Junior OzFishers is aimed at children aged between four and 14 years old, and is exclusively for OzFish members.
It features 10 challenges designed to engage, entertain and educate young waterway stewards. As a reward for completing each challenge, the Junior OzFishers receive a dedicated badge to show off their achievement and keep track of how many challenges they’ve completed.
“Since launching in 2015, OzFish has had the clear goal of creating better habitat for better fishing,” OzFish Habitat Programs director Cassie Price said.
“It’s something we are proud to have seen happening on an ever-growing scale, and Junior OzFishers is the next step. It will ensure the latest generation of recreational fishers do their part for a sustainable and long-term future for recreational fishing.
“We already have many children and young people engaged in our projects through our family and junior memberships. However, we realised we didn’t have anything dedicated solely to engaging our young members.
“This program is designed specifically for them and we hope it will encourage even greater numbers of young Australian rec fishers to get involved.”
The 10 challenges set Junior OzFishers tasks linked to habitat restoration, engagement and good fishing behaviours. They include recycling, catching pest species, inventing a new fish ‘hotel’, writing about fishing experiences, catch-and-release best practice and more.
Each challenge has a badge featuring an iconic native Aussie fish, such as yellowbelly and Murray cod.
To find out more, visit https://ozfish.org.au/junior-ozfishers/