WILLIAM JAMES NEILSON FERRIER

1932–

Jim Ferrier was born in Penicuik, Scotland and immigrated to Tasmania in 1971. A metallurgist by profession, he worked at Comalco till his retirement in 1988. His angling started immediately on arriving in Tasmania, joining the Cressy Fishing Club in the 1970s and the Launceston Angling Club in the early 1990s. Ferrier joined the Northern Tasmanian Fisheries Association (NTFA) in 1971, becoming a Life Member in 1996 for his outstanding contribution to angling. His love of flyfishing motivated him to join the Fly-Fishers Club of Tasmania, also in 1971, to which he was granted Life Membership in 1992. He has been a strong advocate for anglers, having spent four years as an Associate Commissioner to the Inland Fisheries Commission, representing the fly-fishers on the Freshwater Anglers Council of Tasmania from 1996 and being instrumental in the creation of the Fly-Fishers Association of Tasmania in 2000 to look after the interests of fly-fishers. He was also a driving force in obtaining $300 000 for the construction of Four Springs Lake. Ferrier has been involved in almost every submission pertaining to the review or advancement of the State’s recreational trout freshwater fishery. Some of these include the saving of Lake Pedder from being drained, the banning of diseased salmon from Tasmania, the Inland Fisheries Review, Western Lakes Fishery Management Plan, World Heritage Management Plans of 1991 and 1999, Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST), Basslink, Great Lake Fisheries Management Plan and many others. It can be said that Jim is well known in Government Departments for his probing questions and dogged persistence. It is his ‘hands on’ method of advocacy that has helped to make the trout fishery what it is today.