December 2, 2025
Established in 1995, VRFish is the recognised, independent peak body for recreational fishing in Victoria.
For 30 years, VRFish has been advocating to make recreational fishing better in Victoria. Whether it’s fish habitat, water security, fishing access and infrastructure or best practice, VRFish work in partnership to make sure Victoria’s fishing experiences continue to improve, be sustainable and are more enjoyable for all generations of Victorians.
As the voice of recreational fishing in Victoria, VRFish participates in a vast number of working groups, reference groups and various formal and informal arrangements to ensure that recreational fishing needs are considered as part of any government and community activity that has the opportunity to influence recreational fishing. This can range from involvement at a local level all the way through to advocacy at a federal level.
Though we employ a small team of staff, it’s our dedicated volunteer members who are working tirelessly on the ground and achieving great things for recreational fishers.
The following examples highlight some of the achieved outcomes over the past 30 years and the impact VRFish has had on the recreational fishing sector in Victoria.
30 years of VRFish Advocacy Achievements
- Strongly promoted an allocation of water for Lake Toolondo following the completion of the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline.
- Strongly instigated and supported having twelve recreational water bodies to be allocated with high security of recreational water supply from water savings with the Wimmera-Mallee Pipeline Project.
- Supported defined environmental water allocations from savings from the Wimmera -Mallee Pipeline Project.
- In partnership with Environment Victoria successfully instigated the delivery of environmental water transferred from the management of Water Authorities to CMA’s.
- Provided strong promotion for the return of water to the Snowy River and restocking the river with native fish.
- Instigated in having Lakes Boga and Kangaroo to be the first lakes in Victoria to receive woody habitat for native fish protection.
- Instigator for an innovative felled timber program with VicRoads to use woody habitat as habitat offsets in waterways and lakes reservoirs during road and freeway constructions.
- Strongly supported the Albert Park Angling and Yachting Club for the expansion of the Port Phillip Bay Living Shellfish Restoration Program.
- Instigated a program to place offshore and inshore artificial reefs in the marine environment.
- Funding to improve fish habitats in rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs.
- Strong advocacy in protecting our rights to camp and have campfires through consultation with Parks Victorian on the River Redgum Park Management Plan.
- Strongly promoted new boat ramps in Gunbower Creek.
- Obtained federal funds for the Long Jetty, Port Welshpool.
- VRFish completed the first survey of boat ramps across Victoria in 2005.
- Successful advocated for “once in a generation” reforms to boating infrastructure governance and hypothecated funding model from boating licences, registrations, and fees.
- Advocated for major investment and upgrades in Warrnambool to create a safe harbour for recreational fishers and boaters.
- Successful on-water access campaign for Tullaroop reservoir and on-water access to other reservoirs in the Bendigo and Kyneton area.
- VRFish recommended the introduction of the all-water recreational fishing. licence. The subsequent Recreational Licence Fishing Trust Fund has enabled Victorian recreational fishers to re-invest their licence fees projects that improve fishing.
- Strongly assisted recreational fisher to have Portland Bay excluded from commercial fishing.
- Successfully prevented the Commercial Longline Fishers in Port Phillip Bay from increasing their permitted fin fish by-catch take and potentially targeting by-catch as an increased legal take.
- Instigated and achieved the return of recreational fishers to Lake Banimboola (Dartmouth).
- Instigated and promoted to the VFA for year-round fishing for Murray Cod in the lakes in the Wimmera and Milicent Basins, this includes Rocklands Reservoir, Lakes Taylors, Charlegrark, Bellfield and Booroopki Swamp.
- Instigated and promoted to the VFA for year-round Murray Cod fishing in Lake Eildon, Eppalock, Nillacootie and Cairn Curran Reservoir.
- Strongly involved in the delivery and implementation of the Tuna Champions stewardship program in Victoria.
- Strong advocacy to introduce slot limits with Murray Cod.
- Instigated listing Murray Cod as priority species to ensure increased penalties with organised crime, poaching and illegal activities listed in the Fisheries Act.
- Instigated the removal of opera house nets.
- Instigated the removal of setlines in the Murray River.
- Worked strongly in partnership with the North Central CMA with their Native Fish Recovery Plan, which included the first working fish screen in the Murray Darling Basin and the construction of new fishways.
- Strongly promoted metropolitan fish stocking program to create fishing opportunities for Victorian families.
- Prime mover of stopping scallop dredging in Port Phillip Bay.
- Stopped a strong well-resourced campaign from banning fishing for Mako sharks.
- Promoted strong advocacy to prevent the expanding of Marine Parks based on false science.
- Stopped commercial netting in estuaries and supported buyout of commercial fishers in Port Phillip Bay.
- Instigated the compulsory buyout of commercial netting licences in the Gippsland Lakes.
- Instigated the buyout of Inland Commercial Freshwater Fishers and returning twenty-eight inland lakes back to recreational fishing only.
- Instigated the ban and use of mesh nets in Schedule 8 waters by amateur fishers.
- Successful campaign to have Kerang, Boga, Reedy, Charm, Green and Cooper lakes stocked with native fish, including selected lakes stocked with yearling Murray Cod following the buyout of inland Commercial Freshwater Fishers.
- Successful instigator for a new purpose-built Native Fish Hatchery in Northern Victoria to prevent the reliance of commercial fish hatcheries in NSW.
- Instigated stocking Murray Cod and native fish in Rocklands Reservoir and strongly supporting the stocking of one million Murray Cod in Eildon Reservoir.
- Advocating for the introduction of funding grants to assist fishing clubs.
- Consulted with the Minister responsible for sport and recreation and received a magnificent outcome to have recreational fishing listed as a sport and VRFish as the recognised Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak Body. Sporting grants are now available for a multitude of fishing related sporting bodies.
Celebrating 30 years of VRFish featured in our 2024/25 Annual Report.
