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Returning Access to Public Land

At the end of 2024, we asked recfishers to let us know where they’ve been locked out or blocked from accessing public land in Victoria. You know, a spot that suddenly has a locked gate or a fence installed, ‘Keep Out’ signage, blocked unused roads, closed public tracks or anything else blocking our access to public land. 

So, what did we find out? Recfishers identified almost 250 access issues across Victoria. Majority of the issues identified were inland waterways. 

When broken down by CMA, the Goulburn Broken catchment saw the highest number of access issues, followed by the Melbourne catchment (formerly Port Phillip/Westernport CMA) and the North-Central catchment. 

As for the issues themselves, the installation of locked gates and/or fences were the most common issue identified. Other issues included access to piers closed, blocked roads, closed tracks and problems with landholders. We also received 11 responses stating they’ve faced no access issues when on public land.

We asked you to share your access issues so that we could identify and consult on public access issues with the Victorian State Government. By compiling a list of current access restrictions and issues we can advocate for better access to these public areas, where appropriate.

Access is one of our key advocacy pillars at VRFish. If you have been locked out or blocked from accessing public land in Victoria, we’d love to hear about it. Send us an email with the location (as specific as possible), the access issue (ie. a locked gate), when the issue occurred (ie. January 2025) and any other relevant info at [email protected]

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