FISHING NEWS
32 | fishingworld.com.au | March 2015
ON January 8, 2015, Australian recreational
fishing lost one of its true giants with the
passing of John Dunphy, better known to
many simply as Dunph, JD or the Silver Fox.
John was far and away the most inf luential
figure in the local tackle industry for well over
four decades, and leaves a massive legacy.
Born in Kogarah, on Sydney’s south side, in
August, 1943, John grew up in Allawah,
Jannali and later in Herne Bay (better known
today as Riverwood). His passion for fishing
started early, with frequent family outings to
the Georges and Hawkesbury rivers, mostly
chasing bream and jewfish.
After stints working as a postal officer and
rent inspector, John entered the sporting goods
industry in 1964 as a storeman and packer for
Jones and Joseph in Redfern, before being
head-hunted as a cadet for the Dunlop
organisation. Later, he went into business with
John Glover, establishing a successful sporting
and fishing tackle wholesale company that
operated for 14 years.
In 1981, JD founded Dunphy Sports/Fishing
Imports. Shortly afterwards, he accepted an offer
from Shimano Japan to set up an Australian and
New Zealand arm of their fast-growing tackle
empire ... The rest, as they say, is history.
Over the following decades, John and his
team (including brother Terry and several other
family members) took Shimano from being a
relatively obscure name in this part of the world
to the position of market leadership in Australia
and the Oceania region. Along the way, John
personally conceived and developed several
ground-breaking tackle technologies, including
the original Baitrunner reel that went on to be
a huge hit around the globe.
Throughout the course of his very full life,
John became a highly respected figure, both
within the fishing industry and well beyond it.An untiring advocate for sustainable fishing and
the maintenance of access rights for all anglers,
Dunph was often consulted by government
departments, becoming heavily involved in a
host of projects and committees, on top of his
already massive corporate workload.
In 2008, Shimano Japan acquired 100 per
cent ownership of Dunphy Sports/Fishing
Imports, but John remained with the company
in an advisory capacity until 2011 and was much
loved and admired by his Japanese counterparts.
Following a lengthy battle with cancer, John
finally succumbed to his illness while
undergoing specialist treatment in Osaka, Japan,
surrounded by his closest family and regularly
visited by his old colleagues from Shimano.
John Dunphy’s death has rocked the
Australian recreational fishing community and
elicited an unprecedented outpouring of grief
and plaudits for a much-loved man.
“JD was greatly respected for his vision,”
wrote magazine publisher and well-known Top
End angling identity, Alex Julius. “Not only in
respect of the Australian fishing trade, but also
for his acumen in the area of fishing politics. He
was also the first to understand the value of the
fishing media to the Australian tackle industry,
including his support of TV fishing shows.”
Following Gough Whitlam’s death last year,
Paul Keating famously eulogised that there had
been “an Australia before Whitlam, and then a
different Australia after Whitlam”. It can
equally be said that there was the world of
Australian recreational fishing before John
Dunphy, and a very different fishing world
after him. A figure of John’s magnitude and
importance to our industry and beloved sport
comes along perhaps once or twice in a century.
He will be sorely missed, not least by those of
us lucky enough to call him a friend.
By Steve StarlingANGLERS targeting southern bluefin tuna in
NSW this season will have to comply with a
new bag limit of one fish per person per day.
“Southern bluefin tuna is listed as endangered
in NSW and to allow ongoing recreational
fishing for this species a Ministerial Order has
been put in place, which takes into account its
endangered species classification,” a NSW
Fisheries spokesman said.
“Although the latest international scientific
information shows some positive recent signs in
the recovery of the stock, the species remains
classified as overfished by the Commonwealth
and as endangered in NSW.
“These proposed new regulatory
arrangements will provide additional protection
for southern bluefin tuna while at the same
time ensuring the recreational fishery can
continue, providing social and economic
benefits into the future.”
Characteristics such as slow growth, late
onset of maturity, the presence of a single
spawning ground and highly migratory
behaviour make SBT vulnerable to exploitation
and slow to recover from fishing.
Although only taken in small numbers by
NSW recreational fishers, SBT are a highly valued
species, particularly by the game fishing sector.
The species is targeted well offshore in the
winter months from the Victorian border to
central NSW.
The previous limits for SBT included a
combined tuna bag limit of seven fish, with
only two fish over 90cm fish.
Leading up to the 2015 winter SBT run,
NSW Fisheries will run an advisory campaign
to remind fishos about the new rules.Vale John Dunphy
Bag limit for SBT
IMAGE: NICK WOODS.John Dunphy ... A true giant in
the recreational fishing scene.