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Speaker 1: Now earlier in the week you've probably heard on the show,

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Speaker 1: we're talking about some concerns that rob Hampton might be

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Speaker 1: emerging as the Barrow Monday Capital of Australia thanks to

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Speaker 1: the success of its net free.

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Speaker 2: Zone in the Fitzroy River.

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Speaker 1: Now joining me in the studio to talk about this

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Speaker 1: and talk about plenty more, including the AGM that is

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Speaker 1: on this evening for a fan t It is AFANS

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Speaker 1: CEO David Chiivolo.

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Speaker 2: Good morning to you, David.

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Speaker 3: Good morning Katie, and good morning to your listeners.

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Speaker 1: Great to have you in the studio mate, and obviously

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Speaker 1: all eyes on this cyclone, but all eyes tonight on

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Speaker 1: a Fans AGM as well.

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Speaker 2: No doubt going to be a really big meeting.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, look, absolutely will be.

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Speaker 4: There's always big issues on the agenda for the AGM,

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Speaker 4: and as you quite rightly said, people are wondering, is

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Speaker 4: the territory still the Barraw capital? Yeah, you know, yes

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Speaker 4: it is, I would say, but I think there is

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Speaker 4: work to be done.

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Speaker 3: I think that's really important.

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Speaker 4: But we're also going to be hearing about what the

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Speaker 4: plans are to make sure that that is the case.

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Speaker 4: But we've also got some other really big challenges on

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Speaker 4: the horizon, like the management of golden snappers. So yeah,

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Speaker 4: absolutely going to be a big meeting tonight.

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Speaker 1: It will be and you know, so many important things

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Speaker 1: to discuss when it comes to fishing in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: Now mate on these on the barrow in Rockhampton.

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Speaker 1: People are talking about the fact that you can go

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Speaker 1: to Rocky, you can fish the Fitzroy River. You're catching

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Speaker 1: you know, there's all these meterries being caught, particularly at

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Speaker 1: a recent all the Fitzroy River barrow Bash where they

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Speaker 1: apparently had hundreds of competitors two hundred and seventy three

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Speaker 1: fish more than a meter landed.

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Speaker 2: I mean, what do you think that seats.

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Speaker 4: Well, look, firstly, you can't say anything other than that's

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Speaker 4: a tremendous amount of meteries and it's a wonderful to

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Speaker 4: see a territory and go over there and show them

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Speaker 4: all how it's done and you know, claim the title.

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Speaker 3: So that's absolutely wonderful.

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Speaker 4: And the fact that there are lots of big fish

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Speaker 4: there is no doubt testament to a number of things,

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Speaker 4: the banning of netting in the Fitzroy catchment, the fact

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Speaker 4: that the Fitzroy is a huge catchment. I don't know

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Speaker 4: if people appreciate it's three times the size of the

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Speaker 4: Daily River catchment, or twice the size of the Roper catchment,

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Speaker 4: which is our biggest catchment in the Northern territory.

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Speaker 3: So it's a really big river.

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Speaker 4: And they're also doing the fishing there towards breeding time

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Speaker 4: in the lower reaches of the river, which is the

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Speaker 4: exact opposite end of the season too, when we have

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Speaker 4: our competitions reaches towards the end of the runoff high

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Speaker 4: up in the river systems, like in the Daily River,

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Speaker 4: where you do get a much greater mix of fish,

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Speaker 4: and particularly a lot more small fish because the smaller

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Speaker 4: fish push up into the floodplains when they're younger and

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Speaker 4: migrate into the lower reaches when they're older. So you know,

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Speaker 4: a bit of apples and apples and oranges there in

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Speaker 4: some ways taking nothing away from the great fishing. But hey,

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Speaker 4: let me say, the territory is not about one river.

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Speaker 4: We've got a lot of great rivers and we've got

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Speaker 4: a lot of big fish.

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Speaker 1: David, do you reckon we're at the point like do

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Speaker 1: we need to try and phase out these skillnets more quickly,

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Speaker 1: and do we need to do more to try and

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Speaker 1: increase our barren numbers.

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Speaker 4: Look, I think it's absolutely important that we send a

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Speaker 4: really clear signal around where we're at with the government's

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Speaker 4: commitment to phase out Barra Mundy guil netting. So, firstly,

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Speaker 4: the COLP has been completely unequivocal about this. They're going

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Speaker 4: to end gilt netting and they're going to do it

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Speaker 4: by the end of the twenty twenty eight term of government. Now,

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Speaker 4: a logical time to end that is probably around the

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Speaker 4: end of October twenty twenty seven, which is only two

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Speaker 4: years away, because that's when the season ends, and I

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Speaker 4: think to have a half season for baraon Mundy gill

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Speaker 4: netting is probably going to be a disaster both for

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Speaker 4: industry and politically. So Look, we're only a couple of

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Speaker 4: years away as it is, and what we're hearing from

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Speaker 4: fisheries is that most of the licenses are out aren't

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Speaker 4: out there fishing anymore I can, so that's a positive.

