Westcoaster 2016

The 2016 W S Lauries Westcoaster fishing competition was held at Little Huia by the Manukau Sportfishing club. Favourable weather conditions encouraged a high level of support and the event was well attended. This was the first year that arrangements had been made for competitors to donate fish frames and heads to the Papatuanuku Marae. The marae have set up a similar process of utilising fish parts with the Out Board Boating club, a project known as the Kai Ika project.

Lionel Hotene from the marae attended the weigh in and numerous competitors handed over fish frames and heads and several generous people were happy to give away whole fish to the cause of Kai Ika. Lionel then distributed the fish to members of his community who were very grateful for the fish.

The club was eager to work with the marae and utilise all fish that was caught during the competition, ensuring nothing was wasted and that more members of the community could benefit from the event, not just immediate competitors. The event was a great example of utilisation of all fish harvested, the third principle of FishCare.

Maraetai Beach Boat Club Kids Off Couches Fishing Competition

FishCare attended the Maraetai Beach Boating Club ‘Kids off couches’ fishing competition, Feb 2018

The Maraetai Beach Boating Club held its annual ‘Kids off Couches’ fishing competition February 6th 2018. FishCare was there to help educate family fishers about best practices with a focus on proper catch and release techniques. FishCare sponsored a catch and release photo section, which proved to be an effective educational tool in helping fishers understand and practice proper release techniques.

Brochures were included in the competition information package and participants instructed on how to best release fish after capture. A photo showing these techniques being practiced were then submitted for judging, with judges awarding prizes for the photos which showed the best technique combined with overall photograph quality.

A record 130+ participants took to the water, the event’s best attendance yet. The photo competition proved to be an easily accessible section of the competition and 50 entrants submitted photos. A big thank you to the organisers of the competition who strongly promoted the photo section and were key in making participants aware of the FishCare programme.

Hutcwilco New Zealand Boat Show 2017

The annual Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show is NZs largest and longest running fishing and boating event, regularly attracting 30,000+ people. At the 2017 event, FishCare played a big role in LegaSea’s outreach efforts, raising awareness of how recreational fishers can reduce their impact on the fishery. Brochures and chocolate fish were all part of the educational process and the show provided the perfect soft launch venue for the programme.

Members of the public warmly received the information with one comment highlighting the unique gap that FishCare can fill ‘it’s about time something like this was available for fishermen’. An estimated 3000 people were engaged at the busy 4 day event.

Eye on Nature Event 2017

LegaSea attended the Eye On Nature annual 4 day event put together by the Manukau Beautification Charitable Trust, held in the Auckland Botanical Gardens. Themed around nature, the environment, sustainability and community interaction, this year’s event was labelled ‘Edibles – from the ground to the table’.

This was the second year LegaSea had presented, the first event eliciting a very positive response from student participants and organisers who extended an invitation to this year’s event.

FishCare messaging was presented to 1800+ students with education focussing on proper fish handling techniques ie using wet hands, how to hold a fish etc. Real (dead) fish were handled which provoked all kinds of reactions as part of the learning experience. During our interactions with the students, we discovered 85% had not handled a fish before. The FishCare programme provided an excellent starting point for learning about our fishery, the marine environment and how to responsibly interact with it.

The final day of exhibiting took place on Saturday which was family focussed and included utilisation principles. A smoker was employed and whole fish including heads and frames were smoked and given out as part of the education process. A wide range of ethnicities and ages were present during the Saturday event and we interacted with an estimated 2000 members of the public, teaching hands-on lessons and distributing FishCare brochures.

Auckland On Water Boat show 2018

27th – 30th September

Viaduct Harbour, Auckland

Learn more about the event at The Auckland On Water Boat show 2018 Website

Fieldays 2018

13th-16th of June

Mystery Creek, Hamilton

LegaSea will taking fishcare to the ITM stand at the Fieldays.

Learn more about the event at The Fieldays Website

Hutchwilco Boat Show 2018

17th-20th May

ASB Showgrounds Greenlane

LegaSea will be taking FishCare again to the Hutchwilco NZ Boatshow, May 17-20th. Come on down and talk to the team about how we can work together to better help our fishery, by reducing our impact and staying informed not he issues that face one of NZ’s favourite pastimes.

For more info visit The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show website.