G at Australian Seachange Newsletter - Southern Freedivers

G 

Seachange 

Newsletter 

Edition 7 

July 2009 

at Australian 

Contents: 

Editorial 

International Results 

Benefits 10% discounts 

Qld & Australian records 

Competitions 

What makes a Champion? 

State news 

Media Releases 

Safety 

AUF Mission: Bring Sport, Conservation and Awareness to the Underwater World

Editorial 

Welcome to edition 7 of Seachange.- the newsletter for members of the Australian Underwater 

Federation Spearfishing Commission. This issue is packed with information, issues and results and 

photos from the recent Interpacific Championships in Australia and the South African National 

Championships invitation- the Australian teams won both events- Congratulations. Also great to see a 

large number of new Spearfishing national records- many from Juniors and ladies. 

Change always occurs in sport and life. We have had a great few years with growth of sustainable 

Spearfishing, membership, increased profile of the AUF and associated businesses. We are now at a 

crossroads – questions are being asked - should spearfishers continue their affiliation with the AUF or 

go it alone? – one of our state bodies the USFA (AUF NSW) has strong opinions and has proposed a 

split from the AUF. See their press release. I will continue to talk to individuals, clubs, state Chairs 

and USFA about issues, options and outcomes for the best interests of all Australian spearfishers. 

The global recession makes for tough times for all of us- divers think twice before purchasing new 

gear or going on dive trips- some have or will sell their boats and some will even question the small 


amount of money for membership of the AUF Spearfishing. Small businesses are in tough times and 

this will and has impacted on sponsorship. In tough times we should be able to help each other and 

have loyalty and trust. So I ask you to support the businesses that support the AUF and remember 

they offer 10% discounts (see adds below) and keep up your membership so we can support you 

There is another huge threat to our sport- The Coral Sea has now been declared a Conservation area 

and the Green groups have huge funding (over $1 million from Pew) and lobbying power to declare 

no fishing zones. I have been very fortunate to dive the Coral Sea and it has clear water and amazing 

fish and shark life and Australian spearfishers would be devastated if we are denied access to this 

“Everest” of spearfishing. The AUF Spearfishing 

has very limited funds but will work with other 

fishing groups (particularly Recfish Australia) 

and Government to determine our most 

important areas, the issues and try and 

maximise access for current and future 

recreational spearfishers. If you wish to help you 

can send a letter to your Minister or donate 

funds. 

The AUF National body has been working on national insurance and an online membership systems. 

For more information see the AUF media release or check the system at www.auf.com.au. Also see 

the media release for the 60 th anniversary of AUF\USFA on 19 th September. 

How are we doing as an organisation representing spearfishers? I am keen to receive feedback and 

work with all to continue to improve our sport. If you are happy or dissatisfied with the volunteer 

management of the AUF Spearfishing at national, state or local level let us know what you can do to 

help. 

There are a few people who put in enormous effort to make a difference- I would particularly like to 

acknowledge Alastair MacNeil and his team for their outstanding commitment as Convenor and 

Manager Interpacific team for the recent competition in WA – well done. 

Dr Adam Smith, National Chair (Spearfishing) 

If (WHEN) some of the Coral Sea is made 

into a sanctury then the capture of prized 

pelagic species such as this magnificiant 

Dogtooth Tuna will not be possible for 

Australian spearfishers 

What can you do to help current and future 

spearfishers have access to these fish in the 

Coral Sea? 


BENEFITS FOR AUF MEMBERS 

SPEARING THE MENU- 15 % discount 

Spearing the Menu, Australia’s first spearfishing television program, is now available on DVD with a 

15 per cent discount being offered to AUF members. The two-disc DVD set contains all seven 

episodes from the first series. 


Interpacific- Dunsborough WA April 2009 

Report by Ali MacNeill – Australian team manager 

The end of April and beginning of May saw four extremely talented teams of divers arrive in 

Dunsborough, Western Australia, at various times from the countries of New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti 

and host country Australia. 

New Zealand being very keen and with a large entourage, arrived first. They headed down to the 

South West of WA and settled into the Dunsborough Lakes Caravan Park, where we would all 

eventually stay. New Zealand had a strong line up with Duane Herbert (Runner up at the Australian 

Nationals, Colin Smith, Ian Warnock (very seasoned competition divers) and a young enthusiastic 

and competent, Julian Hansford and Herb as Manager. Whilst New Zealand began their scouting of 

areas, thankfully our young and extremely experienced Drew Fenney (Australian Team) arrived early 

also and was able to scout and keep an eye on our Kiwi rivals! 

Next to arrive to our shores was the laid-back and very talented Hawaiians, their team consisted of 

Mark Healey Marnie Zukevich, Kapono Zukevich, GR Tarr and Manager Bill Ernst. Their priority was 

to travel north for five hours by car and then travel by boat for a further 3 hours to the famous 

Abrolhos Islands. Dave Bay, a local spearfisherman was kind enough to look after the Hawaiian team 

throughout their stay. The team enjoyed diving at the islands and were able to shoot some 

magnificent Spanish Mackerel and some great bottom fish. After two days, they returned to Perth to 

get the low-down about the competition areas, and after providing them with information, fish ID 


ooks and charts of the area (which they were to share with New Zealand!), they departed to 

Dunsborough. 

I was to receive a phone call a couple of days later asking, “What was the record for WA Dhufish?” 

Kapono had been scouting at Hamelin Bay with his team mates, when during the day, he had seen a 

fish; large, just like a grouper back home. At the end of the day, after not shooting any fish they 

decided that the rules would be to shoot a fish for meals. Kapono was confident he had the correct 

landmarks for this “grouper”, so he returned to the exact cave where he then shot an amazing 21kg 

West Australian Dhufish, one of the biggest shot in nearly 8 years, and certainly a fish that very few 

divers have ever shot! 

Saturday evening of the 25 th April saw the ever-talented and humble Tahitians arrive at Perth 

International Airport. I greeted the team of Lai lau Amatahiapo , Joel Drollet, Tepou Nehemia, Teva 

Monta and their captain, Romuald Montagon. The language barrier was going to be a problem, so I 

was fortunate in locating an interpreter Tony Pelleau through the Dunsborough Outdoor Sportz 

Centre (Damo Lane was very crucial in many aspects for making this event a great success). It took 

the very tired team a mammoth 22 hours to travel from Tahiti to Perth and after collecting luggage 

and equipment it was on to the IBIS hotel in Perth! It took a lot of explaining (mainly sign language!) 

to explain to the Tahitians why there were so many people in the city centre that day dressed in 

military uniforms, with smiling faces and in party mode . Later in the week, through or interpreter, 

we were able to explain to them that it was ANZAC Day celebrations (Australian and New Zealand 

Army Corp – who served during World War 1). On behalf of all countries competing, we 

acknowledge the ANZACS and thank them for the sacrifices they made so that we can live in a great 

free country. 


Sunday saw the Tahitians heading to AQWA to look at the magnificent aquarium and familiarise 

themselves with our fish species. After many extra hours driving, the Tahitian along with Jorma 

Merilainen another local spearfisherman who also came for the week to look after them, the team 

arrived in Dunsborough in the late hours of Sunday night. 

Monday morning 8.00am saw the Australian contingent meet together and head off to do our own 

respective reconnaissance of the competition sites. The Aussie Team had a powerful line up, 

consisting of 3 times Australian Champion, Arnie Piccoli (also the oldest member of our team!), Drew 

Fenney from Victoria, and experienced local divers with national and international experience, Dave 

Sutcliffe and Derek Dufall. The team could not have achieved its success without the support of a 

young and keen local diver Cameron Neilsson - his commitment to the team spirit was greatly 

appreciated. Thanks also to a young Jordan MacNeill who ably assisted throughout the tournament, 

the organisers and all countries. 

The next two days saw teams scouting areas, divulging little but 

wanting to know everything! We had a great opening ceremony at 

Damo’s shop and we were thankful to the Fisheries Department 

of WA who came to assist with fish ID and explain fishing rules to 

our visiting countries. Unfortunately the weather forecast for the 

second day of competition predicted swell, peaking at 4.7metres 

during the day. A decision had to be made. The managers and 

captains decided to bring the competition forward by one day and 

although it was unfortunate, it was a mutual consensus. All teams 

had at least one scouting day at each of the sites. Hamelin Bay 

was Day One’s location and Day Two (big swell day) was to be 

Canal Rocks. If the competition had to be cancelled on the day, we 

could then consider Friday as an alternative or head to the backup 

location of Eagle Bay. 

Wednesday morning saw us all head down to the picturesque 

Hamelin Bay where conditions were good with a small swell, but 

rising throughout the day with a light South Westerly blowing. As 

teams prepared themselves, safety boat drivers deliberated about 

launching and retrieving boats later in the day. 8.00am saw the 

start of the 24 th Inter Pacific Spearfishing Championships and 

oddly enough, at this point in time, only a couple of divers and not 

one onlooker had questioned the fact that we were swimming in 

the Indian Ocean! Four countries and two pairs per country 

headed off at great pace to start the day. Seven pairs headed off 

to the south-west and one Hawaiian pair headed to the northwest. 

After an hour the safety boats located their divers. Divers 

were in very close proximity to each other and had swum 2.5kms 

out to sea to secure what was meant to be the great spot. Fish 

seen on previous days were not there on competition day, as is 

the nature of fishing. However, some good fish were landed and 

the divers continued for a further five hours, swimming and 

hunting for species. The day ended well, once we were able to 

On behalf of the Western 

Australian Spearfishing 

Commission and the 

Australian Underwater 

Federation I would like to 

give you some great 

comments I received 

today from Foodbank (An 

Australian Without 

Hunger). 

"Dear Alastair, please 

accept this 

correspondence as one 

of sincere appreciation 

for your members of your 

association from the 

donation of fish from the 

two recent competitions. 

Since the inception of 

Foodbank South West 

(21st September, 2004) 

this is the first time we 

have had fresh fish to put 

on the menu for those in 

need. The charitiable 

Organizations, being 

recipients (Welfare 

Agencies) have 

expressed their gratitude 

to us." 

Thank you to all 

competitors and helpers 

from the National 

Spearfishing 

Championships and the 

24th InterPacific 

AUF Mission: Bring Sport, Conservation and Awareness to the Spearfishing Underwater World 

Championship, for 

helping people in need. A 

special mention to Simon

etrieve all the boats. We then returned to the Dunsborough Lakes Caravan Park for the weigh in, 

but were somehow missing the Tahitian Team as they decided to stop and have a beer at the 

Karridale Tavern! Eventually, the weigh in took place. Some great fish were presented, including 

Dhufish to 13kg, Samson Fish, Harlequin Fish, Queen Snapper, Black Drummer and Breaksea Cod. 

The day’s result was Australia leading, followed by a close and competitive New Zealand , Tahiti and 

Hawaii. 

On Day 2, managers and captains headed off early to check out conditions at Canal Rocks. We knew 

that the swell was going to rise from 1.5 metres to 4.7 metres during the day. Conditions looked 

good with no wind, so we decided that we should continue. Managers phoned the contingent at the 

caravan park to awake and prepare divers. 

