Keen angler program

The Keen Angler Program collects fish skeletons (frames) from recreational fishers to monitor the status of fish stocks. Fisheries Queensland uses the biological information from these fish frames (and other information provided by recreational and commercial fishers) to assess fish stock health and help evaluate the effectiveness of fisheries management arrangements.

The Keen Angler Program relies on volunteers. You do not need to be an experienced fisher or fish regularly – you just need to put your frames in labelled bags (provided by us in a sampling kit), store them in your freezer for a short time, and deliver them to a drop-off location (see the list below) or contact us to organise collection.

The fish frames you provide are processed in our laboratory – we measure the frames, determine the sex and remove the otoliths (ear bones) to estimate age.

Find out more about our monitoring programs.

Donate your fish frames

We’re after frames of the following fish caught in coastal waters from Rockhampton to the Gold Coast.

Rocky reef fish

Coral reef fish

Inshore fin fish

Other fish

Drop-off locations

Drop off your bagged and labelled fish frames at any of these participating businesses (during normal business hours).

Town Business name Business addressPhone
Bundaberg Tackle World Bundaberg 22 Quay Street
Bundaberg, Qld 4670
(07) 4153 4747
Tin Can Bay Cooloola Coast Seafoods 69 Gympie Road
Tin Can Bay, Qld 4580
(07) 5486 4990
Rainbow Beach Gardiner Fisheries 1 Karoonda Road
Rainbow Beach, Qld 4581 
0404 853 232
Hervey Bay Fisho’s Tackle World Hervey Bay 59 Torquay Road Pialba,
Hervey Bay, Qld 4655
(07) 4128 1022
Sandgate Tackle Land Sandgate 78 Rainbow Street,
Sandgate, Qld 4017
(07) 3269 5060
Coomera Coomera Houseboat Holidays 84 Shipper Drive,
Coomera Qld 4209
(07) 5502 6200

Get involved