TOURISM AND GAME FISHING GROUPS WELCOME NEW ERA
Tuesday, 4 October 2005
TOURISM AND GAME FISHING GROUPS WELCOME IN A NEW ERA
Voyages, owners of Lizard Island Resort, the Lizard Island Game Fish Club and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) have reached an historic agreement putting an end to the outdated practice of hanging and weighing game fish.
The agreement follows many months of discussions surrounding the removal of the gantry, a 30-year-old weigh station structure located on the main beach in front of the Resort at Lizard Island.
The gantry is within a marine national park zone but is operated by the Game Fish Club which has used it during the Club's annual competition - the Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic - and also to weigh any potential record breakers during the heavy tackle season.
Voyages has been agitating, along with strong support from Australia's peak ecotourism body, EcoTourism Australia, to have QPWS deny the permit to re-open the weigh station.
"The gantry is a totally inappropriate operation in an area with such high ecological and conservation values." said EcoTourism Australia Chair Clare McFarlane.
Voyages CEO Grant Hunt applauds the move by the Lizard Island Game Fish Club to move forward with a tag and release only competition from 2006.
"Our company is committed to nurturing and protecting Australia's sensitive and complex eco and cultural destinations so that our guests might enjoy them for years to come. I am delighted that we have now been able to find a way to preserve Australia's magnificent marlin and also provide the game fishing fraternity the continued opportunity to enjoy their sport in the beautiful waters off the Queensland coast." said Hunt.
Lizard Island Game Fish Club President, Bob Lowe agrees. "We have discussed the way forward with Voyages and agree our future tournaments will be Tag & Release only, for the continued scientific study and conservation of Black Marlin. Our club members and partners are committed to leading the way with this initiative."
The gantry has now been removed from the island with the Club weighing at sea for the 2005 competition prior to tag and release being introduced exclusively in 2006. Voyages will become a sponsor of the Club's Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic in 2006, the same year the event celebrates its 20th anniversary. A prestigious perpetual trophy commemorating the Lizard Island 1000 pound Tag and Release club will be housed in the Lodge.
Voyages is an Australian travel company, providing experience-based holidays in spectacular wilderness locations including the Red Centre, Queensland, The Kimberley and Tasmania. Voyages operate award-winning properties such as Ayers Rock Resort, Longitude 131°, Lizard Island, Silky Oaks Lodge and Cradle Mountain Lodge.