Fishing Lord Howe Island
If you head about 600 kilometres east of the mainland of
Australia, you will come to a gorgeous small island called Lord Howe
Island. It is not an incorporated area, but is self-governed by the Lord
Howe Island Board. In 1982 the Lord Howe Island was inscribed as a World
Heritage Site because of its unique beauty and biodiversity. The the
waters surrounding the island group are protected by the Lord Howe
Island Marine Park (common waters).
The island was first discovered in 1788 by a Royal Navy fleet on its way
to Norfolk Island to start a penal colony there with convicts they were
carrying. Upon a later return to the island a party was sent ashore and
learned that it was uninhabited.
Many government ships sailing between New South Wales and Norfolk Island
stopped at Lord Howe Island, along with some commercial whaling vessels.
Livestock in the form of pigs and goats was left there for food for
future visitors, and eventually in 1834 the island was permanently
established
.
It wasn’t until 1974 that there was even an airstrip for landing
aircraft, so the only way to get onto the island was by a flying boat
from Rose Bay in Sydney.
Lord Howe Island is a 6 mile long and 1mile wide crescent-shape It is an
eroded remnant of a 7 million-year-old volcano with shallow sloping
sides. This crescent protects a lagoon and a coral reef. The Lord Howe
seamount chain extends northward 600 miles, and is probably caused by
the Indo-Australian Plate moving north over a stationary previously
active volcano. This chain, known as the Lord Howe Rise, is part of the
submerged continent of Zealandia, which sank after breaking away from
Australia 60-85 million years ago.
Lord Howe Island is a haven for subtropical forests and all kinds of
flora, and plenty of creatures and animal life to go along with it. Now,
with all that in mind, what about the important stuff, like fishing. Is
there any good fishing on Lord Howe Island?
The short and definite answer is a resounding YES! First of all, there
are plenty of charters to help you get to the fishing hot spots fast,
and this is highly recommended unless you and a buddy decide you want to
be the next Lewis and Clark.
Big game fishing is popular here and this includes large fish like King
Fish, Tuna, Billfish and Wahoo, as well as smaller plate sized fish.
Fishing locations include coastal fishing, lagoon fishing and deep reef
fishing. Fishing is done accordingly on light tackle to heavy tackle.
So, is there any fishing at Lord Howe Island? I would say so and it
looks like a pretty good place to hire a charter boat tour guide to show
you where they are. |
