Winter greetings,
Next month is the start of spring so something to look forward to. This should see everything bursting back into life and I most sincerely hope we see also a “bursting into life” in our responses to the Association. I have a few BIG concerns :-
- We sent out last month a response form to obtain contact details so that Greg can easily contact clubs with regard to his (our) regular column in the NZ Fishing News – I have had 3 returned !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Our Membership Year commenced on the 1st.June – we have had only 7 Clubs renewed to date. If not received by end of next month you will be considered, according to the Constitution, as non-members.
- We make repeated requests for email addresses – Clubs may not have an email address themselves but we know there would be members in clubs who could receive club email material on the clubs behalf. I get literally dozens of emails sent to this office addressed to clubs because on the websites the shown email address for a great number of clubs is still the NZACA address. Time is fast approaching when we will be wiping that contact address. It is your club which is missing out.
- Applications showing catch details – you can’t tell me there is only one or two clubs out there catching fish ! One club (who has renewed their membership) has just received a whole bunch of Merit Certificates for fish caught during June. Sure, there a no records amongst these, but in addition to the Merit Certificate issued they are now in line to be considered for Annual Awards. This is all thanks to an “on-the-ball” weigh-master in that club. Why is your club not doing the same ?
Please note due to lack of Record or Pin applications there is no change to current pin weights so there is Records Report issued again this month
Masters Award – received recently an application for this Award. We do not issue very many of these but they are not really that hard to obtain. Have a read of your Members Manual concerning this great achievement recognition. There is no time limit attached to working towards this award. How many fishers in your club can boast a badge with the words MASTER ANGLER underneath ???????? Do your Club Members know about it ???? Why not spend some time at a Club Meeting discussing all the various awards that your members can have a go for. A trophy or certificate recognising achievements is a great boost and encouragement to any fisher. Don’t forget your juniors also in this discussion. Why not invite an NZACA Executive Member to a club meeting to discuss this and other matters concerning your Association.
It is with a sense of great loss and sadness that we heard of the recent passing of Max Hetherington on the 17th. of last month. Many of you would know of, or heard of, Max; to others he may have been an unknown. Max was the Secretary/Manager of the NZ Recreational Fishing Council. He has been the front for/of that organisation for something like 16 years. He and I often shared the frustrations and concerns of our two national groups and I know he held our Association in high regard for its ongoing support of the NZRFC. This is a man who is going to be greatly missed and it is only as time goes on from his passing will we really realise how much he did for recreational fishing in this country. The RFC are setting up a Trust in his name to provide a source of funding to train people into the field of recreational fisheries management. This is something of a real need in this country and I know Max would be fully supportive of such a move. If you want to know more about this Trust and maybe making a donation towards it either contact myself or the RFC President, Keith Ingram.
Have you seen the revamped “NZ Fishing News” ? It is slightly smaller in size and with better quality paper etc. and continues to be a great read. It was good to see in the August issue a number of writers endorsing club membership and mentioning the NZACA, in addition to the excellent column by our own Greg Smeal. Greg needs material from you to keep this column relevant and readable. Great also to see feature writers who are NZACA members in the opposition publication “Fishing Coast to Coast” – keep up the good work and thanks for flying the NZACA flag.
NATIONALS – are you receiving up-date material from our New Plymouth hosts for next years event ? If not contact me urgently. This is going to be a great event and planning is well advanced. It is also going to be our 50th. Anniversary celebration. So come and enjoy great fishing, opportunity to compete with fellow casters, great comradeship and fellowship and join in the celebration of belonging to one of the oldest (if not the oldest) national recreational fishing organisation in this country. We have a lot to be proud of but the future is dependant on the members of your club and clubs like yours – clubs who got together 50 years ago and established this organisation to look after their interests and defend and uphold their fishing rights.
50th.Anniversary Badge. We are going to issue a one-off special 50th.Anniversary badge. This will a gold badge (naturally to mark 50 years) and only a limited number produced. We are starting to take orders now (order form attached) and the cost is just $10 per badge. We expect these to be in hot demand and a much sought after item. So get your club orders in promptly to ensure that your members don’t miss out.
WEBSITES – As you are aware (at least I hope you are) we have two websites. There is our own www.nzaca.co.nz and our part in the comprehensive site www.fishing.net.nz. Websites are great – BUT only if they are up to date and relevant. To often when websites are not used by those for whom they were set up for they become not only irrelevant but also tend to put people off. We are very fortunate that this Association and your club has access to these sites at no cost. You can have you own web page at no cost to you – where else can you get such a deal !
But yet again we have to say these opportunities are being missed out on because too many clubs are not taking advantage of such. In this day and age there are hundreds of people using computers and the world wide net and we all need to be taking advantage of what that can mean for us and our club. Com’on let’s get into the real world, let’s get of our apathetic backsides, let’s take notice of what is happening around us ! It is not just a case of “all I want to do is go fishing” because unless we get motivated (or more realistically support those who are in the front line) much of what we have we will lose. I was at the RFC Conference recently and heard the Minister strongly suggest that maybe the question of licensing should be re-thought – Is that what you want ?????
Club Membership in many cases is falling – but against that trend there are a very few clubs whose membership is climbing – why is that ? There are obvious answers – if you have club number problems talk to those clubs who are in good shape.
Because club membership and the number of clubs is dropping, so this is affecting this (your) Association. Is our 50th. Anniversary going to be marked by our smallest membership yet ? We have dropped in numbers year by year now and unless checked the future for the Association is bleak. Sure there are great things happening out there – you have a very keen hard working Executive, you have NZACA Members who are part of the MOF/DOC Regional Forums, as mentioned before NZACA and Club Membership matters are showing up in national publications, we continue to play our part in the NZRFC, and some of the Executive had a very good meeting with the Minister of Fisheries the other day. Lets build on these positives, take the challenges in both hands and get out there and all do our bit for (i) ourselves, (ii) our clubs, (iii) our national body, and (iv) recreational fishing in this country. I have put ourselves first in this order because for most of us that is where our priority lies – BUT again unless number (iv) is right number (i) will be the one that is disadvantaged in the end.
My final plea in what has turned out to be a sermon is that to often we continue to hear that the grass-roots Club Member does not get to see or read what comes out of the national office. So whoever receives this issue of Secretarial Jottings we most sincerely and humbly ask that you don’t keep it to yourselves but that you circulate, discuss and respond and let’s all together strive to face the challenges which are before us.
May the forthcoming fishing season be good for all of you and that we have the strength of numbers to make recreational fishing what we all want.
Graeme Dawber
YOUR Association Secretary
