Victoria’s fishing licence: how to boost revenue MELBOURNE
Ross Winstanley
Coinciding trends are on a collision course for Victoria’s recreational fishers, and one possible solution could be to replace fishing licence exemptions with low-fee licences. While considered in 2016 and 2019 reviews of the Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), the Government has opted to retain the current system for now. To d a y, despite population growth and annual fee increases, as annual licence sales are falling, the rate of increase in licence revenue has stalled, averaging $8.2M since 2016/17. At the same time, the Victorian Government is shifting more of the costs of its core responsibilities and policy programs to the licence fund. This is reducing the RFL Grants Program funding available for recreational fishers and their allied interests, which was the original purpose of the RFL fund. On top of this, fewer fishers than ever now take out the recreational
fishing licences that support essential programs; in 2018/19, just 31% of adults who fished bought licences. The minority are subsidising the majority of fishers, as well as funding Government programs. Two things could help the RFL Grants Program to operate sustainably: require all adult fishers to contribute as stakeholders, according to their means, and reduce governments’ share of RFL funds.
Figure 3. Plan for the Grants Program to receive 75% of RFL funds from 2003/04. 94 JUNE 2023
STALLED ANNUAL RFL REVENUE After increasing for 15 years, annual licence numbers peaked in 2014/15, then began a continuous decline, reaching their lowest-ever level in 2021/22 (see Fig.1). This occurred despite Victoria’s 40% population growth since the licence began in 1999. And, it occurred while participation in fishing had risen to 16% of Victoria’s adult population in 2018. Further still, it occurred while the Government invested $90 million trying to boost annual participation to one million adult fishers. The slide in sales counteracted indexed increases in annual fees. As a result, annual licence revenue has plateaued since 2017, averaging $8.2M over the past six years (see Fig.2). Part of the explanation for the declining sales may be disinterest among young adults. Released in March 2023, the report of the National Social and Economic Survey of Recreational Fishers, 2018-2021 found that the highest level of disapproval of recreational fishing by Australians was among 18-24-year-olds. If this continues while they age, and if future entrants to that age group hold similar views, then the percentage of Victorian fishers holding licences may decline even further. DECLINING GRANTS FUNDS Why does this matter? If fishing is managed for the benefit of fishers, and helps all who wish to fish to do so, why should we care if annual licence revenue has stopped increasing every year? While there may be other reasons, the most immediate concern for fishers is the impact on
funding available to them through the RFL Grants Program. When the licence was established in 1999, its main purpose was to establish a large and growing annual funding source for projects developed by or in conjunction with fishers to improve recreational fishing in Victoria. It was created with the understanding that it “applies the user pays principle equitably across the adult recreational fishing population.” Governments’ longstanding funding commitment to the recreational fishing program was to be maintained on behalf of the fishers who are exempt from the licence, and recognising governments’ responsibility to conserve the public fish resource. If the userpays principle is observed today, the Government’s annual contribution to the recreational fishing program should be $28M. Before the RFL’s introduction in 1999, the Amateur (or ‘freshwater’) Fishing Licence contributed about 40% of the Recreational Fisheries Program annual budget; the State budget provided
the other 60%. Now, the increased cost-shifting of state-funded functions to the RFL trust account has negated governments’ commitment to the user pays principle. Most “users” aren’t paying, nor are governments paying on their behalf. From the introduction of the licence in 1999, governments’ promise to fishers was to focus licence revenue on building the annual RFL Grants Program. This was made clear in ‘Your Licence Fees at Work’ brochures, which showed the target of 75% of funds to be allocated to the Grants Program, for projects of up to three years, developed by or in
Catchment Management Authorities have benefited significantly, with RFL funding for ‘habitat improvement works’ featuring prominently each year. While these projects have some fisher input or endorsement, to a large degree, fishers have become ‘project takers’, instead of ‘project makers’. After increasing steadily for 17 years, combined annual RFL funding commitments have flattened out at just under $4M pa, for enforcement, education/information, Fishcare, VRFish, fish stocking, and Target One Million/Go Fishing Victoria. Now, in the postpandemic times, it seems
conjunction with fishers (see Fig.3). That target was to be reached once repayments for the buyouts of commercial fishing licences were completed. The remaining 25% was to be allocated to ongoing compliance, VRFish, and RFL administration costs. However, by 2021/22, the Grants Program received only 14% of RFL revenue, while compliance and administration received 35% (see Fig.4). At 32% of RFL funding, the “Go Fishing Victoria” initiative now takes major credit for fish stocking, kids fishing events, festivals, and access. FISHERS’ LIMITED CAPACITY How has this happened? Governments don’t like to leave money unspent in trust accounts. So, when recreational fishers showed limited capacity for developing and delivering a steady stream of substantial R&D projects, government agencies, universities and other bodies capitalised by obtaining funding for works and research programs. For example,
inevitable that the RFL costs for most of these will continue to rise. The main concern for recreational fishers is that the funds available for competitive grants are at the lowest point since 2002/03 (when licence revenue totalled $3.9M). Additionally, of grants to ‘new’ projects reported in 2018/19, 60% went to the VFA’s projects, leaving just $732,000 for other projects. That is a concern for recreational fishers and their partners in R&D projects. It will be a particular concern as Government finances are set to tighten in 2023/24, increasing the Grants Program’s focus as the prime alternative source of funding for Go Fishing Victoria and other Government policydriven programs. So, how can recreational fishers get back more influence over the Grants Program? For a start, a group drawn from a crosssection of fishing interests could identify and prioritise R&D needs and invite expressions of interest from a range of potential