Upon returning, the divers prepared themselves for the second day of competition. The swell was 

definitely rising and there was a big suck up and down the beach. After the divers left, in smoky 

conditions (a result of CALM doing some back burning), the task of launching boats took place. 

Eventually, after a bit of grief, all boats on the hour headed to locate their divers. Australia, New 

Zealand and Hawaii sent divers to the west, while Tahiti went north-west and the remaining four 

pairs raced to the Indicators. 

As the day progressed, the swell rose considerably, but all teams fished productively. Again great fish 

were found including, Samson Fish, Dhufish, Salmon, Flathead and Queen Snapper. Our boys dived 

very well, with Arnie and Drew working out deep in 20 to 30 metres and Dave and Derek worked in 

the surgy shallows and white water. Today was going to be a very successful day for the Aussie 

Team. The wind didn’t pick up during the day, but some divers found the smoky conditions a little 


awkward for breathing. After six hours of teams working extremely hard in conditions that were 

deteriorating throughout the day all divers returned and the task of retrieving boats began once 

again. Earlier in the competition, one of the observer’s boats returned early as they had a disastrous 

time tyring to get their boat up. After the propellor at high speed, it hit the concrete ramp when the 

water sucked away and the boat was bakento heavy, the final repair bill came in at $7000! The 

remaining four boats came in unscathed thanks to the assistance of all divers. Everyone was now 

talking and sharing stories and experiences that had unfolded during the day. 

At the final weigh in, some great fish were once again presented. The spirit and atmosphere around 

the caravan park was of laughter, awe for some of the public and in particular the great appreciation 

from Foodbank, the agency who gladly accepted all the fish we had wanted to donate to people and 

families in need. We later received a letter from Foodbank thanking us for the fish and 

acknowledging the great work the Australian Underwater Federation had done in running such a 

great event. Since Foodbank’s inception, no other fishing organisation had ever donated fresh fish to 

them, so we want to extend thanks to all teams for their efforts. 

The 

final weigh-in saw Australia present a magnificent catch to dominate Day 2 and convincingly win the 

competition. Tahiti and New Zealand were neck-a-neck on the last day with Hawaii only just behind. 

Many photos were taken that afternoon as we all relaxed with a beer to reflect on a great week. The 

spirit, rivalry and friendly nature in which the competition proceeded was a credit to all countries 

and the many volunteers who assisted, making the event a huge success. 

The following two days saw some divers head out to try and catch a Dhufish before they headed 

home to their native country, while others explored the great location and wineries of the 

Augusta/Margaret River region. The final presentation night was held at Rivendell Winery, where a 

magnificent three course meal was served, stories were exchanged, traditional bantering between 


Australia and New Zealand continued, Hawaiians appeared as relaxed as ever and the Tahitians’ sang 

and played their musical instruments to the pleasure of everyone. 

Final Placings 

Place Country % Score 

1 st Australia 200% 

2 nd New Zealand 173% 

3 rd Tahiti 154.2% 

4 th Hawaii 125.8% 

South African National Titles and 1 Day International 

Between South Africa, the SAUFF Team and Australia. 

As a preamble to a story about a great week of diving I would like to set the scene. 

During World Titles in Venezuela In October 2008, the South Africans invited Australia to attend 

their National Championships and a 1 day International, early in May 2009. 

The competition area, Southern KwaZulu/Natal, from Hibberdene to Port Edward, had also been 

proposed as the venue for the 28th CMAS World Titles in 2012. 

This would be an opportunity for Australia to scout and acquire valuable information in the lead 

period to the 2012 World Titles. 

We were already committed as hosts to the Inter Pacific in WA late in April 2009. 

Due to the tight schedule we selected two teams, one for each competition. 


Hi Adam, 

Just a short message to say that we've 

had a wonderful time in South Africa. We 

had great conditions, great fishing, and 

at the end of the day we managed to put 

our act together and win the One Day 

International. 

Kind Regards, 

Tony, Graham, Ric & Rob 

Tony Heugh, Rick de Vries, Graham Carlisle and Rob Wills arrived in Durban, South Africa, early 

on 2 May. 

After a brief stopover at the Dive Factory, where we borrowed weights and plastic bins for our 

gear, we travelled south in a double cab, kindly on loan to us from top South African diver, Gyula 

Plaganyi. 

On the 3rd we travelled north to Rocky Bay, where we were loaned the use of a large semi-rigid 

rubber duck from Mark Addison of Blue Wilderness. Mark, renowned internationally for shark 

tours and conservation, showed us some great spots and we were able to acquaint ourselves 

with many of the varied fish species. We are all much indebted to Mark and hid wife, Gail, for 

making their excellent facilities available to us during these championships. 

Later on the 3rd, we attended the sign on function and captains meeting at the Shelly Beach Skiboat 

Club, a fantastic venue virtually on the beach with launching facilities. 

On the 4th we headed down the coast to the southernmost competition area and launched off 

the beach at Port Edward. We had been kindly sponsored a very nice new 15 foot Cat by Ryan 

Hanson of Ski-Vee boats. This great little boat was ideally suited to our needs and came decked 

out with Australian team signage. 


This was to be the first of two days of SA individuals and each diver was to weigh in his/her own 

fish, to determine the SA individual champion. The score sheet was interesting, 1 point per 

kilogram up to a maximum of 5 points per species, fish weighed to the nearest lower 100 grams 

after being gutted and gilled, bonus points for each species on a scale of 1 to 5, a maximum of 

10 fish allowed for each diver. 

We had managed to source weigh points from local divers and Graham who had only recently 

immigrated to Australia and knew the area. We headed to the northern part of the area where 

we were greeted with murky water - Graham told us not to be disheartened as often the less 

dense freshwater from the rivers formed a layer over clean water. It turned out to be clear 

water under a layer of 2 meters of mud and we found some good sized Bronze Bream in 

relatively shallow water and Graham also boated a nice Catface Rockcod in this area. 

Next we headed wide and deep where we dived in 20 to 25 meters for the rest of the day. 

Graham speared some good fish which included Baardman, Rubberlip, Spade Fish and 

Englishman. Rick and Rob speared Bumphead, Knifejaw and Scotsman and I finished off the day 

with a nice Yellow Belly Rockcod. 

The weigh in took place at the Port Edward Ski-boat Club and the day was Gyula's with an 

impressive bag of great fish. Graham had done well with 9 weighers and was in the running with 

a top 4 or 5 placing for the day. 

Next day we were to travel north for a competition off Scottborough. We launched at Rocky 

Bay. After some years away from SA surf launching conditions we were happy to have great 

conditions for the early days of the competition - unlike Australia where we are fortunate to 

have great launching facilities, the guys in SA have to launch off the beaches with 4 wheel 

drives, tractors and winches. Timing is essential and one has to be patient in waiting for a lull or 

break in the sets of waves before making a break for the open water behind the surf zone. The 

SA guys knew their stuff and we all made it out for the start of another great day at sea. 


The Aussies had an average day and were humbled by a great catch of fish by Southern Natal A 

diver, Broderick Whittaker. Gyula of Natal A was to placed second overall behind Boland A 

diver, James Lawson-Smith. 50 Divers weighed in and the Aussie contingent was holding their 

own with credible placings for Graham 11th, Tony 19th, Rob 22nd and Rick 26th. 

A strong frontal weather system had developed and we did not dive on the 6th. After hard deep 

diving of nothing under 20 meters on the previous day, we were glad for an opportunity to thaw 

out and rest. During the day a strong wind arrived with a thunderstorm at the head of a front, 

followed by torrential rain and the rivers soon filed and spilled silt laden water into the southern 

competition areas. We were treated to a braai/barbacue at the Shelly Beach Ski-boat Club in 

the evening. We had a great array of local cosine with putu pap, boerewors, salads and the local 

beer brews were taking to our liking. 

Next was to be the team’s event on the 7th. Due to torrential rains in the south, the venue was 

again moved to the northern zone. For this event individual scores were not an issue and the 

teams focused on landing 30 high point scoring weighers from 3 divers. We were not allowed to 

rotate divers so reserves spent their time manning the boats and sorting the fish into categories 

according to points. We were allowed a maximum of 3 fish per species. 

Soon after the competition start, we dived in deep water wide of Scottborough and boated a 

couple off good fish. I had just allowed a large Cape Knifejaw to tangle me up in a cave and had 

had a stressful time sorting my spearline out when Graham surfaced behind me and shouted for 

everyone to jump onto the boat. It turned out he had dived to see fish scatter and upon 

reaching the bottom a large Great White had approached him from behind and followed him to 

the surface in a somewhat erratic behaviour. 


After a quick team talk we decided 'discretion to be the better part of valour' and retreated to 

resume or efforts elsewhere. Before our departure we notified a couple of the other teams in 

the area. Notably Natal A stuck it out for a while, didn't see the shark and to their credit, won 

the day. 

I speared a Spanish Mackerel early in the day but had placed a dodgy high shot, so asked the 

Rob to round up the others who helped to land the fish. We were lucky to save the fish from a 

persistent Bull shark - thumbs up for a team effort - we were starting to show signs of good 

things to come! 

The weigh in was at Mark's Blue Wilderness facilities - in this day and age where prejudice 

against spearfishing is rife, it was a pleasant surprise to find ourselves welcomed by an 

essentially scuba diving outfit. Mark and Brent are of the belief that spearos are not villains of 

the sea, but rather extreme sportsman willing to brave big surf and test the elements in quest of 

a fair contest for a feed of fish. No more than 10 fish per diver at one fish per species was the 

rule for each day of the competition. 

Most of the teams did not manage to fill their quota for the day and the Australians managed to 

weigh in 25 fish between 3 divers for a credible 6th place out of 18 teams. 

Due to strong winds the 2nd team event day was cancelled and we all took some well earned 

rest on the 8th. During the evening I attended the annual AGM for the SAUFF at the Shelly 

Beach Ski-boat Club. The meeting was well attended and I noted a reminder in the brochure for 

the Champs, 'that all members should attend'. 

I took time to reflect upon the poor attendance at Australia's AGM's and the hope that we can 

take a keener interest in our sport in the future. Brent mentioned that the SAUFF was struggling 

to get membership interest outside of competition divers - likewise the AUF is struggling with a 

core membership of keen competition divers and needs numbers to be truly representative as 


the peak body for spearfishermen from all walks in Australia - it might be a way for us to 

combine efforts to improve membership interest in our respective organisations into the future. 

The 9th dawned, the day scheduled for the 1 day International between the host, South Africa, 

The SAUFF team and Australia. So far we had been diving 6 hour competitions. Strong winds 

had been forecast for the day - after an early briefing, during which the teams decided on a 4 

hour competition, we launched at Rocky Bay and headed for a central meeting point off 

Scottborough. We'd had plans to dive some distant locations, but due to a shorter format and 

rough conditions, decided to dive a similar location to the one where Graham had sighted the 

Great White 2 days earlier. This proved to be a good decision as the South African A team 

wasted time getting to a distant location and did not give themselves enough time to spear 

enough fish to win in the shorter duration competition. The SAUFF team were not fairing much 

better. They had elected to dive the deep Scottborough area closer inshore, where we had 

been in the Interprovincial competition 2 days earlier. 

