About AFANT
AFANT was formed in 1980 by a group of keen anglers who wanted
a body to represent and advocate their interests to the government
of the day. Incorporated in 1980 the organisation is recognised
by the government, both the NT and Commonwealth, as the peak body
representing all angling interests in the Northern Territory.
A group of 11 people, elected by the members, forms the committee
which manages AFANT’s activities. A full time Executive Officer
and Office Manager are responsible for carrying out all the office
and administration functions, the day to day management and are
the main contact point for members, government and it’s agencies,
the media and the general public.
There is a large range committees that AFANT is on including the
Spanish Mackerel Fishery Advisory Committee, Mud Crab Fishery Advisory
Committee, Darwin Harbour Advisory Committee, Cobourg Fisheries
Management Area Advisory Committee, Daly Region Community Reference
Group, Northern Planning Advisory Committee of the National Oceans
Office, Tiwi Coastal Waters Consultative Committee and many more.
All of these provide the opportunity for the recreational fishing
industry to have a say on the day to day management of fisheries,
input to policy development and the forward planning for sustainable
development.
There have been many advances and improvements made for recreational
fishing in the NT. Some of these include the relocation of the prawn
from proposed for Shoal Bay, the closure of the Daly, Mary, Roper,
Victoria, McArthur and Adelaide Rivers and Darwin Harbour, Shoal
Bay to commercial barramundi fishing. All because of the efforts
of AFANT in lobbying the government of the day to secure resource
allocation.
We have become more involved recently in data collection and research.
AFANT has 3 logbook programs running at present, the 1st program
is the Billy Taylor Barrawatch which began in January 2001. This
program collect’s valuable information on the Roper and Victoria
Rivers. The second is the McArthur River fish tally project, this
project began in November 2002 and target’s 9 species, Barramundi,
Jewfish, Bream, Threadfin Salmon, Grunter/Javelin, Mangrove Jack,
Blue Salmon, Golden Snapper and Queenfish (skinny). The McArthur
River was closed to commercial fishing in July 2002. The 3rd is
the Adelaide River Barra Census.
A pilot project on the movement of juvenile barramundi is being
principally funded by AFANT and will involve a joint collaboration
with NT Fisheries Research. We also managed the tagging records
for the recreational component of the Spanish mackerel genetag project
on behalf of the NT Fisheries Research group. www.fisheries.nt.gov.au
We offer a family membership which will provide you with 4 newsletters
per year, a Reidy’s fishing lure key ring but most importantly,
the knowledge that your interest in recreational and sport fishing
is being looked after by AFANT.
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