital to our research and monitoring programs, so WA fish stocks could be managed in a sustainable way and to ensure there would be fish for the future.
