The Queensland Government earlier this year placed a record $1.1 million on the line to support fishing in Queensland's stocked impoundments, a 16 per cent increase on the 2021-22 financial year.
The Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme (SIPS) provides a sustainable freshwater fishing option for recreational fishers, who are required to purchase a permit before line fishing in any of the 63 SIPS impoundments.
Revenue from the sale of permits is used to maintain and improve the impoundments via the stocking of native fish fingerlings and other approved activities that improve fishing.
The scheme is important to regional communities because it helps support tourism and opportunities for recreational fishing, which contributes $333 million to Queensland’s economy every year.
Preliminary data indicates this increase is largely due to the success of the Fish ‘n’ SIP$ tagged fishing competition, which was announced in December last year.
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner said that Permit sales have increased more than 15 per cent since the Fish 'n' SIP$ competition started in December 2022.
The restocking efforts across the scheme has led to the release of approximately 3.2 million fingerlings by community stocking groups.
"As part of the competition, anglers had the chance to win up to $50,000 by purchasing a SIPS permit and catching a tagged fish at prescribed stocked impoundments, with $12,000 still on the line,” Minister Furner said.
"It’s also an important part of the Queensland Government's Sustainable Fishing Strategy, providing fishers with the opportunity to catch popular species sustainably.”
There were also increased stocking efforts due to an additional flood recovery grant program of $200,000 last financial year for south-west, Murray Darling and some Wide Bay Burnett stocking groups.
Burdekin Dam (Lake Dalrymple) is stocked by the Burdekin Fish Restocking Association Inc. In 2017/18, 19,000 barramundi were stocked from SIPS permit sales.
For more information on SIPS and to obtain one of our trail guides head to https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/boating-fishing/rec-fishing/dams
Burdekin Fish Restocking. Source: Facebook
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