Peter Kind
Principal Scientist, Recreational Fishing.
Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F), Brisbane.
Peter abandoned the carefree life of a PhD student in 1997 and joined DPI&F to participate in research programs targeting lungfish and Mary River cod. A series of creative HR deals allowed him to remain with the freshwater research team until 2001 when he was forced to buy a pair of long pants and move to Fisheries Head Office in Brisbane.
Having infiltrated the bureaucracy Peter now plays a major role in the management and delivery of freshwater fish stocking programs in Queensland. In 2006 he lined up with other hopefuls to try on the grey cardigan vacated by retiring freshwater don Peter Jackson. The cardie fitted and Peter accepted the role of Principal Scientist in the newly formed Recreational Fishing Unit. This role encompasses a variety of areas including surveys of recreational fishing, fishway research, lungfish monitoring, threatened species management, freshwater fisheries and of course fish stocking.
The Presentation
Native freshwater fish are stocked into Queensland waters for a range of purposes including recreational fishing, conservation and mosquito control. Fish may also be stocked into farm dams and other private waters within legislative restrictions. Fish stocking in Queensland is managed by DPI&F under legislative, policy and consultative frameworks, which define considerations such as appropriate species for stocking and suitable catchments for release of individual species.
Fish stocking to enhance recreational fishing opportunities operates as a partnership between community stocking groups, DPI&F and the aquaculture industry. In this program stocking groups work closely with DPI&F district advisors to develop stocking management plans, which form the basis of applications for stocking local water bodies.
DPI&F follows decision making protocols to guide the formal consideration of applications and the issue of stocking permits. Stakeholder consultation is an integral part of the decision making process. Once appropriate permits are issued, stocking groups negotiate the purchase and arrange delivery and release of fingerlings from commercial fish hatcheries.
In this presentation, I will provide further description of management arrangements for various stocking programs in Queensland including stocking private waters, stocking for mosquito control and conservation based stocking programs.