We dived 4 spots without moving too far and spent a lot of time in the water, bringing in quality 

high point scoring fish at a steady rate most of the day, but did not land much during the last 

hour of the competition. Rick left a reelgun in a cave after his spear was stuck and his reel 

jammed - he cold not let out line and did not have the puff to cut the spearline. In hindsight we 

should have visited a 5th spot an hour before the end - instead we stayed on the fish we had at 

our 4th spot. 

We had about 23 fish in the bag for the day and were not at all confident of our fortunes when 

we beached. however it soon became apparent that the other teams had not done particularly 

well either. I walked into the weigh in area confronted by a large Black Muscle Cracker speared 

by SA captain, James Lawson-Smith - the most prized fish and envy of all the spearos who had 

attended the 4 days of competition diving! A great fish worthy of recognition and for a 

moment I had a feeling of being done yet again. Upon collecting my thoughts I noticed 3 crates 

of fish and recognised ours as the middle one - also the fish looked heavier and more numerous 

in that crate. A moment later I looked up and the story in the expressions was told - we had 

won the day by an incredible stroke of fortune and some lucky decisions which went our way. 

James's fish stole the show on the final day, but we were happy to take the honours for our 

combined efforts, which included quality fish, amongst which were a Red Flush Cod, 2 large 

Rubberlip, Santer, Englishman and Green Jobfish. 

We can't say enough to thank our hosts, the Hibiscus Underwater Club, their Chairman who also 

chairs the SAUFF, Brent Addison, his son Mark and the use of his facilities at Blue Wilderness in 

Rocky Bay, the Shelly Beach Ski-boat Club for the use of their facilities, Gyula Plaganyi for the 

use of his double cab ute, Ryan Hanson for the use of his boat, and so many others. 

On behalf of the AUF and my fellow team members, Graham, Rick and Rob, I would like to 

extend our sincere thanks for a great time in South Africa. We hope that in the not too distant 

future, we can host a South African team on our shores. 

We are also grateful to the AUF and its members for sponsoring us with $1000 towards our 

expenses. 


Tony Heugh. 

More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/robwills/sets/72157618134744636/ 

AUF diver focus – Tim Neilson 

This is a new section so you can get to know the people who are making a difference. 

Tim Neilsen has been Spearfishing for over 20 years , has achieved great results in Spearfishing 

competitions all around Australia including winning the 1997 Australian Spearfishing Titles. 

Tim has represented Australia at the inter-pacific championships and the world titles in Croatia and 

is keen to offer his services as manager for the Australian Team in the upcoming titles in 2010. 

Tim is off to Croatia this month to start preparations for next year. He is excited about the position 

and is keen to do whatever it takes to give the Australian team its’ best possible chance. 

Tim is also the owner of Australias largest Spearfishing store- ADRENO Spearfishing Supplies 

& Dive Centre in, Brisbane. 


Records Officer Report 

Greg and Anthea Pickering 

There have been 29 records processed this year with 3 more pending. Although not all are on the 

website as yet, updates will be done shortly. The majority of records have been from Queensland 

with the female records doing rather well. The largest fish being the Yellowfin Tuna caught by Keith 

See Kee out from Shark Bay. 

A 26.800kg Wahoo caught by Thomas Bateman (Junior Record) is a fabulous catch. 

Wahoo 26.800kg Thomas Bateman 

Big-eye Trevally 3.067kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

High-fin Cod 2.430kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Black Unicorn 1.639kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Stripey Sea Perch .770kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Small-spotted Spinefoot 1.097kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Golden-spotted Spinefoot 1.070kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Purple Rock Cod 2.150kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Moses Perch 2.560kg Bryson Sheehy 

Yellowfin Tuna 60.800kg Keith See Kee 

Red-bellied Fusilier 1.000kg John Van Blanken 

Small-eyed Paddle-tail Sea Bream 4.240kg Bryson Sheehy 

Tomato Coral Cod 2.952kg Timothy McDonald 

Red Emperor 12.840kg Timothy McDonald 

Marbled Rock Cod 5.830kg Craig Whalley 

Yellow-stripped Leatherjacket .625kg David Scholefield 

Pickhandle Barracuda 6.850kg Kate Saunders 

Barcheek Coral Trout 4.410kg Thomas Barnett 

Rainbow Runner 1.500kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Saddle-Tailed Sea Perch 6.780kg Andrew Sprenger 

Long Spot Coral Trout 9.170kg Andrew Sprenger 


One Spot Razorfish .750kg Michael Saunders 

White Trevally .680kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Stripey Sea Perch 1.660kg Brett Gamlin 

Tarwhine 1.980kg Warren Carter 

One Spot Sea Perch 2.420kg Adam Hansen 

Sweetlip Emperor 4.750kg Andrew Sprenger 

Sawtail Surgeon Fish 2.075kg Jayme-Lee Neilsen 

Long Spot Coral Trout 8.800kg Barry Paxman 

Some house keeping. Please fill in all of your application. Some applications arrive incomplete and 

this then takes time to follow up. Please be considerate by adding all you details. Also if you can 

write a short story re how you caught your record I can then add it to the AUF Spearfishing website. 

Greg and Anthea Pickering 

QLD and Australian records updated 

Copy from 

Mick McDade 

07 3269 4683 


Diver tells of freak wave 

capsize 

Posted Wed May 6, 2009 1:46pm AEST 

Updated Wed May 6, 2009 5:04pm AEST 

The rescue boat returns to port with two men who were rescued off Ceduna on Tuesday 

night. (West Coast Sentinel) 

An abalone fisherman has spoken about his rescue off the coast of Ceduna in South 

Australia after his boat capsized. 

Greg Pickering was working with a deckhand about 20 kilometres offshore when a freak 

wave struck late on Tuesday. 

Mr Pickering says he was diving to about 12 metres when it happened. 

"I'd been there for four hours and all of a sudden I just got pulled off the bottom and it just 

kept pulling and pulling, 'cause I was on a dive hose that was connected to the boat," he 

said. 

"Then the air went off and I came up and the boat was upside down and the deckhand was 

sitting on a capsized boat and he was okay." 

The two men were found by rescue crews in a life raft about three hours later. 

GREG’S ACCOUNT 

Recently my Abalone boat was tipped over by a large wave while I was Abalone diving 25km’s off 

Ceduna on the far West coast of South Australia. It could have been a very serious situation for my 

deckhand and me but we were rescued very quickly due to safety procedures we had in place. 

As the boat was up turned I had to make a number of dives to retrieve the safety gear including a 

PAINS WESSEX 406 MHz EPIRB, flares and life raft. 

The EPIRB worked extremely well and a spotter plane found us after 2 1/2 hours (it was dark by 

then). We were safely tucked away in the life raft and as we heard the plane approaching we 


operated the distress flares. The life raft carried virtually everything that we would need, food, 

water, medications, torches etc. The sun went down and we avoided some exposure to the extreme 

cold by being in the life raft. 

However it was the EPIRB that was the real star of the show. All my contact details, had previously 

been registered on line in Canberra. The signal was picked up almost immediately and my wife 

Anthea was contacted to confirm that I was at sea on that particular day. 

The State Emergency Service in Ceduna was contacted and within a short time a fixed wing aircraft 

was getting ready to leave Ceduna airport, at the same time they put to sea in a 31’ Catamaran. 

Once the position was pinpointed by the second satellite going overhead the plane left Ceduna to 

locate us. The boat drove directly out to where the coordinates from the EPIRB indicated. The plane 

spotted us and the boat arrived a short time later. Phil from the Canberra search and rescue office 

was able to convey to my family at this time, that we were both well although the boat had rolled 

over. 

We were picked up after 3 hours, an amazing short time considering our position off the coast. The 

S.E.S. is partly funded from boat registration fees (recently increased in S.A.) and it is money well 

spent. I cannot emphasize how good these 406 MHz EPIRBs are. They are a vast improvement over 

previously available ones (which only got the search area down to 5 square kms). 

I think every spear fishing boat should have one of these 406 MHz EPIRB s considering some of the 

remote areas being dived these days. I would like to thank the S.E.S. for their professional service at 

all times. They are all volunteers and they deserve a heap of praise for their efforts. 

We recovered the vessel, conducted a complete refit and are fishing again. 



Marine parks may not be the 

answer 

WEDNESDAY, 15 APRIL 2009 

Professor Colin Buxton is a leading marine expert and Director of the 

Tasmanian Aquaculture & Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania. He 

offers the following opinion piece on the topic of marine parks: 

The South Australian Government is planning to turn almost half of the 

state’s waters into marine parks which in time will incorporate “no take” 

sanctuary zones where commercial and recreational fishers will be banned 

from entering. On the surface, the concept of marine park protection 

appears to have merit in preserving fish stocks and protecting the local 

marine environment. 

However, research funded by the Australian Government’s Fisheries 

Research and Development Corporation indicates that there can actually 

be side effects from the establishment of marine parks which can be 

potentially devastating to the very fish stocks they aim to nurture. For 

example, studies on some marine protected areas established in 

Tasmania indicate that waters adjacent to “no take” sanctuary zones face 

considerable pressure because of increased use from displaced fishers. As 

a result, these adjacent areas are prone to serious damage through 

overuse, potentially leading to a collapse in fish stocks. And while the SA 

Marine Parks Act provides for displaced commercial fishing to be bought 

out, this is not the case for recreational fishers, who will face extra fishing 

pressure and competition for spots from their fellow recreationals who are 

displaced because of the marine parks. If we are genuinely concerned for 

the environment we must be concerned about the effect of marine 

protected areas on the remainder of coastal waters. 

The SA Government, commercial and recreational fishers have one thing 

in common — they have the best interests of the state’s marine 

environment at heart. Commonsense would dictate that the best way of 

tackling this concern is to first identify any problem. However, to date the 

Government has not detailed the existing threats to SA marine 

ecosystems. If there are concerns with over-fishing, would it not be 

better to focus our energies and scientific research on tackling these 

problems head-on and across the whole state rather than to rely on a 

network of marine parks to do the job? If we are genuinely concerned 

about our marine environment how can we argue that only 46% should 

be protected? To me this makes no sense and in fact implies that South 

Australia’s fisheries management is not doing its job — despite being 

independently accredited as best practice. Commercial and recreational 

fishers have been vocal in their opposition to the excessive size of the 

marine park outer boundaries planned by the Government. Quite rightly, 

they argue that the marine parks are not based on addressing the real 

threats to marine ecosystems and habitats, and are demonstrably not the 

best way to manage fisheries. 


The question also has to be asked as to why the Government would 

deliberately exclude Adelaide’s metropolitan coastal area — which is so 

obviously in need of protection — from its contentious marine parks 

proposal? Is there an election coming up? 

