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WAFIC sponsors a number of community events through out the year to highlight the role commercial fishing plays in our community, primarily through its $1.2 billion contribution to the State’s economy and supply of fresh local seafood to the eight of ten Western Australians who buy their seafood to eat at home, in restaurants or fish and chip shops.
Two major community projects sponsored by WAFIC are:
The Western Australian Maritime Museum:
WAFIC and Sealanes jointly sponsor the Museum’s 'Hooked on Fishing' gallery, which is one of the six major exhibition themes in the new Museum. 'Hooked on Fishing' showcases Western Australia’s fishing industry through the experiences of early European and Asian pioneers to the modern day, and emphasises the challenges of managing the ever-increasing pressures on fish stocks.
The sponsorship won the Best Cross-Partnering Initiative category at the 2003 State Arts Sponsorship Scheme Awards
The Museum provides a fascinating and entertaining insight to the fishing industry. For more information http://www.mm.wa.gov.au
The Jetty
The WA Fishing Industry Council is a major sponsor of The Jetty. The new million dollar public artwork in Fremantle’s Fishing Boat Harbour, dedicated to the memory of the generations of fishermen who pioneered the professional fishing industry was officially launched by the Premier of Western Australia, the Hon Dr Geoff Gallop, MLA on Friday 29th October 29 2004.
The Jetty, crafted out of jarrah, concrete and steel, is the fisherman’s link between the ocean and the land and his home. On The Jetty are two life-size bronze sculptures of fishermen – one, an older man, is emerging from the water with his catch of fresh fish, the other, a younger man, is working with a lobster pot. They represent the past and the future, and symbolise the generations within families, and the friends, that have worked together to forge the industry that is today worth over a billion dollars.
The Jetty, crafted out of jarrah, concrete and steel, is the fisherman’s link between the ocean and the land and his home. On The Jetty are two life-size bronze sculptures of fishermen – one, an older man, is emerging from the water with his catch of fresh fish, the other, a younger man, is working with a lobster pot. They represent the past and the future, and symbolise the generations within families, and the friends, that have worked together to forge the industry that is today worth over a billion dollars.
On the back of The Jetty is an honour board featuring the names of 608 professional fishermen. The names of the 373 fishermen who fished prior to 1947 were listed free of charge, the names of 235 fishermen who worked from ’47 onwards were sponsored by family. There’s also a map of the coastline detailing the traditional fishing grounds and a short story about the history of the industry.
The project was the brainchild of three well known Fremantle identities – Claude Basile, Ross Merlino and Guido Micalizzi whose families had fished for generations and who came to Fremantle to start a new life and pioneer the fishing industry in Western Australia.
“Three years ago we started with an idea to have a simple monument to fishermen, driven primarily out of respect and admiration for our fathers who loved the ocean and fishing and made very little money but worked so hard to create an industry that today is both valuable and internationally respected for its fisheries management“, said Mr Claude Basile member of the Fremantle Fishermen’s Memorial Trust (FFMT) and a professional rock lobster fishermen for over 30 years.
“We, in conjunction with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure, talked to a number of artists and ended up liking Jon Tarry’s design to build a jetty, but we also liked the work of sculptor Greg James who wanted to create two fishermen, and so we asked them if they could combine their concepts, and our small idea became one of the largest commissions for a public artwork in this State.”
The committee raised a million dollars which included cash contributions from government, the private sector, the Fremantle Council and fishermen and their families, totalling $500,000 and a further $500,000 of in-kind donations which varied from wood, concrete, stainless steel and bolts to manufacturing, installation, labour and professional expertise.
“In the end the project was made possible because all sections of the community shared the passion to remember the past and salute the future. We believe we have created a monument that will become an important and much loved icon in Fremantle,” said Ross Merlino, a member of the FFMT and a professional fisherman for five years before starting a furniture import business.
“The Jetty puts into historical perspective the powerful influence fishing has played in the Port City and simply by reading the names of the fishermen people will gain an appreciation of the diverse range of nationalities that came to fish and in so doing brought the vibrant aspects of their culture to Fremantle. There were, and still are, Italians, Greeks, Croatians, Yugoslavs, Portuguese, Scandinavians, Spanish, Estonian, Germans, English and of course Australians, and they all worked together to start the foundations of an industry that we are all proud of,” said Mr Merlino.
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