It is closed season isn't it

[BGG]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/barramundi-reel-deal-for-coast-fisherman/story-e6freoof-1226549441067

[MudRiverDan]

They should release a few more.

Bit more fun than the usual picker bream in the coomera.

Dan

[STUIE63]

If you read the comments dpi&f are already onto it by the sound of their comment. Old mate might be getting a please explain shortly

[MudRiverDan]

If you read the comments dpi&f are already onto it by the sound of their comment. Old mate might be getting a please explain shortly

Pretty weak if they fined him.

Dan

[bennykenny]

Pretty weak if they fined him.

Dan

why is that????

[MudRiverDan]

why is that????

They could be doing better things than fining some guy who was obviously not targeting Barra and is obviously clueless to any seasons, or else he would not have his mug in the paper holding the thing.

Fillet the bloody thing, plenty more in the farm.

Dan

[Funchy]

Here we go.....................:o

[bennykenny]

laws are laws and ignorance is no excuse.
He new that there were barra there his mate hooked one a couple of weeks ago.
hope they throw the book at him.

[STUIE63]

Pretty weak if they fined him.

Dan

They fined a bloke up here for admitting on Facebook that he sounded up,some fish and thought they were barra so he dropped a lure down and caught one and then released it

[shincism1]

I saw the head of a Barra that someone has just lopped off at the shoulder and left on the ground at dunrock boat ramp ok the weekend. Don't know why it was chopped like that? If they don't fine this guy they should at least give him a first and final warning minimum

[waterbouy]

While we are on the topic, wen is the next reef fin fish closure???

[cobiaman]

I feel sorry for the poor bugger, does anybody that lives on the gold coast and doesnt specificly chase barra know about these closures?

[ozynorts]

While we are on the topic, wen is the next reef fin fish closure???
Coral reef fin fish closure dates for 2013 are midnight 1 October to midnight 6 October 2013, and midnight 30 October to midnight 4 November 2013.

[rtp1984]

I just googled barrumundi size limit. Qld DPI was first up on the search list. Size limit was there but no mention of a closure. I know and you know that there is a closed season, and I am sure if you looked harder on the dpi site you would find it. But you can see how you could think you were legally keeping a barra, if you checked the size limit and no mention of the closure next to it.

[NAGG]

Pretty weak if they fined him.

Dan

Fine him ..... & advertise the fact .

Get the message out there that people need to understand the regulations ........ If the bloke is silly enough to advertise the fact - then he deserves it !

Chris

[NAGG]

I just googled barrumundi size limit. Qld DPI was first up on the search list. Size limit was there but no mention of a closure. I know and you know that there is a closed season, and I am sure if you looked harder on the dpi site you would find it. But you can see how you could think you were legally keeping a barra, if you checked the size limit and no mention of the closure next to it.


If you type in Barramundi fishing Qld ..... you will see (Season) mentioned as an option .
It's easy to make a mistake ..... but advertise the mistake & you send out the wrong message

Chris

[Lucky_Phill]

While we are on the topic, wen is the next reef fin fish closure???

When...?????.

at the top of the General Fishing Chat page here, you will see a sticky.. " Australian Recreational Fishing Regulations "

All info is contained within that thread.

or the short cut here:-

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?169297-Australia-s-Recreational-Fishing-regulations.


LP

[ShaneC]

Ignorance is no excuse I agree. But they should make the information more accessible and/ or public. It may horrify you to think that there are people out there who like to wet a line on a casual basis that are not members of Ausfish!! For those that reckon he should burn, out of curiosity, whats the penalty for driving through an orange light??? Dont look it up, answer honestly, its another law that we confront everyday but dont really know about.....

[Lucky_Phill]

You must not drive past the STOP line at the yellow traffic light or, if there is no STOP line, the traffic light.

The yellow light is not the end of the green light phase – it is the beginning of the red light phase. You must STOP on a yellow light, unless it is unsafe to do so.

