North Shore Underwater Club

Club Meeting

Kingfish Presentation

Invited by the North Shore Seahawks to attend their recent meeting and address their members on the upcoming Sydney Kingfish Cup, discussing some background about the USFA and its commitment to spearfishing along with the benefits of being a member of the Association saw me eagerly looking forward to catching up with a lot of like-minded people.

The large gathering, at least seventy people in attendance, were welcomed by Seahawks President Henry Blaker-Morgan and new attendees were made to feel welcome. Sport Secretary Matti Hallanoro gave an amazing report on recent club dive events including updated “Trophy Fish” catches. Here I am thinking, “Wow! What a great club to be a part of, what a presentation, and look at these great fish being caught…” then James Williams hops up and talks about his recent Mulloway adventures further captivating the crowd and drawing me in.

The core of the meeting now began as club Training co-ordinator Ali Gordon introduced Chi Lo and together they began a thorough presentation on Yellowtail Kingfish. All eyes were front and centre, an outstanding presentation. Now I am thinking that if you were a first timer to this club you’d become a member for life.

To talk about the Sydney Kingfish Cup in any time frame is difficult, as it is a huge, loveable beast, there is so much to say about it. I think the best and it is the shortest approach, is to say it is the social spearfishing event on the calendar, where else can 250 odd divers get together repeatedly over a couple of weeks and talk diving and fish, go diving and attempt to catch a fish while having a heap of fun doing all of it. Tick! Come along and be a part of it www.adrenosydneykingfishcup.com.au

The founding of the USFA by our pioneer fore-fathers is always a good story to retell. It begins post-world war 2 in NSW where Australians taking up the sport in droves after seeing it done in the Pacific Islands are being arrested for participating, and the threat of their new hobby being banned divers rally together and form the Association in 1948. Their basis of inclusion for all stakeholders to the resource – the right to spearfish; to have safe access and to not be restricted on headlands and shallow water reefs; to have a voice at the decision table; to encourage ethical and sustainable spearfishing ; and of course promoting safe diving practices is still pursued today by the committee, the clubs and their members.

Those in attendance took on board the messages, I left on a note that the North Shore Club have Sydney Harbour, Pittwater and the Northern beaches at their doorstep, they are privileged to have it, while the USFA and its clubs have fought for it for over 75 years, they need to continue to uphold the principles of our mantra Safe, Selective, Sustainable or they may well lose that privilege. Their President Henry, earlier in the night, stated the popular catch cry “…once you put on your wetsuit you are now wearing a uniform, you represent all spearfishers, do the right thing…”

With the passion and energy displayed this night it pleases me to see the Seahawks and spearfishing on the Northern beaches is in good hands.

Simon Trippe

President USFA

USFA Constitution Download

Kingfish Cup

Save the dates

Spearos save the dates for these Kingfish Cup events

Thursday October 31st – Information night at Adreno Sydney

Saturday and Sunday November 9/10th – Kingfish Cup

Thursday November 14th – Presentation at Adreno Sydney

From Bird Island to Bass Point be a part of the biggest Spearfishing gathering around Australia.

More information to follow soon.

Crevice Creeper an outstanding success

The Sealions have done it again! Their inaugural Crevice Creeper event was a great day for the eager divers in attendance with conditions seeing an average of 10m visibility across the Central Coast with the better visibility being on the south end of the coast; a one meter NE swell with the same wind direction 20-25 knots.

Thanks go to the 39 divers who travelled to Terrigal many from as far as Sydney’s southern suburbs, to Newcastle entering in this first time event. The Neptunes, and Dolphins were prominent in attendance.

A pairs event, each pair was allowed to enter two crayfish, two slipper lobster and two abalone between them, a very conservative amount being well under bag limits. Boats were used, too, many divers drove to locations and entered the water from the rocky coastline.

