Farmer News
1 January, 2026
VRFish welcomes regulatory body
VRFish, the Victorian recreational fishing peak body, has welcomed the state government’s announcement of a new outdoor recreation regulatory body to encompass fisheries, game management and other outdoor activities enjoyed by Victorians.
VRFish chairman Rob Loats, said the creation of Outdoor Recreation Victoria would provide greater support to Victorians who enjoy getting outdoors, through merging the Victorian Fisheries Authority and Game Management Authority.
Outdoor Recreation Victoria will be empowered with the promotion and management of recreational fishing, boating, game hunting, camping and four-wheel driving.
In the future, it will expand to support other outdoor activities.
In Victoria there are over one-million recreational fishers and many also enjoy other outdoor activities that will be supported through the new authority.
“The establishment of Outdoor Recreation Victoria will make it easier for more Victorians to enjoy our great outdoors, will provide a single point of information for bush users, and demonstrates the government’s commitment to supporting active outdoor recreation,” Mr Loats said.
Access is a core VRFish advocacy area and VRFish has advocated for better access to public land and water for decades.
“We look forward to working with the expanded Outdoor Recreation Victoria to continue making fishing better for Victorians and achieve better access to public land for all outdoor enthusiasts,” he said.
VRFish encourages responsible recreation in our great outdoors and, through its Naturally Vic campaign has developed best practice guidelines to encourage people to leave the great outdoors better than how they found it.
VRFish has been proudly representing Victoria’s recreational fishing for 30 years.