KEEPA Fish Scoop

Project 2017-01-09 21:49:31 +1300

A fish released today is a meal for your grandkids in the future.......................

Picture this; you've fought the good fight and got the fish alongside the boat, on the beach, aboard the kayak......... now comes the often undignified (for both you and the fish) struggles to measure, unhook and return your undersized catch to the sea to hopefully fight another day. This process can involve a fair bit of swearing (chances are if fish could swear they'd join in) and possible damage to both your hands and the fish. One of my mates usually sticks them under his armpits and then wrestles them into submission, another takes the bat to them, or drops them on the bottom of the boat to flap around while he finds something to grab them with, others curse and cuss as they are spiked and many people (especially kids) would never physically touch a fish with their bare hands..and dont forget the poor fish. This whole process is even harder on the fish than it is on you and fishery experts believe that due to handling and time out of the water many of the fish that are returned to the sea, even though they swim away, will actually die later.

Theres gotta be a better way..Putting the small ones back is like feeding your grandkids...

I'm just a regular Taranaki guy who loves fishing and diving and spends far too much time on and in the sea (according to my wife). My wife, daughters and I are lucky enough to live in the gorgeous coastal village of Oakura, just 15 minutes south of New Plymouth. I was born on the water in a fishing boat in Vietnam and have always been fairly obsessed about everything to do with the sea and fishing - as I have gotten older, though, conservation and sustainability have become more and more important to me - I want my grandchildren to be able to have the same awesome experiences that I have on a daily basis. My team is both my family and the group of mates who I fish, dive and tell tall fishing stories with (some of them are even true).

With this team I have developed the prototype for a fishing scoop that will do away with the problems I have described and greatly increase the survival rate for undersized fish.

(this is not the finished product but a prototype as an example)

KEEPAFISH Scoop

The KEEPAFISH Scoop is an innovative tool to help fishers safely secure, measure and minimise harm to fish, therefore increasing both the ease and enjoyment of the fishing experience for the fisher and the survivability rate for released fish. Fish sustainability, and the importance of safeguarding the right of all New Zealanders now and in the future to be able to fish recreationally, is at the heart of what this product is about. It is something we can all do NOW for the future.

The KEEPAFISH Scoop is exceptionally easy to use and solves many probems that all fishers have when handling fish with its simple innovative design.

• No need to physically touch the fish. 
• Protects the fisher from the fish's spikes and fins and protects the fish from contact with the fisher - contact with human skin decreases chance of long term fish survival.
• Holds the fish upside down which subdues the fish, making it easier to unhook and release.
• Has a measure along its side so fishers can quickly measure the fish and decide what to do with it, thus reducing time out of the water for the fish if it’s undersize.
• The final product will be transparent so you can see the fish inside and accurately measure it.
• The Scoop also has holes along the sides so you can humanly “iki” the fish and also preserve the eating quality of the fish that you keep.
• It can be used single handed so you can unhook the fish with the other hand, the scoop can also be put down while you decide what to do. (It will hold the fish securely).
• If the fish is dropped you can just scoop it up.
• Easy and very simple to use, and quick to wash.

For futher information about both us and this product you can access both our facebook page and our new youtube channel - we'll be putting up more videos over time. We have also recently had an awesome write up on stuff.co.nz

KEEPA facebook page

About KEEPA and us

Sounds great!......so where to from here? How can you be involved? What do you get out of it?

We are passionate about protecting the privilege of New Zealanders to be able to go out and drop a line and catch dinner both now and in the future. To this end, and through a long design process, we have developed a prototype for the KEEPAFISH Scoop, we now need to come up with the funds necessary to pay the initial tooling costs to be able to produce these on a larger scale; our dream is to have one on every boat in New Zealand.  We are looking to raise these funds through offering to our crowd of New Zealand fishermen and women the chance to pre purchase one or more scoops. The cost of these will be equal to or less than what the final retail cost will be and will include postage anywhere in New Zealand. You will also have the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing to sustaining recreational fishing in New Zealand both now and in the future. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE FINAL PRODUCT WILL BE TRANSPARENT RATHER THAN THE BLOCK COLOUR OF THE ONE IN THE VIDEO - IT WILL NOT HAVE THE PICTURE OF THE FISH ON THE SIDE.

It will measure approximately 300mm long by 200mm wide and 65mm deep. It will have a measure along the length for undersize fish and short measure along the side for paua and crayfish. The final material is still in the trialling stage, however we are hoping to be able to use recycled plastic to further limit our environmental impact.

Rewards - otherwise known as 'what you get out of it'!

We are offering a range of rewards from the prepurchase of a single scoop or packages of 2-4 to larger experience based rewards. Please have a look through the list and help us get this awesome new product off the ground. Remember that you are not only getting a great new affordable fishing toy (and we all love those) but also supporting the sustainability of NZ recreational fishing by reducing the impact on undersized fish when they are caught.

Payment and Delivery of your KEEPAFISH Scoop

If you prefer to pay by direct banking rather than credit card (this will save us on credit card fees and mean more money for product development!) you will just have to email PledgeMe and let them know after you have chosen your reward. They will then send you bank account details when the campaign closes. You will not be charged anything until the campaign has closed and only if the target is reached.

We can only send to New Zealand adresses sorry and if you order a package of more than one scoop they will all be sent to the same address. Production for the scoops is estimated to be between 3-4 months after the campaign has closed. We apologise for the wait however we will keep in you the loop with plenty of updates and let you know how things are going.

If you have any other queries or just want to get in touch with us about anything at all to do with this product or fishing in general please don't hesitate to get in touch. We will be sending out regular updates and probably more fishing videos!

Facebook: Keepafish https://www.facebook.com/Keepafish/

Email: [email protected]

Thanks so much for your support - you're awesome! Have a great summer. I've gotta go get me some crays for the BBQ....................

Tran

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