Fishing facility lure for tourism
A NEW public fishing pontoon within walking distance of the CBD should be part and parcel of any Cairns foreshore redevelopment.
Recreational fishing is what Far North Queensland is all about – getting kids outdoors, off their phones and learning skills to prepare them for life after the revolution.
It is also a massive money spinner, not just for tackle shops flogging bait and lures, but the enormous tourism pull it commands.
People come from all over the world just to bag a barra.
One of the most interesting studies on the topic, if a bit outdated and unimaginatively titled, was published in 1990.
The Cost benefit of hatchery-reared barramundi, Lates calcarifer (Bloch), in Queensland authors found the direct spend for recreational fishers targeting barra, including travel costs, worked out to about $51 per 3kg fish.
That compared to roughly $19 for commercial fishers.
They further estimated the flowon effect to state and regional economies multiplied that spend by about three, meaning one decent sized barra could be worth $153 to the economy back in 1990.
Pier fishing is a cheaper proposal than taking out a dinghy, but those figures are still worth considering.
Times change, inflation happens and fishing trends ebb and flow, but the thrill of getting a dirty stinking monster fish on your hook is timeless.
Once upon a time the Marlin Marina was a fishing free-for-all.
Now it is heavily regulated with angling only allowed in certain areas, strict nocturnal cut-off times and fines for anyone who dares disobey.
There are also hush-hush expansion plans in the wings and talk of fishing eventually being banned entirely from Sailfish Quay. It’s understandable. Ports North is running a business and recreational jetty fishers will not give them the kind of money they can expect from berthings. But you cannot keep taking things away without replacing them.
Trinity Wharf is an option but remains a no-go zone whenever cruise ships come in, and for parents worried about their kids’ safety, it is a bloody long way down. Something has to give. Either a new dedicated fishing pontoon should be built on to the marina as part of its future expansion, or an entirely new site should be found jutting out from the Esplanade.
Cairns Regional Council has already vaguely outlined the potential for a new “deep-draught accessible public pontoon in the Cairns CBD” in its new four-year recreational fishing strategy.
It also unveiled a cartoonish concept in July for a transformed Esplanade with a new pier in line with Florence St, sticking out from an extended boardwalk.
Judging by the very preliminary drawings, the pier would run for about 100m over the mudflats.
Chuck an extra 100m on and fishos will be laughing, otherwise it will be fairly useless for wetting a line at low tide. Nobody waterskis out there anymore so it will not impose.
The beauty of the new Esplanade pier proposal is that everybody benefits.
A fishing gear hire and tackle shop could open nearby, as well as a cafe to give people the perk they need to lug in a 30kg barra.
Birdwatchers would get a fantastic vantage point to regard the city’s stunning population of lesser sand plovers.
Photographers would be ideally positioned to capture an entirely new aspect of the Esplanade as the sun gently rises.
Visiting newlyweds would have somewhere to snuggle among the sandflies, just out of earshot of Johno’s wailing guitar.
Plus it will make it easier to see a croc.