Browns Creek in the heart of Taree is their not-so-secret fishing spot, and a rope and grappling hook is their tool of choice when they set out with the hope of salvaging dumped items from the water that runs under the Victoria Street bridge. The most recent fishing expedition delivered a huge haul - six shopping trolleys, six bikes, a scooter, a truck tyre, and part of a road sign. Like all proud fishermen, they had to get a picture with their catch and like all proud fishermen, there is always a tale to tell.

"A bloke in a kayak helped us out with this haul," Bill said. "We were struggling to hook a few shopping trolleys when Todd Northam came paddling by in his kayak. He was keen to help so he dived into the creek, hooked a few trolleys for us and then Jigh hauled them from the creek to the deck of the bridge.

"They both get a huge thumbs up from me."

At 24, Jigh provides the muscle, and at 74, Bill provides the experience. He knows where to look and fish for rubbish that is dumped into the creek that weaves through the heart of Taree. Bill has been doing it for around seven years as the founder of Friends of Browns Creek – Crooked Creek, and Jigh is now learning the tricks of clearing rubbish from the waterway that feeds into the Manning River.

Bill says he is thankful Jigh is the newest member of FoBC (CC) and is keen to recruit more members to fish for rubbish.

Jigh thinks "it's shocking" that people dump stuff in the creek.

"There was an abandoned crab trap that had a huge eel in it and it was really old and rusted. Animals can get caught in this stuff and die. It's terrible.

"The trolleys must have been there for years because most of them were nearly rusted right through. There was one good trolley out of the six."

Since its inception, the work of FoBC (CC) volunteers has transformed the appearance of the creek, improved the water quality of the creek and contributed to the return of fish and birds to the waterway.

The removal of rubbish is critical to the improvement of water quality, says Bill, and “it’s not just about pulling big things out of the creek – every piece of rubbish removed makes a difference.”

Jigh and Bill also removed nine syringes, bottles, cans, drinking straws, 207 pieces of broken glass, condoms and food wraps, and all items were logged on the new Tangaroa Blue Australian Marine Debris Initiative app. The app enables real-time monitoring of rubbish pollution and the data collection enables the tracking of marine debris and litter items back to the source, so that source reduction plans can be implemented to stop the flow of rubbish into our oceans.

To learn more about FoBC(CC) visit its Facebook page and contact Bill Dennis to volunteer on 6552 5009.