Wenjun with his outstanding 17.5cm Eastern Rock Lobster, heaviest on the day

Invaluable Research

Back at the sign off a total of 16 Eastern Rock Lobsters were presented to the weigh master, along with abalone and Slipper Crays. Marcus Miller a crayfish researcher from NSW Fisheries was invited by the USFA and he took valuable data of the captured Eastern Rock Lobsters. The USFA again assisting with scientific research to ensure our fishery is well managed into the future for generations to come.

Eric Yue a well known blue water hunter is also pretty adept with crevice creeping. Eric with this ERL over 17cm.

Results

Biggest Abalone – Kearin Timp – 570 gms

Biggest Slipper Lobster – Eric Yue – 770 gms

Biggest Eastern Rock lobster – Wenjun zhing – 2120 gms

Pairs 1^st place – Eric Yue and Wenjun zhing – 6345 gms

Pairs 2^nd place – Josh ward And Corey Thompson – 3520 gms

Pairs 3^rd place – Steve Montgomery and Josh Green – 3470 gms

Congratulations to Wenjun and Eric with their terrific catches.

Thank you go the Sponsors – Under Pressure Spearfishing – a new player in the spearfishing equipment industry, Hohnke Spice Rubs, Wet Mammal, EKF and Adreno Spearfishing.

Well done to all who entered the event and we look forward to a bigger, better Crevice Creeper tournament in 2025.

Harry Howes dialling in on Slipper Lobsters

thanks to Josh Ward the President of the Central Coast Sealions for providing information and images.

Simon Trippe

Be Ready

USFA AGM Meeting Minutes – 25th July 2024

USFA – AGM Report July 2024 Download

Alliman Shield Round 7

Kurnell Competition Round 7 Report: Making Waves Despite Rough Seas!

Location: Kurnell

Date: 7th July 2024

Host: Port Hacking Penguins

G’day, diving enthusiasts! The 7th round of the Kurnell Alliman, hosted by the dynamic Port Hacking Penguins, was an event to remember. Despite the challenging weather conditions with rough seas and varying visibility, the spirit of competition and camaraderie shone bright. A hearty cheer for the 31 divers who braved the elements to compete! It was heartening to see a diverse group, including female competitors and fresh junior faces, dive into the challenge.

**Individual Glory:**

1st Place: Warren Carter (PHP) – A stellar performance!
2nd Place: Gary Baxter (PHP) – Close on Warren’s heels.
3rd Place: George Manolias (SSD) – A commendable effort.

**Club Triumph:**

1st Place: North Shore
2nd Place: Sans Souci
3rd Place: Port Hacking

A round of applause and gratitude to the following stars who made the event seamless and enjoyable:

Gary Baxter: For doing the role call and providing the essential weather update.
Dave Greig: For organising the hot dogs and assisting with the weigh-in – a true multitasker!
Simon Trippe, Pat Mullins, and Daniel Coelho: For their invaluable help with the weigh-in.
Ryan O’Gorman: For setting up the ring – the backbone of the event’s setup.

Apologies if we missed anyone, but your efforts are much appreciated!

Despite the weather’s best attempts to dampen our spirits, the day was a resounding success.

It was fantastic to see so many sign on and participate, showcasing the vibrant and resilient diving community. A huge thank you to everyone who attended, competed, and contributed to making this competition memorable. Here’s to many more such adventures and may the seas be ever in our favour!

Stay tuned for the next round, and until then, dive safe and dive happy!

Report by Pat Ireland Sports Secretary SMZ USFA

George Manolias with a thumping Tarwhine

Adreno Sydney Kingfish Cup 2024

What is the Kingfish Cup?

The Kingfish Cup is about spearing a kingfish, over one weekend in Sydney’s prime Kingfish season, traditionally this is late October through November.

Where is it held?

“Greater Sydney” is the area entrants may enter. It stretches from Bird Island in the Central Coast to Bass Point in the South covering just over 250 kilometres of coastline. Weigh in Stations are at Adreno Sydney itself, Little Manly in Sydney Harbour, both Terrigal and Norah Head on the Central Coast, and of course Wollongong too.

Who enters the KFC?

