Popular fish species such as mahi-mahi are expected to fall hook, line and sinker for fish attracting devices being reinstalled along the NSW coast, Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, said today.

“Twenty-five fish attracting devices (FADs) are installed each year by the Department of Primary Industries off the NSW coast to enhance fishing opportunities for recreational fishers,” Katrina Hodgkinson said.

“The FADs, have already been deployed off Wooli, Coffs Harbour, South West Rocks, Port Macquarie, Laurieton and Forster with a number of additional FADs, including some near Sydney, to be set up in the coming months. 

“DPI monitoring has shown these devices are very effective at attracting fish species including mahi-mahi and even marlin.

Katrina Hodgkinson said the FAD program is just one of many initiatives funded by the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust.

“Funds raised from the recreational fishing licence fee are placed into two trusts, one for saltwater and one for freshwater, and this money can only be spent on projects to improve recreational fishing in NSW. “These FADs are a great example of how licence fees are used for the benefit of fisheries from across NSW.”

The devices are designed to withstand harsh coastal conditions and are deployed between six and 32 kilometres offshore from October to June. Their locations may fluctuate slightly depending on wind, swell and current direction.

People who use FADs are asked to abide by a code of conduct that can be found on the NSW DPI website and anglers can now sign up for emails to alert them of the locations of FADs and other relevant information.

For locations and more information visit the DPI website.