Watch ch ten news tonight.. Important information on palm beach reef

[bigdonk]

Hi all there is 2, 80 to 100ft commercial fishing boats at palm beach reef.. They got there Sat late arvo. One is still there now...

A few of us was interviewed at channel TEN and spoke our thoughts on the matter.... Might get a petition started and see of we can stop this from continuing.

BD.

[Willo]

You mean these ones...
Took this pic of them this morning at Palmy
Willo

[bigdonk]

That's them Willo... As you know if all the bait is gone our fishing spot will be no more...
BD.

[bluefin59]

How can this be allowed to happen ,what a bunch of grubs ...matt>:( >:( >:(

[snapperdan]

They should be banned from using live bait.

Check out hardliners on fox 8 thursday at 8.30 pm. Aussie longline show. 7000 yackas in a shot.

[brisbane_boy]

Yeh they do this at a few spots, often they are setup with a net and do some serious scooping at night, very worrying for gold coast fishing based tourism

[FISHAWN]

What A$$holes ! The hide of them to do this at such a prime mack spot just as the macks arrive ! FFS go wide if you have to do this shit. And what for bloody cat food ? I understand netting of macks is illegal so they would be cleaning out tonnes of bait ?

[brisbane_boy]

They use the bait to clear out the stocks of gamefish

[Hell Boy]

I saw the report on 10 news thanks for the heads up,

This so wrong in so many ways, why take the bait fish that most of the reef fish of the coast need to grow and spawn>:(

I can't believe that the state government can't do anything, we might as well get rid of the state system.

New Zealand has the same problems with japanese and russian trawlers of their coast line, somehow their government allow this as well.

Damm governments, I propose that i become world leader;D

[oldie]

i missed the report on the news and when i read your post could not believe they have the hide to be fishing Palmy reef!!! absolute ridiculous do we know what there home port is? Gold Coast? they have capacity to go wide so they should be restricted from these prime fish habitats as they just ravage the bait fish and prob alot of other species too, fisheries should do spot checks on board and check out what they have, its sh+t house

[FishHunter]

A couple of RPG 7's would fix this.

[Stroadman]

do we know what there home port is?

somewhere in New Zullend apparently

[goat boy]

I read an article about this in the paper today. I think they were based out of mooloolaba? Not NZ apparently (one boat had a kiwi name and some kiwi crew aboard).
One of the pro's was reported as saying:

recs did more damage
sharks ate more then the pro's took
recs smash snapper more than any pro (yes, it mentioned something along those lines)

it went on to mention it was a touchy subject because of the location blah blah blah

[TheRealAndy]

No one complains when the aussie longliners do it overseas....

Is it sustainable?

I dont have a problem with it so long as its managed properly.

[nigelr]

I'm suprised no-one is supplying them longline bait, down here south of Coffs it is open slather when the bonito, pilchards and/or slimies are in and the weather permits. The tuna-bait fishers supply the local-based longline fleet and any excess goes to the bait sellers.

[Big Deez]

The courier mail had these items on their website:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/commercial-fishermen-defend-themselves-against-claims-they-are-plundering-reefs/story-e6freoof-1225963520298

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/reef-raiders-spark-fury/story-fn6ck45n-1225963027293

Found the quote "They don't give a rat's . . . they're raping, pillaging and plundering," Currumbin fisherman .... ......said. "We have our five-fish bag limit and they have about a dozen guys pulling them in by the boatload." particularly irrelevant given they are catching bait and yakkas and slimies don't have bag limits.

[tae4551]

the sad thing about this is there are certain net boats that just provide bait for the long liners, then there are the boats that do there own netting. being under a commonwealth licence means they are not restricted to where they operate. being a commerial mackeral fisherman i have seen entire bait grounds wiped out. given that on a crowded day there maybe 10 pro boats and up to 30 recs boats working certain bait grounds. most boats wont hold more then 50 baits. do the maths. these boats generally wont head to sea with less then 10000. they worked a certain bait ground off the sunny coast a few years ago and still to this day you are flat out finding anything. no bait no fish just another thing the government will use as a measure to stop us from doing what we love

[bondy99]

Typical Governments all want the mighty dollar.

If these commercial operators have nothing to hide then I'm sure they would not object to Boating and Fisheries Officers being onboard their vessels to see or make sure they comply with the requirements. Fisheries Officers have authority and jurisdiction to board and inspect any vessel working in Australian Waters.

As a taxpayer I'd like to see my dollars put to work after all , all of us taxpayers are in effect their employers, if they dont perform then sack them...simple

[Lucky_Phill]

Think you'll find that State fisheries officers do not board these vessels for compliant purposes.

The AFMA governs these vessels and their permits and Federal Officers do inspections and monitoring.

I expect a " report " back soon from persons within the " fishery management group " in regard to the operations of these vessels.

Phill
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[fishfeeder]

What a joke, seriously whats the point in having fish sizes and limits, when clowns can come in so close and wipe out local stocks in a matter of days. Tipical govenment "owner oporators" (wankers) who cant see a problem with the rules that can allow things like this to happen. We get more and more regulations every year with Limiting fishing Zones, all to help perserve out fish stocks for the future. Then they say these guys can do what they want when they want.

The boats that people have parked in there sheds cost a lot to maintain, register, insure and a large amount goes to the govenment and local businesses so why arn't they out there protecting our inshore grounds to keep the local industry moving.

Ban them from working within 50Km from the coast line and problem solved, I cant see myself fishing 150km+ offshore so I am never going to be limiting his industry. If they need bait buy it from a local business and help him out.

Another sign that our govenment just dont have a clue.