The Australian Recreational Fishers Party was a political party in the Australian state of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. It was created to defend recreational fishing against perceived intrusion from the commercial fishing industry, in particular to oppose the use of super trawlers such as '' Geelong Star'' in Australian waters. The party was announced in April 2015, and was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) in May 2016. Its first and only election was the 2016 federal election, where it fielded candidates in three of the five House of Representatives seats in Tasmania, as well as two

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

candidates. The party polled 3.35 percent of the state-wide House of Representatives vote, the fourth-best of any party. Its best result was 6.31 percent in the

Division of Lyons The Division of Lyons is an Australian electoral division in Tasmania. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian ...

. However, the Senate ticket only received 0.70 percent of the state-wide vote. On 4 July 2017, the AEC gave notice of its consideration to deregister the party under subsection 137(1)(cb) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. The party's founder, ex- Labor candidate Kevin Harkins, said the process was voluntary and that the party's members felt the interests of recreational fishers would be better served by a lobby group. The deregistration occurred on 10 August 2017.Notice of deregistration: Australian Recreational Fishers Party
Australian Electoral Commission.

References

2015 establishments in Australia 2017 disestablishments in Australia Defunct political parties in Tasmania Single-issue political parties in Australia Political parties established in 2015 Political parties disestablished in 2017 {{Australia-party-stub