I believe that well-designed and managed marine parks can be a valuable 

tool in the protection of specific marine habitat and can contribute to the 

mitigation of properly identified threats. They are also especially valuable 

as a baseline reference point for scientific study. But if the South 

Australian Government is serious about protecting the marine 

environment it should outline the specific threats to the marine species 

and ecosystems before it confines 46% of the state’s coastal waters as 

marine parks. It should also articulate how marine parks are going to 

manage those threats. After all, if we all know the threats we can all work 

together to solve the problems, which may or may not necessitate marine 

parks, and importantly, may not need to exclude fisheries 

Test your knowledge- How good are you with fish ID? 

(a) Small headed reef flathead 

(b) Fringe eyed flathead 

(c) Black flathead 

(d) Dusky flathead 

(e) Bar-tailed flathead 


Year 

2009 

Venue 

Dunsborough, WA 

Open 

Arnold Piccoli Australian Spearfishing Open 

2008 

2007 

Wollongong, NSW 

Townsville, QLD 

Paul Roso 

Adam Smith Champions 

2006 Kangaroo Island, SA Ian Puckeridge 

2005 

2004 

2003 

2002 

2001 

Phillip Island, VIC 

Perth, WA 

Ulladulla, NSW 

Magnetic Island, QLD 

Rye, VIC 

Robert Torelli 

Arnold Piccoli 

Ian Puckeridge 

Ken Picard 

Andy Ruddock 

In our sport we respect our Australian Champions 

and those who represent our country. The list on 

the left contains some well known multiple 

sporting champions 

2000 Perth, WA Ian Puckeridge 

1999 Nelson Bay, NSW Ian Puckeridge 

1998 Hobart, TAS Tim Nielson 

1997 Batemans Bay, NSW Ian Puckeridge 

1996 Kangaroo Island, SA Robert Torelli 

1995 Townsville, QLD Ian Puckeridge 

1994 Eden, NSW Mark Colys 

1993 Perth, WA Andy Ruddock 

1992 Wollongong, NSW Robert Torelli 

1991 Hobart, TAS Robert Torelli 

1990 Kangaroo Island, SA Greg Pickering 

1989 Cairns, QLD Andy Ruddock 

1988 Phillip Island, VIC Robert Torelli 

1987 Perth, WA Arnold Piccoli 

1986 Sydney, NSW Paul Riorden 

1985 Swansea, Tas Robert Torelli 

1984 Fleurieu , SA Robert Muir 

1983 Tannum Sands, QLD cancelled 

1982 Warnanbool,Vic Len Joyce 

1981 Perth, WA Robert Muir 

1980 Eden, NSW Heiki Nevala 

1979 Triabunna, Tas Les Siemek 

1978 Minlaton, SA Ralph Whalley 

1977 Cairns, QLD Kevin Ranger 

1976 Port Fairy, VIC Bob Hart 

1975 Margaret River, WA David Hopkins 

1974 Bridport, TAS Ralph Whalley 

1973 Nowra, NSW Brian McKenna 

1972 Narooma, NSW Les Siemek 

1971 Edithburgh, SA Geoff Skinner 

1970 Mackay, QLD Allan Badger What makes a Champion? 

1969 Ocean Grove, Vic Steve Duffy 

1968 Busselton, WA Brian Bailey "When considering the stature of an athlete or for 

1967 

1966 

1965 

1964 

Shoal Bay, NSW 

Maroochydore, QLD 

San Remo, VIC 

Kangaroo Is, SA 

John Black 

Peter Kemp 

Ron Taylor 

Ron Taylor 

that matter any person, I set great store in certain 

qualities which I believe to be essential in addition to 

skill. They are that the person conducts his or her life 

1963 Denmark, WA Ron Taylor with dignity, with integrity, courage, and perhaps 

1962 

1961 

1960 

1959 

Currarong, NSW 

Phillip Island, VIC 

Bicheno, TAS 

Tullebudgera, QLD 

Ron Taylor 

Ben Cropp 

John Black 

Bob Webb 

most of all, with modesty. These virtues are totally 

compatible with pride, ambition, and 

competitiveness." Quote from Don Bradman 

1958 Moonta Bay, SA Roy Howell 

1957 

1956 

Bremer Bay, W.A. 

Bermagui, N.S.W. 

Bernie Harbour 

Barry May 

Next event- 14 -21 Feb 2010- Victoria 

1955 Point Lonsdale, VIC Barry May 

1954 Rapid Bay, SA Frank Kirkham 

1953 Tweed AUF Heads Mission: Bring Ron Sport, Cox 

Conservation and Awareness to the Underwater World

INFORMATION SHEET 

USFA / AUF 60 TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION DINNER 

To celebrate its 60 th anniversary the USFA has hired the Whitlam Theatre at the Revesby Workers 

Club for a reunion dinner to be held on Saturday 19 th September 2009 commencing at 6.00 pm. Past 

and present members and their guests are invited. 

Tickets are now available at a cost of $65.00 per person (3 course dinner included). Tickets must be 

pre-purchased and are not available on the night. 

This is the same venue where the highly successful 50 th Anniversary reunion was held. This event had 

almost 400 past and present members travelling from all states and territories to attend. It is 

advisable to book early to avoid disappointment as seating is limited. 

There will be displays of diving memorabilia and historic equipment and a slide show presentation 

featuring our early members and our association’s history. Don’t forget to bring along your old photo 

albums and diving memorabilia or other items of interest. There will be prizes for the best decorated 

tables and time for dancing and talking about the good old times. 

A strong line-up of guest speakers will feature Ron Taylor, John Harding, Barry Andrewartha, Terry 

Hagley (USFA Foundation Member) and Keynote Speaker Toni de Fina (Life member and past 

President AUF). 

The Revesby Workers Club has, on several occasions, been awarded with the prestigious Club of the 

Year Award and is located adjacent to Revesby Railway Station. Access to car parking is via Blamey 

Street (off River road) or Tarro Avenue (off Weston Street) and there is ample free parking for over 

400 vehicles situated at the front and rear of the premises. There is easy access from Sydney Airport 

by taking the South Western Motorway (M5) and using the River Road exit. 

Come along and have a great night with great company, great food and a lot of great memories. 

PS. Don’t forget your table decorations. 

Tickets may be obtained from: 

Mel Brown Ph. 02 4283 2757 

9 Narelle Crescent Mob. 0412 494 186 

WOONONA NSW 2517 Email melvenbrown@optusnet.com.au 


Great Australian Shark Count (Watch) 

Key contacts if you want to get involved are: 

National Michael Rupnik- shark@auf.com.au - 0400367424 

National Adam Smith- adamksmith@bigpond.com.au- 0418726584 

Or log your sightings online at www.auf.com.au 

Please spread the word that we are doing our bit to understand the marine environment and sharks 

We have put in letters to federal and state Ministers asking for additional funding to support the 

GASC. You may wish to contact Peter Garrett (Environment Minister) 

Peter.Garrett.mp@aph.gov.au 

or Tony Burke (Fisheries Minister) Tony.Burke.mp@aph.gov.au and let them know you support the 

future of recreational fishers and divers and stewardship and community monitoring of sharks. 



QLD REPORT 

Retirement of a great bloke from Qld Chair- Thanks Dave 

Dear Qld exec, clubs and members 

As indicated at the recent AGM I wish to stand down as the Qld chair, but agreed to stay on in the 

interim since there were no nominations and felt I may be able to help the new committee “settle in”. 

Due to work and personal commitments I will be standing down from the Chairperson position 

immediately. I will still make myself available to the SC committee of Shane, Craig, Anthony, and 

Chad if needed but only in an advisory type role. 

When I stepped in to the position over 5 years ago there really wasn’t a lot of guidance as to what the 

role was, apart from a very broad duties statement. That statement has since become more detailed 

(attached) as I have taken on tasks I felt were appropriate to those duties, and tasks I felt were 

needed. In that time we were fortunate to have risk management training so as to develop a risk 

assessment (attached) for spearfishing in Queensland. This risk assessment served to ensure me 

that the tasks I was carrying out were the right ones, and also identified areas where the spearfishing 

commission should be paying attention to. Many of these include: better communication with 

members, education of non-spearfishers (and spearfishers), changing public perception, and 

engaging with decision-makers better. This helped me in developing a strategic plan (attached) for 

spearfishing in Qld, which I sought input from club contacts. A strategic plan is simply a plan of what 

we want to achieve within certain time frames to help ensure the tasks and actions that are needed 

are clearly identified, and that they are actually carried out. These tasks were what guided me in 

setting up a committee based on types of tasks (eg communication), however the roles of each of the 

committee members will probably evolve a little. 

In the past 5 years I have written numerous articles, given many public talks and displays, spoken to 

all types of media, met and worked with other stakeholder groups and representatives, met and 

worked with environmental and fisheries managers from Qld and NSW, attended and chaired many 

meetings – AUF and others, organized an annual Qld competition schedule, met and worked with 

many other spearos from around Australia, collated and maintained state and club contact lists, have 

been an integral member of the Great Australian Shark Watch project, promoted our activities at 

every opportunity, assisted Qld members in representative duties where possible (eg. grants, team 

shirts), created AUFQ links with research, as well as the many administrative developments 

mentioned. I have had deputies during most of this period in Shane Morrison (Assistant – Nth) and 

Kevin Chard (Assistant – Sth), who have been great to work with. However, many of these tasks are 

now spread among the committee to make the load easier, to spread the knowledge of the 

commission among several, and hopefully make being a part of the Spearfishing Commission more 

enjoyable. I have also worked with the national AUF spearfishing executive over the years and with 

the current professional leadership through Adam Smith, my job has benefited through learning and 

adopting national approaches and initiatives. 

I therefore would like to encourage somebody to nominate for the Spearfishing Chair position. If you 

love spearfishing and working with others, have some basic computing skills and access to email, 

have some political awareness, have a professional attitude, and feel you can devote 2-3 hours a 

week to the role then you are ideal. I can honestly say that I have personally gained a lot from being 

in the role: new friends, training, many new skills, travel, a sense of achievement and in helping make 

a difference. 

Please contact me if you wish to discuss or Judy Breeze (judyaufq@bigpond.net.au) if you wish to 

nominate. 

Emerging future needs: 


� Review of AUFQ spearfishing rules and bylaws (need to be consistent with AUFQ constitution 

and the national spearfishing rules where appropriate) 

� Review of the risk assessment 

� Develop policy on competition organisation (a guide using template docs and spreadsheets, 

include sponsorship guidelines) 

� Explore NEATFish competition accreditation. 

� Policy on commission spending (in conjunction with AUFQ) 

Also attached for your records are: the current AUFQ constitution, the current AUFQ Spearfishing 

Bylaws, and a notice of competition eligibility in Qld as a result of the changes made to the AUFQ 

constitution recently. 

