RECREATIONAL fishing is proving extremely popular, charter tours are vital and diving tours are fast establishing themselves says Exmouth Charter Tours operator George King.
Mr King has had more than 30 years experience in the fishing industry.
“I do a lot of business where people come for a week at a time and about ten will come for that week,” Mr King said. “But we also do lots of business booked through agencies and we take up to 12 people out for the day.”
He caters for about 200 clients a month during the busy period, of which 90 per cent come from WA – but more and more are coming from the eastern states.
Mr King said there were perhaps too many operators in Exmouth, although the number of licences had now been restricted.
“Even though there are too many now, it should be right for a while,” he said. “The way we can survive is by controlling the resource.”
Game fish are available and many are released after being caught. In the last big fishing competition 31 boats entered and 104 fish were released, some of them weighing 300 kilograms.
Mr King believes educating the public to be responsible anglers is on the right track but he feels there is a lot more work to be done.
