Fishcare Victoria has just reprinted the popular Weigh Your Catch snapper ruler, which allows recreational anglers to estimate the weight and age of a snapper based on its length.
The rulers were produced care of a $22,132 grant from the annual Victorian Recreational Fishing Grants Program, which puts fishing licence fees to work on projects that improve fishing opportunities.
“Designed to be applied to the side of a boat, the stick-on rulers improve the health of snapper that are released by reducing the time they spend out of the water,” said Fishcare’s Scott Gray who led the development of the product.
“By lying snapper down on the ruler anglers can quickly get a weight estimate of the fish without suspending it on scales.
“While good handling is not as important for fish that are going to be retained for the table, it is critical for released fish, whether they be undersize or in excess of anglers’ personal needs,” said Gray.
The ruler also contains useful information about snapper and their habits, colour pictures of adult and juvenile snapper for identification purposes and a list of tips about good fish handling practises.
The Weigh Your Catch snapper rulers will be available free of charge from selected retail fishing tackle stores in the coming weeks.
For more information check out www.fishcare.org.au.