Cheers 

David Welch Ph: 0414 897 490 

NQ Titles 16/5/09 

COMPETITOR 

Total 

Species 

Total 

Weight Points 

Percentage 

6. Adam Smith/TSC 12 37.0 1570 100.0 

13. Marc Richards/CUA 10 20.0 1200 76.4 

16. Jake Boyd/TSC 8 30.0 1100 69.8 

9. Kevin Ranger/CUA 7 19.6 896 57.1 

11. Keith SeeKee/CUA 7 18.5 885 56.4 

7. Dave Welch/TSC 7 18.0 880 56.1 

21. Jason Coe/CUA 7 17.2 872 55.5 

20. Matthew 

Ludbrooke/TSC 6 15.7 757 48.2 

19. Sid Caswell/CUA 5 13.0 630 40.1 

12. David Williams/TSC 5 9.0 590 37.6 

10. Shane Holley/CUA 3 21.5 515 32.8 

3. Warren Faithful/CUA 4 11.0 510 32.5 

17. Chris Ray/CUA 3 13.0 430 27.4 

4. Andrea Severati/TSC 3 10.5 405 25.8 

5. John Picard/TSC 3 10.0 400 25.5 

2. Alan Banister/TSC 2 8.5 285 18.2 

8. Stephen Menzies/TSC 2 8.5 285 18.2 

1. Bob Malcolm/TSC 

Did not 

weigh 

Did not 

0 0.0 

14. Michael PannachTSC weigh 

Did not 

0 0.0 

15. Will Evans/TSC weigh 

Did not 

0 0.0 

18. Joe Elams/CUA weigh 0 0.0 

Total fish = 94 Av 3kg 

Total weight = 281 kg 94 281.0 


Fish/diver hour = 0.23 fish 

Nemrod results 

Adam Smith -1570 

Marc 

Richards 

Kevin 

1200 

Jake Boyd - 1100 

Ranger 

Keith 

896 

Dave Welch - 880 SeeKee 885 

Matt Ludbrooke - 757 Jason Coe 872 

TSC 4307 CUA 3853 

QLD Calendar 2009 

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun 

Nationals WA Bluewater Classic Easter 10th-13th Sat 16th May Qld Titles 

14th-22nd 28th and 29th NQ Titles Townsville 6th-7th 

AUFQ AGM 28th Interpacific WA Sun 17th 

Vic state titles 27th apr-2nd may Backup day Eden Champs 

7th-9th 6th-7th 

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 

Cloughy Challenge Cairns Nemrod Cairns Nemrod 

12th and 13th Sat 31st Back up Date 7th 

27th Club dive 

Contacts Craig Barnett 04 1774 1774 


Queensland titles Report by Peter Muller 

Queensland 2009 State Spearfishing Titles June 6 & 7 - Cape Gloucester 

The 2009 Queensland spearfishing State titles, organised by the Mackay Down Under Skindiving 

Club, were held over the Queens birthday long weekend on the 6 and 7 th of June. Twenty-three 

competitors from the Tweed Gold Coast, newly formed Curtis Coast (Gladstone), Mackay and 

Townsville clubs nominated, with competitors staying at the Gloucester Eco Resort which is situated 

on the tip of Cape Gloucester, to the north of Airlie Beach. 

The competition began at first light on Saturday morning with a briefing at 6:30 am on the beach in 

front of the resort. The dives were held at the Charity and Faith reefs, which are some 80 to 85 km to 

the north of Cape Gloucester. Four boats from the Mackay club were used to transport divers to the 

reef, with the trip taking around an hour and a half. 

The conditions at Charity reef on Saturday were ideal, with calm seas and sunny blue skies and a day 

time of temperature of 26 to 27°C. Winter had not yet set in and the water was still a mild 24°C, with 

visibility of 10 to 15 m throughout the day. Boats arrived at Charity at 8:00 am with the 5 hour 

competition beginning at 8:35. Charity is a small “C” shaped circular reef about 2 km in width with a 

central lagoon. 

Charity reef lived up to its name and turned on some good action providing divers with the full range 

of fish. Trout were abundant with several divers weighing 3 trout species of a blue spot, leopard and 

footballer and plenty of big blueys coming in as well, the best being a 10 kg monster captured by 

local Bowen diver Clint Stoneham. Mackerel were about also with many sharky and several spanish 

being taken. There was also a good range of parrot fish available with some divers spearing up to 5 

species. 

However day 1 went to Jake Boyd, also of Bowen, who set the pace by weighing an impressive 

nineteen species. The ever perennial Adam Smith was close behind with seventeen species, but with 

10 kg more weight than Jake, was to make up some of his lead. The nearest rivals of Craig Barnett 

and Tony Heugh came in with 12 species each, which gave Jake and Adam a break of 35 percentage 

points. 


Sunday, day 2, had a similar start, however the competition was shortened to four hours and GTs 

were also taken off the list. The boats headed out to Faith reef soon after 6:30 am for the quick trip 

to the reef. A slight swell was running from a light north-westerly wind which soon flattened out on 

the approach to the reef. Sunday was similar but with more cloud and milder conditions, but still 

ideal for spearfishing. The day’s dive started at 8:45 am with a 12:45 finish. With the shortened time 

divers got away quickly and were soon dispersed across the reef. 

Faith was a little disappointing, even though being only 5 km north of Charity, fish were not as 

plentiful with divers having to work hard for their fish. As a result, only 4 divers weighed 10 or more 

species with Tony Heugh and Adam Smith both weighing 12 species. Again it came down to weight 

and Tony won the day with 7.5 kg more fish. Mick Saunders and Ken Hunter of Mackay both had 

good days bringing in 11 and 10 species respectively which helped improve on their Saturday scores. 

Several of the divers in the top 5 dropped down the ranking by not doing as well as the previous day. 

By being consistent and coming second on each day, Adam Smith won the competition with 190 

percentage points. Tony Heugh was runner-up on 161 points, closely followed by Jake Boyd on 158. 

The Veterans performed impressively by making up 4 of the top 6 places, which shows that 

experience counts – see below for full results. 

Place Name and Club Day 1 

points 

Day 1 % 

points 

Day 2 

points 

Day 2 % 

points 

Total % 

points 

1st Adam Smith (TSC) 2220.6 95.4 1420 95.0 190.4 

2nd Tony Heugh (TGCFC) 1421.5 61.0 1494.5 100 161.0 

3rd Jake Boyd (TSC) 2328.7 100 876 58.6 158.6 

4th Michael Saunders (MDUSC) 1190 51.1 1412 94.5 145.6 

5th Simon Baldwin (TGCFC) 1278 54.9 1269 84.9 139.8 

6th Ken Hunter (MDUSC) 841 36.1 1296 86.7 122.8 

7th Lee Jamnicky (TGCFC) 1000.9 43.0 1132.5 75.8 118.8 

8th Clint Stoneham (TSC) 1035 44.4 1083 72.5 116.9 

9th Dave Welch (TSC) 1358.2 58.3 815 54.5 112.8 

10th Bryson Sheeny (TGCFC) 1103.7 47.4 969 64.8 112.2 

11th Craig Barnett (MDUSC) 1461.7 62.8 619 41.4 104.2 

12th Shayne Martin (MDUSC) 1198 51.4 720 48.2 99.6 

13th Andrew Lucas (MDUSC) 1220 52.4 611 40.9 93.3 

14th David Jensen (CCSC) 901.5 38.7 777 52.0 90.7 


15th Daniel Tarasiuk (TSC) 1118.5 48.0 621 41.6 89.6 

16th Matt Ludbrook (TSC) 642 27.6 846 56.6 84.2 

17th Paul Urane (CCSC) 562.6 24.2 831 55.6 79.8 

18th Shane Morrison (MDUSC) 1052 45.2 466.5 31.2 76.4 

19th John Vandenburg (MDUSC) 580 24.9 500 33.5 58.4 

20th Natt Kane (CCSC) 985.5 42.3 0 0 42.3 

21st Jackson Hong (MDUSC) 540 23.2 236 15.8 39.0 

22nd Mark Brooks (CCSC) 254.4 10.9 249.5 16.7 27.6 

23rd Tim Davidson (CCSC) 356.3 15.3 0 15.3 

The Mackay Nemrod was also held on Saturday with the Nemrod final being decided on the Sunday. 

Townsville easily won the Mackay Nemrod round with an impressive 7026 points, followed by 

Mackay (5070 pts) and Tweed Gold Coast (4804 pts). 

However for the Nemrod final, Tweed Gold Coast came up trumps with a winning score of 4865 pts, 

while Mackay was second on 4047 pts and Townville third on 3957 pts. 

The Pairs and Team competitions were also determined on Sundays dive and the Pairs were won by 

Tony Heugh and Simon Baldwin of the Tweed Gold Coast Freedivers club with 2764 points. Adam 

Smith and Jake Boyd of Townsville came second on 2296 pts, closely followed by Michael Saunders 

and Shayne Martin of Mackay on 2132 pts. 

The placings remained the same for the Teams competition, with Tweed Gold Coast (Tony Heugh, 

Simon Baldwin, Bryson Sheeny & Lee Jamnicky) winning with 4865 pts, Townville (Adam Smith, Jake 

Boyd, Dave Welch & Clint Stoneham) second on 4194 pts and Mackay (Michael Saunders, Shayne 

Martin, Craig Barnett & Andrew Lucas) third on 3362 pts. 

Four age categories for the men’s section (no Masters competed) were contested at the 2009 State 

Titles. The Queensland age categories had also been brought into line with the rest of Australia after 

the AUFQ AGM this year, so that the age categories now are Masters, Veterans, Seniors, 

Intermediates and Juniors. The place getters for each age group are as follows: 

The 2009 State Titles were a huge success with fantastic weather and full credit must go to Craig 

Barnett, Andrew Lucas, Shane Morrison, Dan Wisely, Shane Martin, Ben Shepherd, Bob Eaves and 

the rest of the team at Mackay Down Under Skindiving club who organised the event. Also special 

thanks to the boat drivers -Shane Morrison, Bob Eves, Ben Shepherd and Craig Barnett for providing 

their boats and time over the weekend. 


Several great prizes were also donated, with all competitors able to win these prizes from a draw 

held after the presentation. Tony Heugh donated a carbon Edge spear gun while a Omer Cayman HF 

1300 spear gun was put up by Andrew Lucas, Craig Barnett and Shane Morrison Marine who also 

chipped in with a selection of diving accessories. MDUSC donated a Ray Whitton painting valued at 

$500. A huge thanks to all those who sponsored and supported the 2009 QLD State Titles. 

The lucky winners were Tim Davidson, who won the Omer carbon rail gun and was so happy at 

winning he did not let go of the gun for the rest of the night. Tim had unfortunately come down with 

food poisoning on the Saturday and spent a lot of the time out at the reef being sick. Mick Saunders 

number came up again for the Edge spear gun, this being his second prize draw win in a row. Clint 

Stoneham from Bowen won the Ray Whitton painting, congratulations to all. 

