Vital boost in growing region’s fishing tourism industry

Help for anglers coming to four popular fishing spots.

Kinchant Dam

PROMOTIONAL funding will flow to Peter Faust, Kinchant, Teemburra and Eungella Dams thanks to a successful grant submission by Mackay Tourism.

The funding will be used to deliver a program to encourage recreational fishing in the four impoundments in the Mackay and Whitsunday Regional Council areas.

The program involves information and promotional pieces including a brochure, website and social media.

It will help anglers to compare the quality and quantities of their catches of key species including barramundi and sooty grunter.

Anglers will be encouraged to catch and release fish to enable sustainable catchments.

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The program will be aimed at a wide range of participants including families and individuals from the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday regions and tourists who travel to Queensland to participate in recreational fishing.

Mackay Tourism chief executive Tas Webber said the funding would prove vital to growing the region’s fishing tourism industry.

“To have four world class barramundi and sooty grunter impoundments located in proximity, is a real catch for recreational anglers,” he said.

“The Four Dams Recreational Fishing program will further build upon marketing strategies of Mackay Tourism, Tourism Whitsundays, Mackay and Whitsundays Regional Councils and strengthen our region’s appeal to the considerable recreational fishing tourism market.”

Tourism Whitsunday chief executive Tash Wheeler said the program would provide benefits to local tourism operators.

“Promotion of the region’s fishing impoundments has a significant flow on effect throughout the region’s economy,” she said.

“Each additional visitor that comes to the region to fish our impoundments, often brings with them family, and spends money on accommodation, food, bait, and tackle.

“The funding will also provide a catalyst for stimulating private investment to meet demand for fishing product.”

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The Four Dams Recreational Fishing program will start in August and run through until May 2021.

Delivered in partnership with Tourism Whitsundays, the funding forms part of Round 2 of the FNQ and NQ Monsoon Trough – Category C – Flexible Funding Grants Program.

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