Assessment of recreational fishing in NSW is conducted via the Recreational Fisheries Monitoring Program (RFMP), which undertakes surveys of recreational fishers every 2 years via a telephone-diary survey and in-person boat ramp survey.
The 2025-26 telephone-diary survey is about to commence, and aims to find out who goes fishing and how often, general information on where they fish (e.g., the estuary, river or lake), and what they catch. This information will provide indicators that measure how the recreational fishery is performing, and is critical for the assessment and management of NSW recreational fisheries.
The success of this work relies heavily on the cooperation of the recreational fishing community, and whether you fish a little or a lot we encourage you to participate in the survey if contacted. All fishers and encouraged to review the RFMP participant information summary available here. Importantly, participation in the research is completely voluntary, and any information provided through the survey is de-identified and completely confidential.
For more information about the RFMP, and to see the outcomes of previous surveys, please visit here, or contact the survey team at recreational.fishing.survey@dpi.nsw.gov.au.
