Fish Mainland’s passion for ‘making things happen’ led to our stall at the Outdoor Expo being very busy with recreational fisher enquiries. Our new ideas on display included the Mainland Catch app, Scallop Pot, Dingle Dangle and Eco Bait!
Our goods on display
First, there was our Mainland Catch app for fishers to self-report their catch, effort and location data. Our website has links to download the Mainland Catch app and videos on how easy it is to use: www. fishmainland.nz
The scallop pot attracted a lot of attention, supported by a video of the pot catching scallops, which demonstrated that it works while causing far less damage than dredging to the environment.
The Dingle Dangle would assist in the management of several South Island areas, like the Marlborough Sounds. Its primary benefit is that it clips the bait below the hook, which allows small sized fish to nibble the bait but not get hooked. The bigger fish can take the bait and get hooked in the corner of the mouth.
This device eliminates the waste caused by hooking small sized fish, provided fishers are prepared to use it to assist in fish stock recovery, like blue cod.
Ecobaits are New Zealand-made, eco-friendly bait products that stay on a fishhook longer than other baits, enabling more fish to be caught more cheaply. The product range includes non-plastic, biodegradable soft bait, a super attractant, non-frozen burley mix, and easy-to-use ‘fish lollies.’
Overall, very positive reactions from all
We ‘spread the word’ about Fish Mainland in every way we could during the two-day Expo! The app alone ‘reeled in’ 385 Expo attendees to our Fish Mainland Database!
There were several attendees who took our Mainland Catch app leaflet, but did not provide their contact details. And many attendees were impressed that we promote more environmentally friendly harvesting methods.
For the two-day Expo, there were only four negative reactions by attendees – a person from Kaikoura and three North Islanders.
We had various ‘giveaways’ – Roses Chocolates, Paua Knives, Fish Species Posters, Measure Your Catch bands, Fishing Paper & Hunting News, Junior Fishery Officer badges and Fisheries NZ information booklets/leaflets.
We also helped Canterbury Sport Fishing Club, in handing out their new club information leaflet to interested Canterbury Fishers.
We had ‘Tindale Marine Research Charitable Trust’ posters and various supportive South Island Club posters displayed at our site!
Both days of the Expo we held raffles for free cases of Tohu Wines, BBQ aprons and Wine Coolers. The raffle winners were:
Day One: Jason Ward of Christchurch. Drawn by the Outdoor Expo organiser; Marc Featherstone.
Day Two: Mark O’Loughlin of Christchurch. Drawn by Fishing News reporter/ professional forager; Peter Langlands.
We ‘topped off’ the two-day Expo with $275 given in donations.
Please show your support for Fish Mainland by becoming a member for free and making donations via our website or bank account no 03- 0823-0101056-000.
