Something in return for our money !

Many years ago - when the state government declared ownership of the fish in the sea - and slapped the need for a fishing license on recreational anglers - most people expected the cash gained to end up in that bottomless pit known as " Consolidated Revenue " !

We are about to gain an " Artificial Reef " to encourage an increase in the fish population, and it is going to be sited offshore from the mouth of the Shoalhaven river.    The exact location has yet to be decided, but it is promised that it will be near enough to be accessed by even the most modest recreational craft and it will be out of bounds to commercial fishing boats because it was paid for by fishing license fees.

This artificial reef will cost $ 955,000 and the specification is impressive.  It will consist of 800 cubic metres of hollow concrete cubes, each of which will have a height of four metres and weigh seventeen tonnes.    They will be sunk to the ocean floor, and over a period of time nature will endow them with algae and make them an attractive home for a wide variety of fish species.

This is a vast improvement on earlier artificial reef projects which mainly consisted of banding together used car tyres and sinking them in the ocean.    The problem was that they lacked both bulk and weight - and when one of the great storms rolled in the sea action either dispersed them or broke the bonds that held them together.

The north coast recently gained an artificial reef in the form of a decommissioned warship, but this will not be available to the fishing fraternity.   It is designated as a " dive wreck " and serious consequences threaten anyone dropping a fishing line in the ocean even in this wrecks near proximity.

At the time, many people who begrudge having to shell out for a fishing license questioned what fees the diving fraternity contributed  towards acquiring a home for their sport.

This Shoalhaven reef is a vindication that at least some of those fishing license fees are escaping the bottomless pit of  " Consolidated Revenue " !