Runner-up Tony Heugh and winner Adam Smith Pairs winners – Tony Heugh and Simon Baldwin 

IN THE NEWS- QLD (and responses) 

Spearfishing ban slammed 

DANIEL BATEMAN 

June 19th, 2009 

A NEW study that has proposed a ban on spear guns and gill nets to save the Great 

Barrier Reef from overfishing has been rubbished by fisheries scientists. 

An international team of scientists led by Dr Josh Cinner from the ARC Centre of 

Excellence for Coral Reef Studies has proposed a ban on fishing gear such as spear 


guns, fish traps, beach seine nets, and gill nets to aid coral reefs that have been hit with 

bleaching. 

The team's research, carried out in Kenya and Papua New Guinea, showed certain types of 

gear was more damaging to corals and to certain species of fish needed to help reefs 

recover from bleaching or storm damage. 

Dr Cinner, who is based at James Cook University, said the fishing gear was creating a 

double jeopardy for both the corals and certain types of reef fish. 

"They are already on the edge because of the overfishing and the additional impact caused 

by a bleaching even can push them over," he said. 

The team found spear guns were the most damaging of all fishing gear, especially to corals 

themselves and fish such as parrot and trigger fish, which keep seaweeds and urchins in 

check while coral regrows. 

"Spear guns target a high proportion of species that help maintain the resilience of coral 

reefs, but also can result in a surprising amount of damage to the corals themselves," Dr 

Cinner said. 

"When a fish is shot with a spear gun, it often hides in the reef, so some fishermen break the 

corals in their attempts to get it." 

Dr Cinner said temporary bans or imposing permanent restrictions on the use of various 

types of gear could apply to virtually any coral reef management whether in the developing 

world or in developed countries such as on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. 

Fellow JCU fisheries scientist Dr Andrew Tobin said the proposed fishing gear bans should 

not be applicable to the Great Barrier Reef. 

"Some of those findings are probably very reasonable for those areas they've studied, but to 

make any link to Great Barrier Reef waters is probably drawing a very long sword," Dr Tobin 

said. 

"The fishing gears he's looking at, most of them aren't used in the GBR World Heritage Area 

anyway." 

Dr Tobin said there was very little spearfishing on the reef. 

"There's already some pretty harsh regulations in place for that, he said. 

"It's a reasonably low fishing method, as well." 

Townsville marine biologist Dr Walter Starck, who provides advice to Sunfish North 

Queensland, said there was no issue with overfishing of herbivorous fish on the Great 

Barrier Reef. "Here in Australia, it is completely irrelevant," he said. 

Sunfish North Queensland spokesman Brian Pickup labelled the study's scientists as 'doom 

and gloom merchants'. 

"All right, we might have a problem with netting, but we don't have a problem with 

sustainability of our fisheries on the Great Barrier Reef," Mr Pickup said. 

SHOULD SPEARFISHING BE BANNNED? HAVE YOUR SAY BELOW 


Latest Comments on the website (these comments were organised and written 

largely by AUF Spearfishing members): 

Just typical of the research that goes into fishery decisions. It all comes from overseas and is based 

on a totally different scenario to the social values of the GBR.As a charter operator i have been 

asked countless times over the years to participate in research studies, the latest being a survey by 

dpi&f to study how many barra charter fishers kill and the sizes of those fish. But they were not 

interested in how many we release and that is why i tell them all to get nicked these days as they 

will only turn this info against us in the form of a rediculous fishery decision. The charter and 

commercial sectors have been crippled in the last 5 years as a result of several fishery regulations 

being introduced by political promises to the green movement and its going to get worse as leaks 

have suggested the marine park to increase to over 50% green zones after the 2011 review of the 

GBR. Must be the 52.6% they promised WWF back in 2003. By the way can anyone tell me why 

spearos would try to shoot a trigger fish in the first place, i know i never have. Glad i sold my reef 

boat when you could sell one.Posted by: Ryan Moody of hinchinbrook 10:36am Monday 

This is disappointing. As an environmental resource management scientist and a spearfisher, this 

article appears very poorly researched and reported to me. it appears the aim is for sensationalist 

headline grabbing rather than accurate reporting. Safe, Sustainable and SELECTIVE most 

accurately describes spearfishing as it is practiced in Australia (and on the GBR). To consider 

spearfishing on a par with netting is unrealistic and misguided. Fishing pressure in general on the 

GBR is very low compared to the rest of the world, and spearfishing has about the lowest impact of 

all the methods used. I have yet to meet a spearfisher who does not care for the environment and 

for the sustainability of the fish stocks. Many are actively invovled in the collection of both scientific 

data and anecdotal evidence that may be used by regulators to best manage both the ecosystem 

and the fish stocks. please consider contacting the Australian Underwater Federation - 

Spearfishing, or other State or Local spearfishing groups to gain a better understanding of how the 

activities are practiced here, you will find it is not comparable to subsistence collection and netting 

in other parts of the world. Posted by: Matt Anscomb of Townsville 10:18am Monday 

I can understand the outrage by spearfishermen in these comments, but the Bulletin article chooses 

just a small section of the results of this study. The original article 

http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=23651107408 talks about commercial and 

poor subsistence fishermen in the tropics and the need for compensation if any bans are put in 

place. It was investigating measures for heavily bleached reefs to allow them to bounce back, not 

wholesale closures in general (especially areas with quotas, size limits and marine reserves). 

“Selective gear restrictions offer reef managers and fishers alike some middle ground, reducing 

pressure on the reef and its fish while it is in the recovery phase, while also providing fishers with 

some options for their livelihood” Dr Cinner. The Bulletin draws the link to the Barrier Reef. The 

authors quote was originally "In principle, it can be used anywhere." Obviously it wouldn't be used 

where it wasn't needed. I also spearfish, but I understand that science is a search for truth, not 

influence. Posted by: Robert Hughes of Swansea 6:51pm Sunday 

This is yet another unfortunate case of science misinforming the public, and from a common 

source. Many such studies have merit and are relevant to those regions where carried out. What is 

failed to be acknowledged here, and time and again, is that fortunately the GBR context is very 

different. Spearfishing on the GBR is at very low levels, the target species are generally NOT the 

"susceptible fish species", and where they are taken, spearfishing very rarely takes the particular 

species identified by the same research centre as the most important for reef resilience. 

Furthermore these particular fish groups on the GBR are some of the most abundant. The authors 

clearly do not understand spearfishing practices on the GBR and also they undermine the 

considerable proactive efforts by Australian and GBR spearfishers in following best practice 

environmental standards. Make the local relevance clear to the public if you are going to publish 

this type of report locally, otherwise you are just misleading the public using false 

credentials!Posted by: Scott Whitby of Brisbane 10:25am Sunday 


I totally disagree with this study. Spearfishing is a ver ecologically sustainable sport as it is very 

species and size selective. The diver can choose the more prized, edible species, and their is also 

no bi-catch. The areas mentioned in the study are areas where overfishing had historically occurred 

and a large proportion of the targeted catch are herbivorous fishes. This scenario and issues does 

not occur on the Great Barrier Reef. Townsville Bulletin should do more thorough research into 

what they are printing before they publish it!!Posted by: Brendan Meale of Townsville 6:48pm 

Friday 

Sensation seeking "scientists" should be banned not spearfishermen. Tvle Skindiving Club 

members are very aware that their sport is based on safe, sustainable, selective fishing.Triggefish 

are never taken & many members do not regard parrot fish very highly and would rarely take the 

bag limits permitted by govt regulation.This proposal is not based on local science & is little more 

than a greenies wet dream. Posted by: John Picard of Townsville 3:31pm Friday 

Already mentioned is that Triggerfish are not targeted by Australian spearfishermen. Parrotfish hole 

up at night time when spearfishermen do not operate. They are not targeted whilst hiding inside 

reef structures! By daylight Parrotfish swim over reef structures and cross sandy bottom between 

corral structures. Most often when speared these fish are away from the coral structrures and 

spearfishermen target them in open water where they are not in front of corals which could be 

damaged. Speaerfishermen do not put spears into coral reef structures if they can help it. Spears 

are expensive and would stand to get damaged or lost if they did. If the scientists have studied 

spearfishermen in action on the Great Barrier Reef - let them publish their science. Until this 

happens I see no need for spearefishermen to answer ghosts. Posted by: Tony Heugh of Glass 

House Mountains 2:29pm Friday 

Spearfishing is selective (and possibly the most environmentally sustainable way to catch a fish) as 

it has no bycatch, does not use bait, does not damage habitat. It is a recreational only activity in 

Australia and has numerous environmental restrictions (clarity, depth, weather) and Govt 

regulations as to where it can occur, what species can and cannot be taken and size restrictions. I 

am proud to be a sustainable recreational spearfisher and a member of the Townsville Skindiving 

Club and Australian Underwater Federation whose mission is "Bringing sport, conservation and 

awareness to the underwater world" (www.auf.com.au). Yes we legitimately catch a small number 

of quality fish to eat, we also take photos, love the exercise of freediving and we lead community 

monitoring projects such as Great Australian Shark Watch.I would welcome Dr Cinner and other 

scientists to talk to spearfisher or participate in spearfishing on the GBR to observe the sustainable 

activity of Australian spearfishers before they make any further outlandish statements. Posted 

by: Adam Smith of Townsville 1:25pm Friday 

Spearfishing is one of the most ecologically sustainable methods of fishing. Spearfishing allows the 

hunter to size up the prey before the kill and there is also no by-catch. A restricted dive depth of up 

to approximately 18m makes the impact of spearfishing insignificant on natural populations and 

ecosystems. I believe there are more important issues to address when considering threats to the 

reef. Agricultural runoff, pollution and commercial fishing pressures have a far greater impact on 

marine ecosystems. In a country such as Australia, that is supposed to be in the midst of an obesity 

epidemic, spearfishing should be encouraged as a great healthy lifestyle of gaining exercise while 

eating fresh healthy seafood that is caught sustainably. Activities such as spearfishing exposes 

people to the beautiful marine environment we have on our doorstep and therefore helps people 

gain a greater appreciation and respect for the marine environment and its sustainable use. 

Encouraging inclusive input from people such as spearfishers, who have a great understanding of 

the oceans' processes, many solutions may be found to help keep the GBR healthy and sustainable 

for many years to come. Posted by: Grant Russell of Sydney 12:52pm Friday 

This is yet another unfortunate case of science misinforming the public, and from a common 

source. Many such studies have merit and are relevant to those regions where carried out. What is 

failed to be acknowledged here, and time and again, is that fortunately the GBR context is very 


different. Spearfishing on the GBR is at very low levels, the target species are generally NOT the 

"susceptible fish species", and where they are taken, spearfishing very rarely takes the particular 

species identified by the same research centre as the most important for reef resilience. 

Furthermore these particular fish groups on the GBR are some of the most abundant. The authors 

clearly do not understand spearfishing practices on the GBR and also they undermine the 

considerable proactive efforts by Australian and GBR spearfishers in following best practice 

environmental standards. Make the local relevance clear to the public if you are going to publish 

this type of report locally, otherwise you are just misleading the public using false credentials! 

