They may look like pirates, but this group of ex-fishermen in central Queensland are only plundering the rivers for one thing — rubbish.

Key points: The club has hauled in more than four tonnes of plastic from riverways around Rockhampton

The club has hauled in more than four tonnes of plastic from riverways around Rockhampton With the money they collect from plastic bottles, members feed the homeless along the Fitzroy River

With the money they collect from plastic bottles, members feed the homeless along the Fitzroy River Other Jolly Rogers clubs are cropping up around the country, including Darwin and areas in Tasmania

The Jolly Rogers Fishing Club started in 2004 when the group came together to just hang out and fish along the reef and the Fitzroy River.

But club president Neill Xxavier had his own reasons for getting involved.

"I suffered a brain injury and the doctors told me to just sit on the couch and watch movies," Mr Xxavier said.

"But I decided to do this instead — clean the river and the reef."

As more people became involved with the club, the fishing excursions started to resemble scavenger hunts, with members picking up plastic rubbish out of the water.

Booty measured by the tonne

CJolly Rogers Fishing Club president Neill Xxavier and Chief Executive Officer Steph Foote stand outside the club's new op shop. ( ABC Capricornia: Jacquie Mackay )

With more than 80 members in Rockhampton, the team can have up to five vessels out on the water each week picking up rubbish.

"We send the teams wearing their black skull and bones t-shirts into the boats and they jump out from the boats to remove all the plastic," Jolly Rogers CEO Steph Foote said.

"So far this year we've hauled in more than four tonnes of plastic — and that's not including your shopping trolleys, street signs, wheelbarrows and bikes and whatever else you might find."

The club has received a lot of positive feedback from those who use the river, who said they are seeing a lot less rubbish when they go out to fish.

"It's been a big task, but we are doing really well with it," Ms Foote said.

"When people see you in your club shirts, it's almost like people make that effort in front of you to pick something up and I think we are changing that mindset, which is great."

Members of the Jolly Rogers Fishing Club have collected more than four tonnes of plastic rubbish along the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton. ( Supplied: The Jolly Rogers Fishing Club )

Taking out to put back in

The club uses the money it collects from recycling retrieved drinking containers to feed the homeless who live along the Fitzroy River.

For Mr Xxavier the act has special significance.

"I've spent a bit of time being homeless and part of our thing was we were getting fish from the commercial and recreational fishermen to help feed the people," he said.

But the club asks for something in return.

"We didn't really set out to do it, but we saw there was an opportunity to involve people who live on the riverbanks to actively pick up their rubbish, and that became our 'food for clean areas' idea," Mr Xxavier said.

"It gets the people more aware of their environment and how we need to keep the Fitzroy River clean and it gives them a bit of awareness and pride in the area they live in.

"If the area is clean we will leave food, but if the area is dirty we do a lap around the block until the area has been cleaned up and we then drop the food off."

The club has expanded its charitable ventures by recently opening an op shop in Rockhampton.

The shop will be open seven days a week and the club says every dollar raised will go back into the community.

"We are looking to purchase a boat dedicated to cleaning the river," Ms Foote said.

"And there are plans to buy a food van to feed the homeless and even a vehicle to drive children with a disability to where they need to go."

People recognise what's needed in a community

Mark Henley, chief executive officer at the Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS), said community organisations like the Jolly Rogers Fishing Club are critical in supporting the broader community.

"For many of these community organisations, they know their community better than anybody, and that's when they can step in and respond — and [can do so] particularly early when people need the most support," Mr Henley said.

"People recognise what's needed in a community and they bring the right individuals together who know what the needs are, and that's how good community services start, just by one or two people having a great idea and they build on it from there."

Mr Henley says QCOSS has been lobbying all tiers of government to help support these types of groups, and not just financially.

"There is so much good will out there that people want to give more, and one of the things that's missing is bringing those people together and having those conversations," he said.

"Government needs to understand the strengths of community, and it's not just about what governments can do — it's about what communities can do."

A Jolly Rogers Fishing Club tinny parks on the Fitzroy River to pick up rubbish. ( Supplied: The Jolly Rogers Fishing Club )

Across the sea

Beyond its work in central Queensland, the Jolly Rogers Fishing Club has attracted attention from other parts of Australia and beyond.

"We've started a chapter now in Darwin and have one starting in Tasmania as well," Mr Xxavier said.

"Plus we've got a few friends across the world.