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Speaker 4: But at the same time we do need to be

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Speaker 4: on the front foot and be really positive about why

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Speaker 4: we're doing this. You know, we've heard the Minister say

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Speaker 4: on other interviews that it's about supporting recreational fishing and tourism.

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Speaker 4: That message needs to be front and center that the

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Speaker 4: territory remains the barrier capital of the world, and we

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Speaker 4: really need to do a good job of promoting that

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Speaker 4: we have a net free and t something we've been

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Speaker 4: talking about for a long time.

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Speaker 2: How important do you reckon that is?

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Speaker 1: You know, to fishermen that come to the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 1: do you think that that's like do you think that's

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Speaker 1: something that they're looking at if they're choosing between Rocky

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Speaker 1: and Darwin.

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Speaker 4: I think it's about the experience, and you know, working

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Speaker 4: with a lot of people in the tourism industry, we

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Speaker 4: know that people come here for the experience that they've

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Speaker 4: booked in years in advance for the runoff. Fishing in

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Speaker 4: Rockhampton at the moment is closed. The season has closed.

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Speaker 4: It ended at the end of October. Our season's open.

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Speaker 4: We've got million dollar fish running. You know, I heard

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Speaker 4: some talk about shoulder season. Million dollar fish is the

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Speaker 4: shoulder season competition. It ensures that we've got fishing through

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Speaker 4: the build up, through the wet season and into the

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Speaker 4: beginning of the run or into the runoff. And so

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Speaker 4: the territory has offerings and fishing experiences that a place

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Speaker 4: like Rockhampton simply can't offer.

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Speaker 1: Oh look, there's a lot that we offer that Rocky

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Speaker 1: doesn't if you ask me as a girl who grew

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Speaker 1: up in Queensland.

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Speaker 2: But I won't go into that now.

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Speaker 1: Let me ask you though, in terms of the AGM tonight,

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Speaker 1: I would imagine this is definitely high on the agenda.

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Speaker 2: You've got the Minister attending, don't you.

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Speaker 3: We certainly do.

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Speaker 4: We certainly do, and I would be wrong for me

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Speaker 4: not to mention that my colleague has just come back

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Speaker 4: ready for the AGM, been away for a week fishing.

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Speaker 4: Her family caught fifteen meteries in the past week. It

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Speaker 4: spot come to the AGM, you'll find out where she went.

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Speaker 4: And you're quite right, we've got Minister Meilee is coming

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Speaker 4: to address our meeting, the Deputy Chief Minister. We're really

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Speaker 4: looking forward to hearing from him and where his government's

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Speaker 4: at with the Barramundy Gilneting buyout, what's happening with the

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Speaker 4: Golden Snapper management and so we're really looking forward to

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Speaker 4: having Minister Maitly there because not only is he a

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Speaker 4: Deputy Chief Minister, but we know that he's a mad

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Speaker 4: keen fisher.

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Speaker 2: He certainly is. So where are things that with the

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Speaker 2: golden snapper issue.

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Speaker 4: Well, look, we've got a presentation from Fisheries tonight on

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Speaker 4: golden snapper.

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Speaker 3: Twelve months ago at our AGM.

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Speaker 4: In fact, the week of our AGM, I think I

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Speaker 4: might have been standing here talking to you, and Fisheries

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Speaker 4: had released a stock assessment saying that they were concerned,

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Speaker 4: still concerned that management that was put in all the

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Speaker 4: way back in twenty fifteen appeared not to be doing

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Speaker 4: the job and that stock levels were depressed. Now we're

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Speaker 4: twelve months down the track and we've got another update

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Speaker 4: coming from Fisheries. Help We've also had some sector based

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Speaker 4: working groups getting the latest information from Anti Fisheries, which

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Speaker 4: they hopefully will be talking about with the community tonight.

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Speaker 4: But it looks like there is more management required for

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Speaker 4: golden snapper. But this there also a lot of unanswered

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Speaker 4: questions about this stock. Like people may not realize, but

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Speaker 4: we've not actually been actively managing these stocks for a

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Speaker 4: very long time. You go back twenty five years and

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Speaker 4: they're just beginning to start to understand what the golden

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Speaker 4: snapper stock is in the Northern Territory and we own.

