Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
Tasmania’s world class brown trout fishery opens today for the 2019-20 season.
The Hodgman majority Liberal Government is a passionate supporter of our inland fisheries which attracts well over 20,000 recreational licensed anglers each year including more than 5,000 interstate and overseas anglers.
The opening of the new trout season is keenly anticipated by thousands of anglers and good lake heights and strong river flows are expected to create excellent fishing conditions right from the start.
While a major tourism drawcard, we are also ensuring that trout fishing remains a valued tradition for many Tasmanian families and regional communities, underpinning many local businesses and jobs.
To encourage local engagement, we have made it cheaper to go trout fishing by freezing licence fees for the four years at the 2017-18 level.
Of course, the eyes of the angling world will be on Tasmania later this year with our State hosting the World Fly Fishing Championship 2019.
The Championships are expected to attract teams from about 30 countries, bringing an estimated 800 anglers and support crew.
The Hodgman Liberal Government has provided $100,000 to support the event and is also providing infrastructure, and resource assistance through the Inland Fisheries Service (IFS) and Tourism Tasmania.
We have also provided $200,000 to expand the IFS Anglers Access Program with works starting in 2019-20, $215,000 to support Anglers Alliance Tasmania, and $300,000 to build and upgrade existing and new community amenities to support high-visitation fishing locations, including ten toilets that are now open to the public.
The coming 2019-20 trout season is shaping up as even better than last year and I encourage as many people as possible to buy a licence through their local tackle shop, Service Tasmania, or online from the IFS and enjoy the great trout fishing that Tasmania has to offer.