TMR QLD>

[bennykenny]

Ignorance is no excuse I agree. But they should make the information more accessible and/ or public. It may horrify you to think that there are people out there who like to wet a line on a casual basis that are not members of Ausfish!!
why is it any different to any other fish, if it was an undersize jew or an oversize flathead he would be crucified on here why should a off season barra be any different.
i know myself i still dont know most fish sizes of by heart, i know flathead and jew sizes, because if fish for them all the time but, anything else i have to look up.
just because you do it on a casual basis doesnt give you an excuse to ignore it
i guess the best way to make the information more accsessable would be to fine him and publish it in the paper and on the news

[finga]

I knew ignorance of the law is not an excuse but bugger me. It seems now-a-days we need a laptop and do 4 hours research for everything we do now whether it be catching a fish or walking the dog or driving the car.
It's apparent it was not just the guy who caught the fish was ignorant of the law as the story was published in a paper. How many people would have seen the story before it was published?
Personally I think the laws relating to fish sizing, bag limits and the like are over complicated and are changed way too often.
It used to be you looked at the size and bag limits when ever you got a new tide chart from the bait and tackle shop every year and that was that.
Now it seems you need an app for your smart phone so you can take a picture of your fish with the time and place stamp and method of fishing on it to see if it's legal to take it or not. Sometimes I think you have to do that when the fish is caught, at the ramp and at home as the rules seem to change that often.
Ignorance is no excuse and neither is confusion. But bugger me confusion makes the matter cloudy at times.

[MudRiverDan]

Ignorance is no excuse I agree. But they should make the information more accessible and/ or public. It may horrify you to think that there are people out there who like to wet a line on a casual basis that are not members of Ausfish!! For those that reckon he should burn, out of curiosity, whats the penalty for driving through an orange light??? Dont look it up, answer honestly, its another law that we confront everyday but dont really know about.....

$330 and three points and I didn't have to look it up, ::) but I still think the guy should be cut some slack. I have not done any Barra fishing and was hardly aware of a season.

Dan

[NAGG]

The smart play when it comes to fishing is - If you are not sure of what it is , regulations , what are the size limits , have a measuring device .... Let it (them) go .
Then there is no issue.
I dont really fish for Qld reef fish ..... but when I headed north , I bought an identification chart (which included size & bag limits) ...... just in case (I still couldn't tell you what the legal lengths are .... but I would refer to the chart if a fish was caught)

The old adage of "Ignorance is no excuse" is right

Chris

[GBC]

I think its a great opportunity for fisheries to make a higher profile intervention and get some information out into the public arena. He should at least get a visit and a slap on the wrist - the law was broken. Put it in the media and get some general knowledge happening.

[bennykenny]

I knew ignorance of the law is not an excuse but bugger me. It seems now-a-days we need a laptop and do 4 hours research for everything we do now whether it be catching a fish or walking the dog or driving the car.
It's apparent it was not just the guy who caught the fish was ignorant of the law as the story was published in a paper. How many people would have seen the story before it was published?
Personally I think the laws relating to fish sizing, bag limits and the like are over complicated and are changed way too often.
It used to be you looked at the size and bag limits when ever you got a new tide chart from the bait and tackle shop every year and that was that.
Now it seems you need an app for your smart phone so you can take a picture of your fish with the time and place stamp and method of fishing on it to see if it's legal to take it or not. Sometimes I think you have to do that when the fish is caught, at the ramp and at home as the rules seem to change that often.
Ignorance is no excuse and neither is confusion. But bugger me confusion makes the matter cloudy at times.
Like it or not thats part of our sport/hobbie. fish have different sizes and restrictions, really its not that hard to keep up with, if you choose to do so. every tackle shop sells size charts and books with the up to date infomation.And the majority of people have the internet these days,and most people have smart phones(well younger people anyway) with information at your fingertips anywhere you are, just let your fingers do the walking, as they used to say.

[Horse]

I agree that the authorities should step in. A visit and a bit of publicity should help get the message out there. I would not come down too hard on him though. Our fishery regulations are very complex at the moment and I could imagine that the vast majority of mug fishos would not have any idea of the ones that don't apply to their target species. I doubt too many would release a fish of a lifetime just in case there was some obscure regulation concerning that species

[Camhawk88]

Bloody hell the closed season for barra has been in force for 20 years with no change to the dates (on east coast- gulf is different).

Goes to show how ignorant many people in the SE corner are of everything outside their little world.

Give it to him i say.Let him off and then everyone has an excuse for why they kept an out of season barra.

[MangroveZac]

$330 and three points and I didn't have to look it up,


Yep, i wrote a letter to our law enforcment friends and ended up i didn't even have to pay it!!! HAPPY DAYS!!!!

I think the newspaper may have to put another story in to explain their own ignorance and appolagise for a story that is condoning unlawful behaviour and putting old mate in hot water (possibly). How many people do you think will be out chasing barra in the next couple weeks now, after reading this in the local rag??

