Now is the time to have your say and be part of the development of South Australia’s multiple-use marine parks.

The Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH) is calling for people to share information about what they do and their favourite locations in the marine environment. 

To help people easily and quickly share their data with the marine parks team, an electronic tool called SAMPIT (South Australia’s Marine Parks Information Tool) has been developed.

SAMPIT allows the user to select a marine activity and pinpoint their favourite locations, and to identify areas they believe have conservation value.

“This is your opportunity to inform decisions about which areas will remain open to fishing and the small areas where extraction will be restricted,” says DEH’s marine parks manager, Chris Thomas.

“I encourage everyone who uses and enjoys the marine environment to log-on to www.marineparks.sa.gov.au/sampit and show us what they treasure about the marine environment.

“Where possible we plan on zoning the parks to avoid high-use fishing and recreational areas being classified as sanctuary (or no-take) zones, but to do this we need to find out where those high-use areas are,” he said.

“This process is critical if we are to develop zoning arrangements which deliver the best outcome for conservation while providing for sustainable commercial and recreational use.”

For those who prefer to submit their information on paper, a hardcopy version of the SAMPIT tool can be printed by logging on to www.marineparks.sa.gov.au.

Or you can phone 1800 006 120 and ask the marine parks team to post you a copy.

A rare opportunity exists for boating and fishing enthusiasts alike during this year’s Australian Snapper Championship in Whyalla.

As part of the championship, PIRSA Fisheries’ flagship patrol vessel the FPV Southern Ranger will be open for public tours on Saturday 3 April.

The Southern Ranger is a state-of-the-art, 24 metre patrol vessel which undertakes sea patrols to maximise voluntary compliance with South Australian fishing legislation and create an effective deterrent against illegal activity.

Master Offshore Patrol aboard the Southern Ranger, Les Parsons, says the tours present a great opportunity to get a first hand look at the vessel, and learn just how it is used to protect the State’s fishing industry.

“We’ll be giving visitors a full tour of the boat, from the living areas and staff bunks, to the engine room and control room where they’ll learn just how the crew collect intelligence on suspected illegal fishing and respond to emergency disasters at sea,” he said.

Free tours will be run every hour starting at 9am with the last tour starting at 4pm on Saturday 3 April.  The vessel will be located at the Whyalla Marina.

People can book tours at the main judging tent with a maximum of 10 people per tour.

Coordinates for all of South Australia’s Aquatic Reserves are now available via Google Maps.

Simply by searching the relevant Aquatic Reserve via the Google Maps search engine, fishers, and other boating enthusiasts can see exactly where the boundaries of the specific reserve are.

A link to each of the individual maps is also available via the PIRSA Fisheries website

PIRSA Fisheries would like to remind fishers that there are combined bag and boat limits when catching Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna.

Irrespective of which species is caught, the individual bag limit is two fish per person per day. The combined species boat limit is six fish per boat per day.

Please remember that Tuna are a very large fish and it's important that fishers only take what they need.

Reef Watch in partnership with Adelaide Scuba, Glenelg Marina and PIRSA Biosecurity is running a short workshop on Marine Pests - how to ID them and how you can help reduce their spread in Australian Waters.

This will be a practical session with inspection of a heavily encrusted (biofouled) hull on Glenelg Marina Slipway.

There will also be short talks on marine pests by local marine pest experts. Australia is facing an onslaught of invasive marine pests. Some of these arrive here by accident, transported in ballast water and on the hulls of ships. Others are introduced deliberately and later become a problem. Once in Australia marine pests can be transported by commercial and recreational vessels.

Marine pests are great hitch hikers and readily attach themselves to hulls, internal seawater systems, damp spaces or to boating gear such as anchors, ropes and buckets.

With more than 1 million recreational vessels in Australia, there is huge opportunity for pests to be inadvertently spread as boats move from one place to another.

When: Wednesday 31st March 6-7.30 pm followed by light supper (with drinks available at bar).
Where: Adelaide Scuba/ Glenelg Marina
To RSVP for catering purposes email feralperil@ccsa.asn.au or phone Carl Charter on 0466278187.

Following a number of recent inspections carried out by Fisheries Officers on sporting clubs and community organisations, PIRSA Fisheries has sought to clarify the rules that apply to purchasing and selling fish.

Regional Manager Limestone Coast, Mel Snart, said that it was evident in a number of recent inspections carried out by Fisheries Officers that many such organisations still aren’t clear on what protocols they need to follow when obtaining and then on-selling seafood.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that it is OK for sporting clubs and community organisations to accept donated fish or recreationally caught fish and then on sell them to make money” she said.

“It is important that such groups and organisations understand it is illegal to accept fish unless it has been provided by a registered fish processor”.

“Whilst to many this may seem unfair, it is important that we all realise and accept that the related laws were introduced to ensure that legitimate fish processors are safeguarded against those who seek to generate income despite not having the appropriate authority to do so”.

“Just because a fisherman has a fishing licence, it doesn’t mean he or she can sell fish directly to a club. Sporting clubs or organisations should check to ensure that whoever they’re purchasing fish from has an appropriate fish processors licence” she said.

Sporting clubs and community organisations need to retain receipts for all fish or fish products purchased and stored on their premises and they must keep a record book that includes a summary of all fish and fish product purchases. The summary must be in sequential order and include date of purchase, who from, type of fish or fish product purchased, weight and price paid

Ms Snart encouraged anyone requiring further confirmation to contact their local fisheries office or Fishwatch on 1800 065 522