dpi inspections at ramp

[stinky-stabi]

what is the law here????
what happened today at m/ba ,i arrive back in from the days fishing, dpi approach, i tell what i caught one goes back to the two boats that were there being fine tooth combed.
so's im in hurry i had offered them a look but said nothing, as they were inspecting boats off the actual ramp and up in the carpark...
as i live close i just hooked boat up and drove up ramp an continued on my merry way....
you should have seen the looks on these two blokes faces(DPI officers) as i kept going i think they thuoght i was going to stop to secure my boat and possibly they were going to go through my boat at that time,,my point is i offered they didnt respond so i left.....????????????????????????????????????????? ????/
i had nothing to hide and had cut off all side fins on one side as per law.....
i still havn a giggle when i think of the look n the faces
p.s. god pls forgive me :D


tono

[Ryan.S]

I got pulled up just outside of the harbour, i think they do a good job and it needs to be done, but if these fella's thought to highly of themselves to respond to you, then good stuff i say. I can just imagine their faces. Haha

[jtpython]

Good one
You asked mate that's all that counts
That would have been funny
JT

[stinky-stabi]

yes i totally agree they do a great job that needs to be done 24/7........
except when they come storm trooping a hundred mile an hour an run into your boat like they did 2weeks ago at 10 pm offshore ...trying the element of suprise...

6 snapper 100 dollars look on officers faces priceless

[blue_mako]

They pulled us up at the ramp 2 weeks ago after a banks trip, pulled everything out made a bit of a mess of the fish nicely iced down in the esky though, other than that they were reasonably efficient and it wasnt much hassel.

Troy

[Jeremy]

I know the DPI have been doing boat ramp surveys recently, and participating in these is purely optional. Then again, DPI inspectors on the other hand can ask to inspect your catch. I am not sure what their rights are though.
Do they have the right to board your vessel?
Do they have the right to search the vessel?
I guess they would need to have these rights to catch the cheats.

Jeremy

[Getout]

yes i totally agree they do a great job that needs to be done 24/7........
except when they come storm trooping a hundred mile an hour an run into your boat like they did 2weeks ago at 10 pm offshore ...trying the element of suprise...

6 snapper 100 dollars look on officers faces priceless

So you copped a fine for over snapper bag limit?

[FNQCairns]

You have the right to a beating heart, and also the right to leave in the same physical condition you arrived although I wouldn't try and enforce this in court without a big bank roll, video evidence and mass media coverage otherwise all you will achieve is self victimisation:(

No for all intent and purpose you have no enforceable rights. Allow them to do whatever they want without complaint. The above rights are the only reason they don't actually have a gun trained on you while they carry out their 'work'.

cheers fnq

[mangomick]

They have more power than a copper and my mate was told the other day they are now told to show zero tolerance.
The departments zero tolerance attitude has or is going to loose them a lot of respect and if they want a fish survey they can go out and catch their own bloody fish to survey.
I dont mind doing the time if I'm knowingly doing a crime but nowadays you need a bloody queens council and marine biologist with you everytime you go out fishing. :-X

[Scott nthQld]

Simple answer is No, they cannot board your vessel without permission, or without a court order, or what they call 'probable cause' same goes for police. Only exception is if your esky is in the boat, and they can't see inside, you simply passing fish over to them won't fly, as you could be avoiding giving them the illegal fish (if any). They have the right to insepct eskies, buckets, bags, kill tanks, for this purpose as well, to make sure you aren't hiding any illegal catches. But they certainly can't pull everything out to search the boat.

If and when I get pulled up I always let them aboard, simply cos its easier, and I don't want my hands going numb in the ice slurry before the drive home, if they want to inspect my catch, they can bloody well get it out!

I agree with mick, in that sometimes you do need a marine biologist with you to identify fish upon capture, I've been caught out before, a mackeral which myslef and the 2 deckies with me all called for a doggie, upon inpection the the ramp, the DPI said it was a spaniard and being only 50 something cm, was undersize, I argued to point a little and escaped without a fine, but they had to throw the fish back. Several weeks later, I noticed in a respectable fishing mag that a mackeral, with the same markings was again mis identified, this time as a grey, hell if the DPI get it wrong, the mag gets it wrong, and if I am wrong (not likely), how the hell is the avergae fisho going to get it right without some sort of DNA tresting facility aboard?

[Kleyny]

straight from the legislation/ act that the fisheries work under.

no use speculating just go straight the law

neil

I'm sorry but my computer skills are not the best i think these are in order.

[mik01]

so you would have had to stop if they motioned you to do so.
if you kept going, that is an offence.

they also have the right to board your vessel, with or without your consent.

like cops really

[iricangi]

What do they even inspect "on the ramp" except fish catches?

Was pulled up in the water and all they asked was what fish we caught and we hadn't caught any and just showed them the bait in the ice box and they went on their merry way.

But the police pretty much inspected everything and made us drive to land so they could have a good look.