[bennykenny]

i cant wait til the end of the month so i can get down to the "bait hole" and have a fish for one myself, there has been a few caught there in the last couple of weeks

[bennykenny]

For those that reckon he should burn, out of curiosity, whats the penalty for driving through an orange light??? Dont look it up, answer honestly, its another law that we confront everyday but dont really know about.....
so without looking it up do you know the penalty for taking a barramundi out of season???
im not sure what this has to do with the topic??

[whiteman]

If this happened in Townsville there would be an uproar. One state, one set of rules, no exceptions ... they have to fine this guy and publicise it. He knew what he was fishing for and he therefore should be aware of any rules governing the target species. Nice photo but stupid thing to do.

[Lucky_Phill]

This is something for FQ.

The Snapper fishery ( for research and compliance ) is deemed to be from Mackay to the Tweed border, so in effect, does the size and bag limits apply to Snapper caught north of Mackay ?

Do FQ have a Barra fishery boundary ? Should they ?

Just saying...............................



LP

[rtp1984]

Regardless of what happens to old mate in he photo, this should be a wake up call to the dpi to spead the word a bit more on the closures down here in the south east. Im sure up north where most barra are caught, there would be a sign at every boat ramp, tackle shop, adds in the local papers ect.. to make sure the public know. Now that more and more barra are starting to get caught down here, perhaps some education is need to prevent this happening.

[no chicken tonight]

Needs to be fined, not warned and no excuses.
That aside, if you caught an awesome fish that was such an uncommon fish for the area, why would you kill it?
Would have earned a lot more respect had he released it, not got fined and maybe catch it again.
Just my opinion.

[rayken1938]

Ya dont drive a car without knowing the road rules same as fishing the obligation is on the person.
Cheersw
Ray

[odes20]

Im not for fining him at all. Use some wisdom for the well being of the community. Its a dam escapee b y the color of its tail, but thats not really relevant. As previously stated, if he knew he was doing wrong , no way he would have it in the rag. And what about the Editor of the paper putting it up as well? poor bloke prob packing it now. My view on this, is that there is a realm I call, Ethical Application of the Law. This should be practised with a lot of regulations in our society. The fact is, there obviously is an opportunity for enforcers to show discretion when policing matters pertaining to their juristiction. surely when someone has unwittingly broken law or regulation as in this case, and its a minor offence, a warning is the proper moral and ethical treatment of citizens in our great country. Being in a green Zone however in my view is an exception, as their are signs everywhere at ramps, and they have been established for years.
Many times people are booked on roads for petty offences when they are in unfamiliar territory, or when there has been a change of a speed limit on a particulat stretch of road.
To just prey on people in such a case in my view is immoral, unjust, and a worse affliction on the well being of society than the petty offence. Blatant disregard for laws should always be pursued but officers of all these arenas shold be trained to evaluate each case on its merits. there would be a greater honor from the community to enforcement officers if this were the case.

[Mossy247]

When is it people are going to accept some responsibility. If you don't know then don't touch. Its the world we live in. Everything is controlled by regulations or laws. I don't know much about building but if I was to build a deck, that deck failed as I didn't comply with regulations peoples lives lost... Ohhh don't be harsh guys I didn't know there was regulations about building and safety complience? Pfftttt BS..... Ummmm my fault! I am responsible. People need to be accountable for their actions. Police change the speed limit in an area? Is it there job to make the public aware? No, You as a road user must be aware of the rules and regulations which govern us as a society at any level. The amount of people that still don't know the correct snapper laws (4 with 1 over 70) is insane, what would suffice for most people as sufficient broadcasting?

[STUIE63]

so without looking it up do you know the penalty for taking a barramundi out of season???
im not sure what this has to do with the topic??

$440.00 for admitting targetting barra and taking a photo and releasing the fish

[Crunchy]

I don't advocate anarchy but rules & regulations (And the fines that go with them) are so pervasive in all areas of our lives that I beleive we have a duty to break a few from time to time or we are not men but sheep who blindly follow those that believe they can control all aspects of our lives....

[bennykenny]

oh yes for we are all sheeple if we follow the rules.
what a load of BS,our duty!

sent from my crappy Samsung phone using Tapatalk 2

[BLOOEY]

I was in exactly this guys position last year. I had caught an 87cm barra on the goldy, considered taking it for the table as it was a saltwater fish but decided to take some photos and let it go (hopefully to reproduce) all the time unaware of a closed season. If i got fined for it i would have copped it on the chin and felt rather embarrased. Ben

[ShaneC]

Maybe not the best example bennykenny, fair call. BUT, I use my example as I was confronted with it recently and didnt know there was a fine for going through an orange. I consider myself a responsible road user, thankfully the officer agreed and let me go on my way. If you've never gone through an orange when late for work, congratulations have a little smiley stamp and knock off early.

