First Major Sponsorship with Southern Fishing Charters Secured

Southern Fishing Charters, General Manager, Jarrod Glaister (left) with Shark Watch SA Founding Director (right) stand next to charter boat "Fish Stalker 2".

After ongoing deliberations, the team at Southern Fishing Charters have agreed to officially become our first major sponsor. On Monday afternoon, Southern Fishing Charters General Manager, Jarrod Glaister, and Amber Everett and Anton Covino from the Shark Watch SA team met to tour both charter vessels operating under SFC in a lengthy discussion prospecting a future partnership. The amalgamation would serve as a major tourism driver and boost brand awareness for both parties in light of the algae bloom situation.

The three explored several potential collaboration ideas that would help fund major projects in our "four-pillar" pathway. The pathway was created to fulfil our three year vision to improve shark bite mitigation and shark monitoring standards for the state of South Australia. One of the four pillars is the "Fear Mitigation & Coastal Tourism Strategy" which aims to mitigate fear through immersive experiences with South Australia's offshore waters by collaborating with coastal tourism operators around the state.

The partnerships would drive traffic from the Shark Watch SA sites to coastal tourism operators who specialise in a range of different sight-seeing and snorkelling and diving activities around the state. Each company will have their business marketed across the Shark Watch SA sites in exchange for monetary compensation or physical assets such as boats that can be used in other Shark Watch projects. We see this as a noble way of sourcing funding for our projects and should provide a reasonable amount of compensation for the time spent in delivering these outcomes.

For Anton and Amber, it was a no-brainer to get SFC onboard given the sheer size of both vessels which can carry up to twenty (20) guests and has the ability to handle the high seas. "Fish Stalker 2" is a fifty foot (50ft) vessel catering to high quality fishing experiences. The latest addition, "Fish Stalker", is a larger sixty five foot (65ft) inclusion that is set to be fitted with a stabiliser and has a top-deck viewing platform. With bunks in the lower levels, it has the ability to be extremely versatile and offer dynamic itineraries for private and commercial operations in the future.

Thanks to the generosity of GM, Jarrod, who has kept an open mind to possibilities, SFC has opened the door to a range of future opportunities that could allow the Shark Watch SA brand to flourish side by side with SFC in an ethical and conservative partnership widening the scope of shark research and coastal tourism experiences in the state of South Australia. The two parties will continue working together over the coming weeks to help forge a proactive and interconnected working relationship.