Almost $1.5million has been made from Hunter anglers since the licences were introduced in 2008.

More than 25,000 licences were sold in the Hunter in the first two years of the program.

Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson said funds raised in the past year would be made available to assist recreational fishing and community groups, councils and individuals to improve fishing in their local areas.

‘‘This is a fantastic opportunity to get much-needed fishing projects off the ground for the benefit of recreational fishers in NSW,’’ she said.

Jason Nunn, who owns Fishermans Warehouse at Marks Point, said anglers had no shortage of suggestions for what they would like the money spent on.

‘‘I think most people would like to see improvements to boat ramps and fish habitats,’’ he said.

‘‘There’s no doubt that artificial reefs have improved fish numbers in Lake Macquarie.’’

Lake Macquarie mayor Greg Piper agreed there was need to upgrade boat ramps and associated infrastructure.

‘‘A lot of the boat ramps are quite old. We have done a lot of work on them but there are a number that are still not up to scratch,’’ he said.

Mr Nunn said there was an urgent need to increase the number of fisheries officers in the region.

‘‘They are very thin on the ground and overworked,’’ he said.

An expert committee will assess applications and recommend what projects to fund.

‘‘The NSW government is allocating about $14million [across NSW] to programs including fish stocking, artificial reefs, fish aggregating devices, fishing facilities and essential research to improve recreational fishing,’’ Ms Hodgkinson said.

Information on how to apply for funding can be obtained from the Department of Primary Industries.