Now to the real topic. I couldnt tell you when the barra closed seasons are or the fines for not adhering to it, but to be honest, I dont care!! I dont chase barra, I would rather boil my head, but believe me its in my interests to stay aware of legislation in the fisheries I do go to, and I am very up to date. If I caught that barra on the Goldy last week, sure Id take a photo (which is probably illegal too), but I probably wouldnt keep it as I am aware there IS a closed season, so would let it go just in case.

There is scope for the fishos to give a warning, in this instance I believe it would be fair, they could even drop a seven second spiel in Burty's fishing report about what to do and a lot more people would be aware of it. There is a big difference between naivieity (sp?) and purposely breaking the law. This bloke and those around him obviously had no idea at all, and thats a lot different to keeping undersize fish on purpose, going purposely over a bag limit or knocking off a crab pot. All in my humble opinion of course.....

[MudRiverDan]

Really who cares about the bloody farm Barra, it was not spawning and will not spawn in the Coomera, the only thing that spawns in the Coomera are catfish, pike eels, car bonnet sting rays and bull sharks.

I believe the DPI should fine him if they have secure evidence that Barra are spawning and breeding in the Coomera.

Dan

[BLOOEY]

Which barra farm are you on about mate? If there is a barra farm and they got out during floods they have already lived for a couple of years in the wild through winters so, why wouldn"t their young? Surely you could forgoe a couple of feeds for the chance to actually have them as a viable target in the future. Ben

[MudRiverDan]

Which barra farm are you on about mate? If there is a barra farm and they got out during floods they have already lived for a couple of years in the wild through winters so, why wouldn"t their young? Surely you could forgoe a couple of feeds for the chance to actually have them as a viable target in the future. Ben

There is Barra farms maybe not in the Coomera but adjoining rivers (I just Googled it).

To be brutally honest, and I mean brutally honest, I am surprised at how readily a pack of fisherman attack another fellow fisherman for wetting a line and catching a Barra.
If this is the sort of crap a guy has to endure because he caught a Barra in the stinkin filthy old Coomera, over developed river then its pretty sad.

I mean I have been accused of some petty complaints in my time, BUT THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE!

Dan

[odes20]

Missed my point in 2 ways Mossy.

Firstly building a shoddy deck is not a petty issue. Read my post again, Im not against people taking personal resp.

Secondly, knowing about a new speed zone does become a driver's responsibility, but having police go there to take advantage during the first week or two is downright immoral in my view. No differnt than animals flocking to a carcass. Its opportunistic thuggery. And I repeat, Im not against policing. I have been let off by both Water Police/fisheries in my time and by Traffic Police in petty situations, It was reasonable for them to do so. Also, I have been booked for traffic Offences at times when I fully deserved to be. Thankfully never been booked for a Fisheries Offence as like most, I happily strive to do the right thing.
Im an employer, and firm about process and application, but I dont use every opportunity to shred people for petty human failure. Hence we have good morale in the work place. And I think that most of community would have an encouraged attitude toward those policing laws if there was some room for grace toward those who commit petty offences, when any human being with a grain of empathy can see the situation humanely.
When is it people are going to accept some responsibility. If you don't know then don't touch. Its the world we live in. Everything is controlled by regulations or laws. I don't know much about building but if I was to build a deck, that deck failed as I didn't comply with regulations peoples lives lost... Ohhh don't be harsh guys I didn't know there was regulations about building and safety complience? Pfftttt BS..... Ummmm my fault! I am responsible. People need to be accountable for their actions. Police change the speed limit in an area? Is it there job to make the public aware? No, You as a road user must be aware of the rules and regulations which govern us as a society at any level. The amount of people that still don't know the correct snapper laws (4 with 1 over 70) is insane, what would suffice for most people as sufficient broadcasting?

[Camhawk88]

Really who cares about the bloody farm Barra, it was not spawning and will not spawn in the Coomera, the only thing that spawns in the Coomera are catfish, pike eels, car bonnet sting rays and bull sharks.

I believe the DPI should fine him if they have secure evidence that Barra are spawning and breeding in the Coomera.