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Speaker 3: We still don't know.

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Speaker 4: Where they breed, how far out to see they go.

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Speaker 4: There's a lot of unknowns, but a lot of long

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Speaker 4: term fishes also would say the fishing has declined around

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Speaker 4: Darwin for golden snapper, so we probably do need some management,

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Speaker 4: but we want to try to make sure that balances.

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Speaker 4: But we're innovative about it so that we don't just

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Speaker 4: know ruin all of the benefits that come along with

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Speaker 4: being able to go and fish for other species. So

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Speaker 4: I would say to people you want to find out

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Speaker 4: what's going on with that, come and hear from fisheries.

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Speaker 1: So can anyone head along, what like do they need

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Speaker 1: to be you know, does there need to be any

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Speaker 1: prerequisite for them to come along?

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Speaker 4: David, There is one very important prerequisite, and it's that

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Speaker 4: you are interested in recreational fishing.

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Speaker 3: If you're.

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Speaker 4: If you're interested in recreational fishing, we'd love to have

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Speaker 4: you along at our AGM. You'll be hearing from myself

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Speaker 4: around some of the big issues, what we want to

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Speaker 4: see with the barrel mundy netting buy out over the

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Speaker 4: next twelve months, what we want to see on golden snapper.

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Speaker 4: There's also going to be a presentation from Water Resources

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Speaker 4: about water allocation plans for the Daily River and the

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Speaker 4: Adelaide River to really important barrel Monday fisheries. There's going

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Speaker 4: to be an update on artificial reef trial that's happening

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Speaker 4: out there in Darwen Harbor. So really, if you love fishing,

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Speaker 4: there's only one place to be tonight and that is

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Speaker 4: to come along to the FNAGM.

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Speaker 3: It's at the Lear which is was the travel Lodge?

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Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yes, sixty four Kavanagh Street in the city.

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Speaker 2: What time is that kicking off?

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Speaker 4: Well, it starts at six sharp with registrations from five

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Speaker 4: to fifteen, So please come along early, have a drink

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Speaker 4: on arrival.

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Speaker 3: I've got some great lucky door prizes.

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Speaker 4: You could win a Roden reel, you could win a

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Speaker 4: NAFA subscription, maybe even a few Lamb based fishing guides also.

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Speaker 1: So they went off, they went absolutely, have you sold

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Speaker 1: a heap of it?

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Speaker 3: We have sold thousands of them to our wholesalers, our retailers,

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Speaker 3: and what.

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Speaker 2: A good Christmas gift as well, don't you reckon?

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Speaker 3: Absolutely?

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Speaker 4: And that's why the retailers have been stocking up for

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Speaker 4: Christmas because the demand for them has been huge. And

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Speaker 4: I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a lot

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Speaker 4: of people fishing around the shore. Million dollar barrow does that,

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Speaker 4: but also people knowing where to fish, when to fish,

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Speaker 4: what tides to fish.

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Speaker 3: They've got the Bible in their pocket.

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Speaker 2: Now it's perfect, It's so good. It is such a

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Speaker 2: great thing to have.

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Speaker 1: Hey, really quick question, Now the well, Kathleen says to me.

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Speaker 1: She'd imagine that fishermen are going to be hoping there

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Speaker 1: is a well. This is the signe of a potentially

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Speaker 1: good wet season, which would mean a good runoff, but

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Speaker 1: only if the rain continues.

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Speaker 2: David, what do you reckon?

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Speaker 3: Well?

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Speaker 4: Look, absolutely sustained rain that arrives early, rises on the

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Speaker 4: floodplains and keeps the floodplains up. That is the engine

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Speaker 4: room of our barrel Mundy fisheries. That is what really

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Speaker 4: brings in all of that energy potential that's actually sitting

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Speaker 4: on the land and the floodplain and turns it into

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Speaker 4: food for fish, and then those fish take it out

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Speaker 4: back into the rivers for the years ahead.

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Speaker 3: So fingers crossed for it.

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Speaker 4: I'd prefer it to come without the wind, Katie. I'm

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Speaker 4: more than happy for just a nice slow rolling monsoon

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Speaker 4: and hopefully you know, everyone stays safe. And I'd love

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Speaker 4: this cyclon just to skirt us, but you know, keep.

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Speaker 3: Its distance exactly.

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Speaker 2: I'm with you. I'm definitely with you. David Girovolo, CEO

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Speaker 2: of AFA. Lovely to catch up with you this morning.

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Speaker 2: Thanks so much for your time.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Katie, thank you,