Such a wide-ranging demographic of both age, sex, and area. Going on recent years we are expecting over 200 spearfishers entering including sub juniors from 14 years of age right up to Grand Masters (over 65’s), Ladies entries have been strong (9 ladies competed last year). Divers come from as far as Queensland to fish the event. Those who are not competitively focused also fish the Kingfish Cup. We also get relative newcomers fish the Kingfish Cup some of which spearing their first kingfish in the event.

How does it work?

The USFA runs the event, Adreno Spearfishing and its partners are a big part of the Cup and sponsor the Cup, and we work with the Adreno Sydney team to make it the success this community event has become. Prior to the Cup, some 8 days before, we host a “get together” at Adreno – putting on some great food – one of our members creates amazing paella, we explain the simple rules, we have guest speakers (spearfishing gurus) that discuss kingfish habits and hunting tips, and this year we have some great scientific data being divulged on Kingfish by a team that is tracking fish via satellite. A great social night that includes several prizes being given out, for the attendees, and for the early bird registers, including one major prize (to be announced).

Since the running of the inaugural event in 2019 we have seen healthy registration numbers from 170 to well over 200 entrants, thus it requires a lot of organising from an efficient team. Entrants register online, they are given details of the event and how to “sign on” and “sign off” (any times between 0800 and 1600 you may fish multiple times on a day) on each day – (some entrants fish only one day) this lets organisers know who is in the water and importantly when they are back out – safety is paramount. On safety, the organisers also make the decision on postponing the days fishing if the weather is decided to be inclement.

The fish are weighed in at the weigh stations, we try to keep the weights discreet to build some atmosphere for the presentation night the Thursday following the event.

The event is ethical! Sustainable too!

Kingfish are in healthy numbers along Australia’s east coast. Take 2023, when we held the Cup over two days, we had 235 divers in the water for approximately 1343 hours, of the fish that were caught it worked out to over 83.9 hours of effort per fish, with an average weight of 9.5 kilograms per fish. Spearfishing is amazing.

Dates to remember!!

1 – The information night –

To kick off the biggest event on Sydney’s spearfishing seasonal calendar we host a social & information night to bring the community together under one roof to set the scene for the following weekends event.
This Kingfish cup was born out of necessity, a competition built to bring our communities together in a sustainable and ethically focused competition with divers from all around Australia participating. A competition driven by inclusion, from the most experienced to aspiring greenhorn learning the ropes and piecing it together. This is what spearfishing is all about. Mateship, adventure, respect for the fishery and healthy competition.

A Q&A panel with kingfish gurus such as Aaron Puckeridge, Derrick Cruz, Matt Poulton, Josh Ward, Artie Mensdorff along with past champion’s the night’s goal is to share experiences and knowledge around Sydney Spearfishing with a focus on the Kingfish species. Feedback from you has been requested on the science of this fishery, and we are giving this to you on the night, we have a very dedicated team who have been satellite tracking large Yellowtail Kingfish off our coastline and they are excited to be sharing their findings with us on the evening. An evening meal catered by the Paella King Rico, throw in some sensational door prizes for those in attendance on the night, and to those who early bird register for the Cup, the night is shaping up to be a ripper.

This social event will be bigger than the Cup itself!

2 – Adreno Sydney Kingfish Cup – the main event! Held over two days on the second weekend of November

3 – The Presentation – held the following Thursday after the Cup is held

Another fantastic social evening, where many of the entrants gather, again at Adreno Sydney Superstore, mingle and talk about the one that got away while enjoying some quality food while anticipating the results. Sponsors for the event are amazing and the 2023 event saw over $15 000 of prizes given out.

We look forward to greeting you at the next Kingfish Cup!

Save the Date: Sans Souci Dolphins Beach Cleanup – JULY 28th

The Dolphins annual beach clean up is coming! Save the date for Sunday July 28th.

Meeting at Long Bay, Malabar, this year the beach and ocean area being cleaned will be Little Bay.

Food and refreshments will be provided after the event. All divers are welcome to come along and be part of the clean up in what is always a great social event.

Meet at Malabar Beach between 0730-0800 the day will finish up around 12pm.