[jimbo59]

so you would have had to stop if they motioned you to do so.
if you kept going, that is an offence.

they also have the right to board your vessel, with or without your consent.

like cops really
They MUST ask pemission to board your vessel as a recent court case found the water police guilty in not asking permission in boarding a vessel.

[mik01]

They MUST ask pemission to board your vessel as a recent court case found the water police guilty in not asking permission in boarding a vessel.

fisheries aren't cops.

there is no section of the legislation that requires fisheries to ask permission to enter your boat for the purposes of inspecting your catch. (according to the legislation that Neil posted above)

[curiser]

sounds like they have the right to stop and board to make sure that no laws have been broken and that sounds ok by me

[Kleyny]

here is the part where the police can be fisheries.


There must be more to the case than what you have read if the W police lost a case due to not asking permision to board a boat.

neil

[bushbeachboy]

What state is this from Honky?

[Kleyny]

queensland BBB

neil

[Jeremy]

so if they board your boat at sea, do the skipper then have to ensure that there is sufficient safety equipment to cover them ie lifejackets and also within the boat capacity?

Interesting discussion so far.

Jeremy

[Getout]

so if they board your boat at sea, do the skipper then have to ensure that there is sufficient safety equipment to cover them ie lifejackets and also within the boat capacity?

Interesting discussion so far.

Jeremy

No they wear their own inflatable ones

[frogfuzz]

I had them pull me over recently - which I don't have a problem with, its good to see them out there. What I did have a beef with, was that I was in a very narrow channel that shoaled out very easily, at night, with a wind blowing my boat as if I had a spiniker on it. I politley asked if I could continue motoring not more than 40m to deeper water to advoid ending up on a mud bank.

The mongerel said , "no this is deep enough". Obviously the taxpayer pays for his impella, not mine!

[Hornet Rider]

I had them pull me over recently - which I don't have a problem with, its good to see them out there. What I did have a beef with, was that I was in a very narrow channel that shoaled out very easily, at night, with a wind blowing my boat as if I had a spiniker on it. I politley asked if I could continue motoring not more than 40m to deeper water to advoid ending up on a mud bank.

The mongerel said , "no this is deep enough". Obviously the taxpayer pays for his impella, not mine!


Frogfuzz, no doubt you probably complied with the negative response you got, but you had every right as the skipper of your vessel to motor to a safer place, within reason, if you felt the circumstances were such that either you or your crew would be at risk of loss of life or limb, or your vessel would be at risk of damage. When they issue you a lawful direction, they inherit a duty of care for you, your crew, your vessel & anyone else who may suffer an effect of that direction. You don't have to comply with any direction that is reasonably likely to result in an outcome that will cause you or your equipment harm. You may however be called before a Magistrate at some later stage to justify your non-compliance. Such is the price of freedom.

[Fish Guts]

hit the nail on the head hornet rider.

[marco]

I had them pull me over recently - which I don't have a problem with, its good to see them out there. What I did have a beef with, was that I was in a very narrow channel that shoaled out very easily, at night, with a wind blowing my boat as if I had a spiniker on it. I politley asked if I could continue motoring not more than 40m to deeper water to advoid ending up on a mud bank.

The mongerel said , "no this is deep enough". Obviously the taxpayer pays for his impella, not mine!

i agree with hornet raider and i think the mistake you made frogfuzz was asking the copper if you could move rather than telling him you are going to move .

intelligence was never a coppers strong point only arrogance .

remember work place health and safety overides a lot of stuff .

[Camo]

Just be careful with some of this advice, laws vary from state to state. I know for a fact Queensland police are also fisheries inspectors with the same powers as DPI inspectors. They are covered by a number of acts which give them powers and do not need permission to board your boat in QLD waters if they suspect an offence has been committed or to investigate if one has occurred.

Camo

[Jeremy]

No they wear their own inflatable ones
that is OK for lifejackets, but what about boat capacity. What about a tinny with a capacity label stating it is rated to carry up to 3 people. If the boat was boarded and there were then 4 people on board, where does the skipper stand in regard to responsibility to crew and vessel for safety?

Jeremy

[Hornet Rider]

that is OK for lifejackets, but what about boat capacity. What about a tinny with a capacity label stating it is rated to carry up to 3 people. If the boat was boarded and there were then 4 people on board, where does the skipper stand in regard to responsibility to crew and vessel for safety?

Jeremy

Jeremy, if it was a small vessel, then most likely the person empowered to board (DPI, Customs, Immigration, Police et el) would normally be able to visually inspect the vessel by coming alongside & requesting the skipper to open or uncover things. If the circumstances necessitated a boarding, & it was likely to cause a breech of the Regulations or Act (ie overload the vessel intended to be boarded), or cause the vessel being boarded to become unstable, they could reasonably give a direction for one or some of the crew/POB to cross-load themselves on to their vessel, then board for an inspection. Alternatively, they could reasonably give a direction for the smaller vessel to either make way to a shore, or to come alongside a larger third vessel, if there was one in close proximity, then direct a cross-load event. Boarding, especially at night, comes with risk & should usually be the last alternative, or executed after initial contact is made, & when the situation is assessed as both necessary & safe for the boarding to occur.