OzFish Unlimited - Coffs Harbour Chapter

02/10/2026

🎣🏕️ Fishing, campfires and fixing fish habitat… what more could you want?

The OzFish Experience Campout is heading to Pacific Palms on the beautiful Great Lakes coast! 🌊

📅 Fri 9 – Sun 11 October
📍 Pacific Palms, NSW
💸 All-expenses paid
👥 Only 20 spots for OzFish Chapter members

Spend a weekend with fellow fishos learning how we can make a bigger difference for fish habitat in our local waterways. You'll hear from restoration managers, industry experts and First Nations leaders on everything from water quality and riparian restoration to invasive pests, litter and community leadership.

And yes, there'll be time to wet a line 🎣 Wallis Lake and the coastline is home to bream, flathead, whiting, luderick and plenty more.

Then it's back to camp for a feed, a yarn and campfire stories with new mates. 🔥

What you learn here goes straight back into Chapter-led habitat projects in your own backyard. Better habitat = better fishing. 🐟

Not a member yet? Join OzFish and grab a spot!

👉 Register now: https://ozfish.org.au/.../ozfish-experience-campout.../

We acknowledge the Worimi People, the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters of the Great Lakes.

24/09/2026

A few spaces left on our next epic campout weekend down on Wallis Lake - come and join us!!

Be part of something great. Hear from recreational anglers, industry experts and First Nations leaders on how to increase your impact on fish habitat

21/09/2026

Stoked to be a part of this awesome day of free workshops, there are a lot of riverbanks that need our help, so the more people that know how to help the better chance our fish and waterways have 🐟🌱

Come and join us - Limited spaces, register here 👇

https://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/Events-directory/Riparian-Restoration-Workshop

18/09/2026

Come join us next Saturday to learn more about how you can help restore local riverbanks and why this matters for fish 🌱

We'll be taking everyone on a site tour to showcase our work on the Kalang that's help supporting bass 🐟

🌱 Ever wanted to learn more about how riparian restoration projects keep our rivers healthy?

Join local experts for a free workshop to learn how restoring and protecting riverbanks can improve water quality and support wildlife. 🐟

Kicking off from 9AM, the morning session will feature speakers from local organisations like Landcare, Crown Lands and Local Land Services, who will walk us through all kinds of important work that takes place on riverbanks in the Bellingen Shire. 🌳

If you're hungry for more, the optional afternoon session invites participants on a field trip where we'll explore bank stabilisation sites along the Kalang River.
📍Transport is provided for a limited number of ticket-holders.

Interested in coming along? 🎟️Head to our website for more details and to secure your tickets:
https://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/Events-directory/Riparian-Restoration-Workshop

12/09/2026

What a beautiful morning to plant trees and search for water bugs 💙
Thanks to the many hands that made planting 300 trees very light work. We expanded on and added more diversity to plantings along Narlu Creek in Upper Orara, before getting the waders on and net into Fridays Creek to see which water bugs we could find.

Thanks to Brett and Lisa for sharing their passion and their special property with us for the morning.

Stay tuned for an upcoming waterbugs workshop in the coming months, and hopefully more plantings at this property in the future 🌱

03/08/2026

What a year for our North Coast OzFish Chapters.

Together, our volunteers, members and local communities have achieved some incredible results for fish and the waterways we all love.

Here's what we accomplished together:
• Welcomed 256 OzFish members
• Planted 8,900 native trees and grasses
• Ran or collaborated on 94 community events
• Engaged 1,650 volunteers
• Restored 11.35 km of fishable riverbank
• Removed 1,079 kg of rubbish from our waterways

These numbers represent thousands of hours of hard work, muddy boots, early mornings and passionate people rolling up their sleeves to make a real difference.

To every volunteer, chapter leader, partner and supporter who gave their time this year, thank you. Every tree planted, every bag of rubbish removed and every metre of riverbank restored helps create healthier fish habitat for generations to come.

We're incredibly proud of what we've achieved together, and we're only just getting started. Here's to another year of restoring fish habitat and proving what local communities can achieve when they work together.

22/07/2026

❗️Attention NSW OzFishers❗️

TONIGHT’s virtual event is your last chance to join the conversation around the future health of NSW’s waterways.

Over the past month, the NSW Community Water Quality Tour has brought together researchers, rec fishers and community groups for lively discussions, fascinating insights and inspiring ideas about how we can work together for healthier waterways and better fishing.

If you couldn't make one of the regional events, you have one final opportunity to be part of the conversation – no matter where in NSW you live, work and fish.

OzFish Unlimited will be hosting the tour’s one and only online session tonight, 23 July, from 7pm to 9pm.

Professor Kirsten Benkendorff of Southern Cross University Southern Cross University, marine biologist Dr Ben Diggles, and aquatic veterinary specialist Dr Matt Landos will offer their insight and expertise on some of the biggest challenges facing NSW waterways today.

The session will end with an open discussion – your local knowledge and firsthand observations could play a vital role in turning conversation into community action!

Register for free at ➡ ozfish.org/NswCommunity4cc321.

We can’t wait to see you there!

07/07/2026

A bird’s-eye view of one of our recent restoration projects along Fridays Creek 🌱
In May, 700 native trees and grasses were planted, and we're excited to report a 100% survival rate so far! 🙌
This fantastic result is a testament to the ongoing care and commitment of the landholders, the maintenance work undertaken by the team at Biodiversity Doctor Australia, and the dedication of volunteers who helped with the planting.

26/06/2026

On Tuesday we had the pleasure of hosting Prof Kirsten Benkendorff, Dr Matt Landos and Dr Ben Diggles, who taught us about impacts on water quality and how we can all get involved.
As Dr Ben put it "Much like the air that we breathe, clean water is the life sustaining ingredient that underpins the survival of fish and countless other species that comprise healthy aquatic ecosystems."

There are a wide range of factors that can ultimately lead to things like declining fish stocks, fish kills, black water events, and more. All these things can be prevented or fixed but first we need to determine the cause and come up with an action plan. "You can't manage what you don't measure- Peter F Drucker", a quote Dr Matt left us with, a simple reminder of the importance of data.

Do you have thoughts around some specific locations that need monitoring or have unexplained issues? 🤔

This is part of a workshop series occurring across NSW, with the goal of setting up water quality testing locations at your favourite fishing locations. If you are interested, please get in contact, fill in the survey via the link below or attend a workshop to find out more! Email [email protected]

If you missed this one, no worries! There are 4 more meetings to go (including online), register below 👇

https://ozfish.org.au/event/nsw-community-water-quality-audit-2026/

Southern Cross University Future Fisheries Veterinary Service and DigFish Services

21/06/2026

Community Water Quality Tour- Tuesday 23rd of June, 7pm-9pm 💧

Our waterways are under pressure, but it’s not too late to turn things around.

Join a team of fish health scientists and water quality experts to discuss the importance of water quality for the health of our fisheries, and what can be done to turn it around.

✅ Expert speakers
✅ Local issues discussion
✅ Your chance to have a say

Come along and be part of the solution tomorrow night at the Southern Cross University’s National Marine Science Centre.
Registration link below 👇

https://ozfish.supporterhub.net.au/events/nsw-wq-tour-coffs-2026