Dan

Jeez you sprout some rubbish at times Dan!

Let em know of a farm that grows barra out to 10kg? They grow them to 750gm for whole fish and 3kg for the fillet market, IF this fish came from farmed stock (not that it makes any difference) it would have been at large for at least 3 -4 years ie. a wild fish capable of breeding.

Do they breed that far south? Maybe ,maybe not but that is hardly the point. The rules are there for the whole state for all barra during that period. By your figuring we can go out to spawning aggregation points (I know a few) wait for the big girls to do their thing then catch them- Mr Fisheries officer it has no spawn so I think I should be able to keep it. same with undersize- they aren't spawning are they?

Really mate sometimes I wonder why you speak on subjects you have little knowledge of.

[odes20]

Extremist Views camhawk, reasonable, not extreme analogies please. You and old mate with the shoddy deck story. Be reasonable. Glad youre not a policing officer in my area.

[MudRiverDan]

Jeez you sprout some rubbish at times Dan!

Let em know of a farm that grows barra out to 10kg? They grow them to 750gm for whole fish and 3kg for the fillet market, IF this fish came from farmed stock (not that it makes any difference) it would have been at large for at least 3 -4 years ie. a wild fish capable of breeding.

Do they breed that far south? Maybe ,maybe not but that is hardly the point. The rules are there for the whole state for all barra during that period. By your figuring we can go out to spawning aggregation points (I know a few) wait for the big girls to do their thing then catch them- Mr Fisheries officer it has no spawn so I think I should be able to keep it. same with undersize- they aren't spawning are they?

Really mate sometimes I wonder why you speak on subjects you have little knowledge of.

I doubt very much you could show me a spawning aggregation point in the Commera river.

Like I said, I have never seen such a load of baloney in all my like.

Your lucky to catch a picker bream in the Coomera at most times and your telling me it may be a spawning area?

I may not know anything but have done a lot of fishing (also done environmental science, including marine science), and yeah, your opinion is lacking in any fact or evidence.

Your sprouting the rubbish mate.

Dan

[Camhawk88]

Read it again Dan. I think you will find my opinion is backed by fact- the grow out strategies of barra farms and the age/growth index of barra (alluded to in that a 10kg barra is approx 8-9 years old and a 3kg model approx 3-4 years old). How do I know? I have worked barra farms and have a Bsc in MB (if we are going to compare education credentials).

Who said anything about a spawning aggregation point in the Coomera? I said I know of some and going by you theory it would be ok to target freshly spawned barra out of season as they are unlikely to re-spawn that season ( not an extreme analogy btw Odes- just showing up the stupidity of the premise by applying it in a slightly different situation). In fact I will garantee you 100% there is no spawning ag. points in the Commera- or any other river for that matter as they move out of the rivers into bays and headlands to do their thing- get a book and look it up if you want to check the facts.

Just a thought- fish have fins and a tail (fact last I looked) and can move around- just because it was caught in the Coomera does not mean it may not travel further afield in the next couple of months to spawn.

Bottom line- the rules are in place- have been for over 20 years, if you dont know them and get done- stiff bikies. Just ask the bloke who kept and bragged to the paper about his big QLD Grouper a few years ago (Courier Mail 2008 I believe).

[NAGG]

There is Barra farms maybe not in the Coomera but adjoining rivers (I just Googled it).

To be brutally honest, and I mean brutally honest, I am surprised at how readily a pack of fisherman attack another fellow fisherman for wetting a line and catching a Barra.
If this is the sort of crap a guy has to endure because he caught a Barra in the stinkin filthy old Coomera, over developed river then its pretty sad.

I mean I have been accused of some petty complaints in my time, BUT THIS ONE TAKES THE CAKE!

Dan

Mate ... It's not about where ,how or why it was caught - it's about when !
Who knows - there really may be a spawning aggregation around the gold coast ..... you just dont know .
it surprised a lot of people that the Mary river has one ........ but when the word got out - what happened ?

You probably didn't know either ...... but Narrabeen Lake (Sydney) had a reasonably healthy Mangrove Jack population prior to the 1970's - It was wiped out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nature can throw out some real curve balls at times - Fools that ignore this fact can screw it up big time (for ever)

this knob - who caught the barra (out of season) - then advertised it ...... then told fisheries where to go (indirectly) - deserves the weight of the law to come down on him ......... for being a knob as much as the catching , killing and eating a out of season barra

Chris