Recreational Fishing Community Grants Program
The Recreational Fishing Community Grants Program ceases on 30 June, 2010.
This program is no longer open to new applications. Available funds provided by the Australian Government have been allocated through five rounds of grants. Each project is to be completed in accordance with deadlines agreed under the executed Funding Deed.
Background information on the program
The $15 million Recreational Fishing Community Grants Program (RFCGP), announced five separate funding rounds between October 2005 and May 2007. All approved projects are in the final stages of being completed.
The purpose of the program was to support local initiatives to enhance the recreational fishing experience, increase participation and capture the flow-on benefits to the economy, particularly smaller local economies.
The program has sought to:
- enhance sustainable resource use and fishing practices by recreational fishers
- develop a sense of ownership, awareness and responsibility amongst recreational fishers for the sustainable use of fish resources and fish habitats
- maintain or enhance fish habitats for present and future generations
- foster partnerships between governments, the recreational fishing community, and associated industries to conserve, restore and enhance the values of recreational fisheries throughout Australia.
The Program invested in a broad range of activities, including the following areas as they related to recreational fishing:
- improvements to infrastructure, including establishing fish cleaning tables, boat wash down facilities and upgrading tracks and paths used by recreational fishers to access fishing spots
- support of local initiatives to enhance recreational fishing, such as restocking or resnagging waterways
- protection of the environment at the water’s edge by, for example, protecting sensitive habitats
- establishment and upgrade of volunteer marine rescue groups and associated infrastructure
- education and awareness raising projects such as biofouling, aquatic pest translocation, increasing survival rates of released fish, and sensitive species
- increase of the capacity of local recreational fishing groups and communities through activities such as monitoring programs, tagging projects and data collection.
State-by-state summaries of the funded projects
400 projects were approved for funding. Summaries of each are detailed in the following state-by-state documents:
- Australian Capital Territory
Word [43kb] - New South Wales Word [227kb]
- Northern Territory Word [53kb]
- Queensland Word [229kb]
- South Australia Word [98kb]
- Tasmania Word [115kb]
- Victoria Word [162kb]
- Western Australia Word [106kb]
- National Word [35kb]
- Proactive Word [66kb]
Download the original guidelines for the Recreational Fishing Community Grants program:
RecFish Guidelines Round 5, 2007 
PDF [269 kb]
Contact Details
If you experience any difficulty accessing the above files contact the Secretariat Office or telephone 1800 665 105.
Mailing address
Recreational Fishing Community Grants Program
Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601