rods not allowed

[Dignity]

I have just returned from Vietnam after 3 weeks and was amazed by the fishing scene. I spent the last week in Nha Trang which is a very large fishing village. Rod fishing is frowned upon and from what I saw being caught in the nets there is very little fish left in these waters. The biggest fish I saw caught in the week from local waters was a queenfish about 40 cm long, most nets pulled in had a few fish that looked like bony bream (kept) and a few crabs, some looked like ghost crabs which they kept for themselves, others like the 3 spot crab from about 50cm to 120 cms at the spines. These they sold localy to street vendors and food outlets.

IMHO it appears that the people do not have any concept of sustainability and only live for today due to their poor conditions and do not think about tomorrow. This was quite evident by the fishermen themselves who would remove all the rubbish from their nets, plastic bags etc and throw them back in the sea and only have to remove them again the next day.

I saw nets strung across vast sections of the bay, how anything survives is amazing but they still manage to get a few items for themselves and for sale. Mantis Shrimp seem to be quite common and they do get a lot of these but otherwise their seafood seems to come from other parts of the country.

I hope we never get to this stage but at the same time not get over regulated as per the current snapper laws.

[Platitudinus]

Hi Dignity;
Same as most inshore parts of the Mediteranean in Europe.
If you have a look at a similar fishing website http://www.fishing-forum.info it relates to the UK fishing scene and the miserable catches they get (and are so used to, they get excited about anyfish over 35cms) compared to 20 or 30 years ago.
They blame the EEC opening up the waters to the French and Spanish fishing fleets with their fine mesh nets!
They also seem to get excited about catching carp and spend a fortune on gear to sit idly all day (and night) to catch them and then put them back into the same lake to get caught again!
Heaven forbid we revert to keeping carp when we cant catch snapper anymore.

You are right - some regulation is required but not too much.

By the way, have you noticed that the 'greenies' have changed their buzzword focus from climate change to sustainability!!! Well, having worked in biotech I can tell you that mankind has engineered the means to provide food for us and the third world countries with GM but everyone seems afraid to use it in case our children are born with two heads or something.
What about some GM snapper - could weigh up to 50kgs - now that would be something to think about catching!
Have fun
Plato

[Noelm]

the problem is, a lighter restriction should have been put in place years ago, but it wasn't and would have met with the same distain as the current Snapper ban, some things need to be done, we don't have to like it, but in the end maybe, just maybe it will be a good thing.

[dnej]

The item I found interesting, was the sardine harvest.
A baren island, piled high over the years with bird dung, was harvested, for fertiliser.
They removed the lot.
So when it rained, the usual run off, from the dung, didnt happen.

The sardines disappeared, because of this fertiliser harvest.
David

[Dignity]

There are many stories out there. Look at our own pilchard industry a few years ago when they started importing pilchards to feed the farmed tuna. Seriously decimated our stocks with a virus.

I guess my initial thoughts were that I couldn't understand why some people I watch take everyy little thing at jetties etc but now realise that it is a concept with which they were brought up on and have not changed or are willing to change. Here we are at least accept that there will be some regulation to maintain a healthy environment.

The snapper/Pearl Perch ban has been hotly debated here on other threads but I still don't understand the logic of it, February is not a time I would normally chase snapper and it is not a common bycatch for me during this period or have I been doing it all wrong.

[Noelm]

I think it is more to do with spawning times, not max catch time , well at least I would hope that is the case, I am sure it is documented in the proposal.

[Dignity]

Noelm,
Don't think that is the case eiyher, I suspect that because this is a slow period for snapper the govt wont get such a big backlash, it will then make it easier to then introduce another ban in August. I know, I am a cynic but watch Captain Bligh closely,

[Noelm]

hhmm that does sound a tad suss then hey!

[Defore]

Bligh will be going to election soon, she desperately needs the Greens support, the stupid 6 week ban is a good way for her to get it at a time she probably thought it would not upset the fishermen as much as it has.

With her popularity being boosted by the floods the election will probably be called early.

The question is "Are Queenslanders so gullible that they will vote her in again?" :-?

Ian

[Noelm]

I think the problem is most of the population vote as they always have, regardless of who is the leader or their policies, you could put Bozo the clown in (maybe they already have), and people will still vote the same! it is the same all over Australia., I live in a Labor area (mines and steelworks), and it has been that way for so many years, anyone who runs as an independant or any other persuasion is on a hiding before the votes are counted

[Dignity]

Noelm, not too many thinking people out there, and you are right, there is still a major base of voters that always vote the same, slowly changing though so would like to think that in about 20 years time there will be only a small base of party voters.