State Fisheries Authority (SFA)

ASR was commissioned to develop, conduct and analyse a survey of State fishing licence holders regarding recreational fishing.

ASR created an online survey in SurveyManager with a simple link that could be promoted by the SFA using various methods of outreach, including direct emails, websites, fishing club email lists, and SMS messaging.

ASR invited 300,000 fishers to the survey. The invitation list was based randomly on people who had purchased a fishing licence over the past five years. Each survey participant received an invitation email containing a unique link to the online survey. The survey was also available through the SFA website and various social media channels.

The survey focused on both inland and marine/estuarine fisheries. ASR provided a full written report and executive presentation. Industry stakeholders were also provided with a report of findings and recommendations. Some key findings from the research included:

• Forty percent of respondents indicated that enforcing fishing rules and also improving fishing habitat would be an effective way to improve fishing in their State.
• Over 80% of respondents indicated that they had fished in a marine/estuarine location in the previous 12 months.
• Approximately 50% of respondents who fished in a marine/estuarine location in the previous 12 months had at least three favourite fishing locations which they specified.