A STATEWIDE fishing competition will cast off across Queensland this September to celebrate 25 years of the state’s Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme (SIPS), in what organisers are calling the most ambitious freshwater event of its kind.
Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett made the formal announcement of the competition at the Australian Lure Fly and Outdoors Expo at Fernvale on Saturday.
First established in 2000, SIPS was designed to support community stocking groups to improve recreational fishing opportunities in impoundments and weirs by funding the release of native sportfish.
Since then, it has grown to cover more than 60 waterways and helped stock tens of millions of fingerlings across the state.
The two-week catch-and-release fishing competition will be held during the September school holidays (September 20- October 6), open to all age groups and skill levels.
“This is a celebration of the volunteers and communities that have made SIPS what it is today,” President Garry Fitzgerald of the Somerset and Wivenhoe Fish Stocking Association said.
“That permit money goes back to stocking groups across Queensland. It’s what maintains our freshwater fisheries.
I’ve got no idea how many millions of fingerlings SIPS has funded, but it’s been a game-changer.”
The competition will run across all 63 SIPS-registered impoundments and feature native “hero” fish species specific to each waterway, including barramundi, Australian bass, golden perch, sooty grunter, silver perch, southern saratoga and Murray cod. (Mary River cod will be excluded due to their conservation status.)
It will be managed via a dedicated app, with participants required to catch, photograph and release legal-sized fish.
Prize categories will include junior and senior divisions for male and female anglers, with a total prize pool of $189,000 – including $1,000 prizes for senior winners and $500 for juniors in each location.
A previous tagged fish competition, Fish’n’SIPS, led to a 15 percent increase in SIPS revenue and the highest financial return for the program on record.
Organisers hope this larger-scale event will deliver even bigger returns, allowing stocking groups to release more fingerlings.
Mr Fitzgerald said $4,000 was raised through raffles at the Expo to fund fingerling releases.
“This competition is about recognising what we’ve achieved, and making sure the next generation gets to enjoy it too,” he said.