Posted by: David Welch of Townsville 12:08pm Friday 

it's a shame that jcu science is out of touch of the real world. would be avaiable to comment on 

anything marine , boating ect anytime with an informed blanced opinion. call me on 0428988229 

andrew Posted by: andrew mead of townsville 10:50am Friday 

It never ceases to amaze me how these antifishing ratbags want to ban everything, one activity at a 

time until there is nothing left. Banning spearfishing as if that activity is reponsible for overfishing 

and coral damage is absurd. Spearfishing is a very hard activity. There is no by catch and certain 

species and sizes can be targeted. Unlike line fishing and netting where you can catch anything. 

There is not any overfishing on the Great Barrier Reef Posted by: Mike Forfar of 

townsville 10:27am Friday 

Spearfishing should not be banned. It is the most selective form of fishing there is and highly 

regulated in Qld and Australia in general. Trigger fish are not target species and parrot fish are 

subject to strict size and bag limits in Qld. K. Chard Spearfishing Representative- GBRMPA FRAC 

Posted by: Kevin Chard 9:35am Friday 

what next I suppose this is a lead up (excuse)to impliment a fee or levi if you like to our recreational 

spear fishes. Carn't imagine what damage a hand full of spear fishes could do compared to what 

get pulled up the commercial nets and left to die. Sometimes I think these people have to much 

time on their hands and make these ridiculous statements to be seen to be doing something to 

justify their positions. Sounds awfully fishy to me. Posted by: Evol Fayers of Cape 

Cleveland 7:30am Friday 

I hope that common sense will protect those beautiful fishing grounds around Australia.No need to 

end up like the Philippines are now a big coral trout here is rarely bigger than 10 inches. Posted 

by: Paul Linder of Davao 7:26am Friday 


The Sandgroper Shield -A new, revitalised competition for WA 

skindivers 

It is no secret that in recent years there has been a huge drop-off in competitive spearfishing in 

Western Australia. However, this year there has been National and International competitions in our 

backyard, exposing us relatively new divers to the rigours and opportunities of Species/Swim 

competitions. As a reserve for the Inter-Pacific team, I spent a week with experienced competition 

divers, savouring the opportunity to learn by observation and inquisition. I also learnt more about 

the competition scene that used to exist in WA, which helped to develop the divers that still stand out 

amongst their peers today. 

A group of us had whet our appetites at the Nationals, and were eager to continue the steep learning 

curve of competition. With no one likely to stick up their hand and do it for us, it was up to us to 

organise our own. This was the birth of the Sandgroper Shield - a series of 9 events to be held over the 

financial year, all either shore dive or swimming from an anchored boat. The spirit of these 

competitions is intended to be about gaining experience and improving as spearfishermen, but no 

doubt a competitive drive will develop to take the Shield with the best score over 7 of the 9 events. 

Competitions in WA have a recent history of poor turnout, due mainly to a focus on pelagics and big 

fish. If that is the case with the Sandgroper Shield it will still run. If there are 5 regulars and a handful or 

part-timers, competition will still be provided for the keen. The vision is to help develop a group of 

competition spearfishermen that would be able to hold there own in a National Titles across the 

Nullabor, and to dominate the next National Titles held in WA. 

The first event will be a shoredive held in the Cape-to-Cape region, on the weekend of the 15-16th of 

August. This time of year may be difficult for weather, but by choosing the best venue Cape-to-Cape 

and selecting the best day of the weekend some great fish will no doubt be landed. Anyone wishing to 

take part, please email me at camo.snow@gmail.com to be added to the contacts list. 


South Coast Championships 

Jervis Bay, NSW 

The comp held over two 

days..Forty spearos signed 

on .Overall winner Jack 

Lavender runner up Garth 

Byron 

Conditions in the bay were calm 

outside one an half to two 

metres swell from the south, 

vis was good . 

Divers went as far south as 

wreck bay and up north to the 

wide bomby of currawong. 

Good species of fish 

were weighed in. All divers went 

to the presentation, and all went 

home with a prize. Everyone 

had a good time. 

Everyone that fished the comp 

.Thankyou for making it a great 

weekend 

Eddie skerry 

eddieskerry@wix.com.au 


EDEN – Queens Birthday long weekend 

Winner Gunther Pfrengle 2 nd Jack Lavender 

Winner Junior- Ryan O Donnall John Higgins and Boarfish 






News from Victoria 

Bluewater hunting in Victoria 

The run of southern bluefin tuna off Portland and Port MacDonnell was strong again this year with 

fish being caught from February to June. Fish over 100kg were caught on line, but most were 

between 20-35 kg. A few keen spearos had a crack at the Australian Record of 28 kg. A few fish were 

speared including this 16 kg tuna by Murray Peterson. This fishery is getting better and better each 

year and it won’t be long before a seriously big fish is taken! 

VRFISH mag 

VRFish are Victoria’s recreational fishing peak body who aim to represent and advocate the interests 

of the Victorian recreational fishing community. While VRFish members are primarily anglers, 

SCUBA divers and spearfishers are also represented. A feature article was recently included in 

VRFish’s magazine “Fishing Line” in which we were able to promote the sport, dive flag awareness, 

the Southern Freedivers and the AUF. This magazine can be downloaded here 

http://www.vrfish.com.au/newsletter/FishingLines-April09.LR.pdf. 


Victorian Spearfishing Challenge 

Murray Peterson won the Victorian Spearfishing Challenge, narrowly defeating Jordan Hill. Some 

great fish were weighed in including kingfish to 15kg, plenty of sweep over 1 kg and some monster 

crayfish. 

SPECIES in gms Flathead Sweep Snapper Whiting Snook Crayfish Kingfish Trevally Squid Salmon Total 

NAMES 

Murray Peterson 900 1140 700 640 1980 4140 10920 900 1480 800 75 

Jordan Hill 1305 750 845 635 2195 2950 1460 1850 975 70 

Rob Torelli 705 1130 620 1080 5050 15080 1050 2040 59.5 

Ryan Harris 500 1040 770 590 700 3430 1800 380 590 830 53 

Leigh Elliott 780 560 1990 13110 1100 1720 1110 52 

Aaron Crocombe 1350 1090 480 2140 4010 680 39.5 

Chris Monaghan 1090 450 430 1560 1880 460 26.5 

Drew Fenney 710 1840 1255 24 

Matt Koopman 1190 825 18 

Christian Hughes 1620 1550 885 760 17 

Josef Bednarek 635 530 11 

Louie 

Papadopoulos 2125 10 

Adam Greenhow 3180 10 

Paul Dorfstatter 535 2860 9 

Jack Monkiewicz 1130 8.5 


Club Championship 

Results of the club championship are shown in the table below. Drew Fenney beat Murray Peterson 

in A-grade. Leigh Elliot and Greg Sperring took out B-grade and C-grade respectively. Trent Crane 

improved throughout the season to take out the Junior titles and Ashleigh Illingworth won the Ladies 

section. Ryan Harris won the photo comp with this great pic of a cuttlefish. He won this comp last 

year as well. 

1st 

Drew Fenney 

2nd A Murray Peterson 

3rd Ric DeVries 

1st 

Leigh Elliott 

2nd B Christian Hughes 

3rd Jason Horne 

1st 

Greg Sperring 

2nd C Andrew Vibert 

3rd Luke Donnison 

1st 

Trent Crane 

2nd 

3rd 

Jnr. 

Jordan Whitmore 

Ashleigh 

Illingworth 

1 Ladies Ashleigh 

Illingworth 



R e c o r d s ( c l i c k t o v i e w ) 

L a t e s t R e c o r d 

R a n d o m R e c o r d 

Divers Name: C. WHALLEY Divers Name: R. BARNES 

Weight: 5.830 kg Weight: 1.650 kg 

Common 

Marbled Rock Cod 

Names: 

Scientific Epinephelus 

Name: polyphekadion 

Common 

Maori Sweetlips 

Names: 

Scientific Plectorhinchus 

Names: multivittatus 

Date 

20-02-2009 Date Captured: 08-11-1984 

Captured: 

NO IMAGE ON FILE 


BLAST FROM THE PAST 

Some photos from last century 


For immediate publication 26 March 2009 

Community shark monitoring project enters a new era 

The highly successful Great Australian Shark Count project is to undergo a name change to better reflect the 

scientific benefits the project offers. This community-based project, previously coined the name GASC, will 

now be known as Great Australian Shark Watch. The project has so far won national awards and generated 

enormous community support. This project has also attracted enormous community and media interest due to 

a number of shark attacks on swimmers, surfers and divers this summer. 

“The new name better reflects the information generated by the project.” says Dr Adam Smith, national chair 

for the Australian Underwater Federation spearfishers and the project co-ordinator. “Although the project 

actually involves the community counting sharks, it will not be informative about trends in shark population 

numbers. The data collected will however be very useful in showing scientists and managers where and when 

particular shark species are found. This type of information is lacking and will become even more useful with 

several years of data collected.” 

With the help of the community, particularly divers and spearfishers, the project has recorded several 

thousand shark sightings, including the unusual record of a leopard shark off Sydney, a species generally found 

in tropical waters. 

With the success of the project so far, organizers are very keen to see Great Australian Shark Watch continue 

into the future, however this is currently in jeopardy says Dr Adam Smith. “The project funding runs out this 

month and despite several attempts we have not been able to raise further funds to ensure the project 

continues. This would be a real shame given the importance of sharks and the benefits the project provides.” 

said Dr Smith. “The education side of the project which has raised awareness of shark conservation has also 

been outstanding.” 

The project has organized four dedicated community shark monitoring weekends in four different states in the 

past year. The project will hold another one of these across the weekend of March 27 – 29 and are hoping for 

hundreds of keen skin and SCUBA divers to be involved. Organisers will lead a monitoring team in the Solitary 

Islands Marine Park in NSW, but urge divers from across Australia to monitor sharks on this weekend. To 

report shark sightings divers can go to the project website at www.auf.com.au and be in the running for 

random draw prizes such as wetsuits, t-shirts, posters and stickers. 

The Great Australian Shark Watch project has been supported by a range of Government, scientific, 

community and industry groups including DAFF, FRDC, Reef Check and The Ecology Lab. The organisers are 

disappointed that the project appears to be in is final stages due to lack of financial and government support 

and have recently written to federal and state environmental and fisheries Ministers and asked for ongoing 

funding but have received no response. 

“We have some dedicated volunteers who will help maintain the project database in the short term, however 

the long term future of the project will depend on future funding” says Dr Smith. “The project has proven that 

the diving community is interested in participating in monitoring sharks; however we need funding support to 

ensure we can harness this interest and put it to some use.” 


