Anglers land bounty for New Plymouth food charities

The anglers who donated hundreds of kilograms of fish to a New Plymouth food bank may not realise just how much their gift means, manager Sharon Wills says.

About 667kg of fish, including 430kg of snapper, was caught last weekend during the New Plymouth Sportfishing and Underwater Club’s annual fishing competition for people from various energy companies.

The event raised $4950 in cash for Foodbank New Plymouth.

In addition, the catch was handed over to Egmont Seafoods for processing before it was donated to the food bank and to On the House New Plymouth, a volunteer-run food rescue service.

Wills said the fish donation from the competition each year was “absolutely amazing”, not just because of the money it saved the organisation, but also because it was something many people usually did not get to eat.

“You should see the looks on people’s faces when I say, ‘Would you like some fish?’” Wills said.

“I have had people stand there bawling their eyes out, saying: ‘I haven’t been able to feed the kids fish for years’ or ‘We have a birthday coming up, and I’ll save it for then.’

“I’m not sure that the fishermen appreciate that – they have their boats to get fish for their families. But there’s a lot of people who never, never have fish that fresh.”

Club president Ian Steele said about 200 anglers on 55 boats took part in the annual competition, which started in 2010.

“This fish equates to approximately $9500 of donated fish – it’s great to share this with people that would otherwise find it difficult to have fresh local fish served at their home,” Steele said.

Foodbank New Plymouth had been supported by the proceeds in money and fish from this event for many years, he said.

Many of the anglers involved, being from the energy sector, didn’t get to fish that often, he said.

“It’s a great day for them to socialise with others from the sector, which is great for their social and mental wellbeing as well as supporting the community.”