If you can assist in ensuring the future of the Great Australian Shark Watch project, require 

more information or wish to be involved in monitoring sharks please contact Michael Rupnik, 

Executive Officer on shark@auf.com.au or on 0400 367 424. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

---------------- 

The Australian Underwater Federation (AUF) is the national governing body for underwater sports such as underwater 

hockey, SCUBA, snorkel coaching and training, fin swimming, and spearfishing (a small but selective type of recreational 

fishing). The AUF is a member of Recfish Australia and is committed to working strategically together with all recreational 

fishers. The mission of the AUF is- 

Bring sport, conservation and awareness to the underwater world 

Media enquires to David Welch on 0414897490 and Michael Rupnik 0400367424 

www.auf.com.au 

MEDIA RELEASE 

So long and thanks for all the fish - a crisis for recreational fishers 

Australia is in crisis with bushfires, floods, cyclones, oil spills and stock market crashes. 

These haveaffected everyone and cost billions of dollars. Amidst all this chaos, recreational 

fishing is the most recent casualty due to a lack of support by the Australian Government. It 

may seem a small crisis but recreational fishing representation at a national level is almost 

gone thanks to lack of government funding. 

The peak national body, Recfish Australia has been told that the government will not provide 

any funding in 2008/9. Formed in 1983, this peak body has existed on a government grant of 

$100,000 peryear to represent a $2 billion plus industry with diverse interests and major 

challenges. This is the same federal government that has just handed out billions of dollars 

to jump start the economy and spent over $100 million on elite sport. This begs the question 

of why several hundred elite sportspeople are supported by the government but over 3.5 

million recreational fishers have no national support or national voice. 

Recfish Australia has a proud 25 year history and many achievements. It continues to 

represent Australia's 3.5 million recreational fishers at a national level on issues as diverse 

as loss of access;shark recovery plans; management of Commonwealth fisheries and the 

development of best practice guidelines for recreational fishing. Recfish Australia has also 

been at the forefront in battles over Marine Parks, protected and threatened species and 

sustainable management of fisheries resourcesand many more issues that impact on the 

future of recreational fishers. 

One of the major national issues is climate change and its impacts on recreational fishers. 

The lack of funding means that recreational fishers will have no coordinated body to 

represent them and no peak body to meet with government on climate change implications 

and the impacts arising from natural resource management, competing user groups and 

many other issues. “Without a strong, coordinated peak body, it’s inevitable that recreational 

fishers will be railroaded when it comes to natural resource management” said Len Olyott, 

CEO of Recfish Australia. 

Recfish Australia has managed the role of peak body through a combination of government 

grants, membership fees, project management fees and sponsorship funding and a huge 

volunteer commitment for 25 years. 

A small government investment of $100,000 a year from 2004-2007 supported professional 

staff and allowed Recfish Australia to deliver a high level of service to grass roots 

recreational fishers, its member organisations and the Australian Government and achieved 

positive outcomes for the community.In a media release from October 2008, the Federal 


Minister for Fisheries, the Hon. Tony Burke MP stated “The Rudd Government supports the 

recreational fishing industry, which generates jobs and tourism in rural and regional areas,” 

The Government also committed to a three-year, $2 million 

Recreational Fishing Industry Development Strategy. So, one of the questions that Recfish 

Australiahas continued to ask the Minister and the Rudd Government is how the $2 million 

will be spent andwhy is the peak national body not supported with any Government funding. 

Recfish Australia has recently developed a sponsorship and donations policy and is asking 

organisations and individuals to help where they can. Assistance from $100 to $100,000 or 

more willbe gratefully received and there is a range of benefits and rewards for becoming 

involved with thework of Recfish Australia. A Supporters Club has also been formed to allow 

individual fishers todirectly contribute and ensure that their voice is heard. 

The short-term goal for Recfish Australia is an annual core funding of $400,000 per year to 

allow theorganisation to effectively represent the recreational fishing sector. “Fishers are 

quite happy to spendhundreds of dollars on fishing tackle so surely $20 to support a national 

organisation that will ensuretheir rights are recognised is not a big ask.” said Olyott. Details 

of the policy and how to becomeinvolved can be found on the Recfish Australia website 

www.recfish.com.au or by contacting Len on 

0427073356. 

ENDS 

Media Contact Len Olyott 0427073356 or Adam Smith 0418726584 

Media Release 

Please forward to your networks 

For Immediate distribution 22 June 2009 

Recfish Australia committed to sustainable recreational fishing 

Recfish Australia today reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that sustainable 

recreational fisheries continue in Commonwealth Waters. This follows two expert panel 

workshops to consider the conservation values for the East Marine Bioregion. The 

workshops, recently held in Cairns and Sydney involved a wide range of experts from a 

variety of community sectors including: commercial, recreational and charter fishing, 

marine tourism, shipping, state government, conservation NGOs and marine scientists. 

The meetings were the first step to discuss conservation values presented in the draft 

East Marine Bioregional Profile and to assess possible threats and existing threat 

mitigation measures. Public consultation will occur later in the process but all 

recreational fishers are encouraged to write to DEWHA with their comments about the 

draft profile. 

Recfish does however, have significant concerns with the process, not least of which is 

the short time line for delivery with a draft plan for marine protected areas expected by 

mid 2010. “We are talking about an area of Commonwealth Waters (between 3 nautical 

miles and 200 nautical miles from the coast) that runs from near the tip of Cape York in 

far north Queensland to past Bateman’s Bay on the south coast of New South Wales. 

There is not a lot of information about the ecology of the region and there is not a lot of 


time to collect information about the extent of recreational fishing in Commonwealth 

Waters.” Said Len Olyott, CEO of Recfish Australia. 

Participants at the Cairns workshop voiced grave concerns about the fisheries data 

presented in the draft profile which was considered outdated and in some cases, 

inaccurate. Regarding recreational data, Olyott had this to say “The Australian 

Government is relying on recreational fishing data from a national survey conducted 

nearly 10 years ago, a lot has changed since then and more people are accessing 

Commonwealth waters in private boats or through expert charter operations. Any 

closures that ban fishing will have huge negative impacts on regional economies and will 

result in large scale job losses. We believe that recreational fishing in these areas is 

sustainably managed. The problem is that we need time to collect the data to prove our 

case.” 

The biggest threat to recreational fishing remains the calls from extreme conservation 

groups such as the American- based Pew Environment Group that continues to lobby 

government to close extensive areas in the Coral Sea and off Southwest Australia. 

Recfish Australia encourages all recreational fishers to apply political pressure through 

their local federal MPs and senators to guarantee that all sectors have a chance to 

present their case and to guard against any secret deals. To find out more about how 

you can become involved, visit the Recfish Australia website: www.recfish.com.au 

ENDS – Media Contact Len Olyott 0427073356 or Bruce Schumacher 

0418499322 

Mentoring- could it help Spearfishing? 

A contemporary view of mentoring defines it as a voluntary relationship based on mutual respect, 

trust with a two-way communication process. It provides an opportunity for sharing skills and 

experiences so individuals can develop towardstheir personal and work related goals. 

The mentor has knowledge and experience to offer the less experienced person. The mentee needs to 

have the drive to acquire this wisdom or insight. Ultimately, the mentor cannot force the mentee to 

learn or control how these insights will be implemented by the mentee. 

The value of a mentoring system is in the availability of an individual that understands the processes 

or issues confronting a colleague and who can offer the benefit of being able to ‘see around the 

corner’. 

Mentoring has become an increasingly popular method of developing skills and knowledge. Its 

effectiveness is attributed to several key factors: 

1. Timeliness- The mentee receives the information/skill they need when they need it 

2. Relevance- Real world issues can be discussed and progressed 

3. Customisation- This relationship exists to meet the needs of the two parties involved and can 

therefore be customised to suit those changing needs. 

Mentoring Skills 

Core Mentoring Skills (needed by both mentors and mentees): Listening, Actively, Building Trust, 

Encouraging, and Identifying Goals and Current Reality. 


Australian Underwater Federation Inc 

Susan Dockar 

A.U.F. Memberships 

P.O. Box 195 

Menai Central N.S.W. 2234 

Ph/Fax: (02) 9543-4907 

Email: SoozieD@bigpond.com 

Full Name: (print)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 

(Surname) Given Names 

AUF Membership No………………………………………..……… New……. Renewal 

Spearfishing and/or Freediving Club………………………………………………………………………….. 

Address: (No. & Street)………………………………………………………………………………………………… 

Suburb:……………………………………………………………..State:……………...Post Code:…………. 

Phone: (…..)………………………………………..Mobile:………………………………………………………. 

Fax:: (…..)…………………………………………email:………………………………………………………… 

Occupation: …………………………………………………….Date of Birth:………./…………/…………… 

Male: Female: 

Representing all Freedivers, Spearfishers and underwater sports enthusiasts 

NOTE: A.U.F. m/ship + National and State Spearfishing Commission memberships due 1 st July and expires 30 th June 

each year. 

NEW ONLINE FORM at www.auf.com.au 

Or contact Sue Dockar AUF Memberships – P.O. Box 195, 

Menai Central, N.S.W. 2234 (02) 9543-4907 


Do you want to learn more about Spearfishing? 

Perhaps you or your club should contact one of these AUF accredited and trained 

Spearfishing coaches. 

Darren Craig - Central Coast Sealions (NSW) Accred Sept 2005 - 2009 - AUF Exp 30/6/06 

(no contact info) 

John Van Blanken - Tweed/Gold Coast Freedivers (QLD) Accred to Jan 2010 - AUF 

exp 30/6/08 (07-5593-9034) 

Cameron Miller (QLD) - Acccred. Feb 2011 - AUF exp 30/6/07 (0438-801-990) 

Les Tryk (Newcastel Neptunes) NSW - Accred. exp Jan 2014 - AUF 30/6/09 (0402-459- 

233) 

Mary Anne (South Australia) – 0419804685 mary-anne.stacey@bigpond.com 


Australian Underwater Federation Inc. 

SPEARFISHING SAFETY RULES 

These Safety Rules are intended to minimise the risk of injury or mishap to divers 

engaged in Spearfishing. Divers are encouraged to adopt these rules without 

exception and to promote them amongst divers who may not be familiar with them. It 

is the responsibility of all A.U.F. members to make our sport as safe as possible. 

While engaged in Spearfishing you should: 

* Tow a safety coloured float (yellow, orange or red) with an International Code “A” flag 

(signifying diver below) displayed in a vertical position above the float. 

* Attach game to the towed float so that the game is carried away from your body. 

* Carry a knife that is attached to your body and which is readily accessible. 

* Carry a plastic safety whistle and a reflective signal mirror. 

* Wear a weight belt fitted with a single hand operated, quick release buckle. 

* Never load or carry a loaded speargun out of the water. 

* Ensure that speartips are suitably sheathed while not in use. 

* Ensure that you are not under the influence of any drugs or medication that may 

impair your senses, judgement or physical ability. 

* Cease diving if for any reason you are not feeling well. 

* Take liquids to ensure that you do not suffer the effects of dehydration. 

* Avoid hyperventilating by taking no more than 2 or 3 deep breaths before holding 

your breath. 

* Always dive with a friend or tell someone where you will be diving and your estimated 

time of return. 

* Obtain a current weather report for the time that you will be diving. 

* Be on the alert for boat traffic and ensure that you are visible to passing vessels.

G at Australian Seachange Newsletter - Southern Freedivers

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