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View Full Version : Another Fish Dumping Episode - Tonnes of Fish Including Large Tailor Rotting in Creek



bigmack
19-07-2013, 08:43 PM
To: Hon John McVeigh MP Member for Toowoomba South Minister

Dear Sir - I would like to ask you how long that the government and the ministry will continue to ignore the blatant greed, waste and complete disregard for the ocean and others as displayed by licensed fishermen who net the beaches along our coastline.

The Courier Mail reported yesterday tonnes of fish dumped into two local creeks on Moreton Island and the size of the fish were substantial; including large tailor and other species in various stages of decay which would indicate dumping over a number of days or weeks. I would like to point out that this is not an isolated incident and has also occurred on a regular basis on Sunshine Coast Beaches with councils required to bring tractors in to clean up and bury the dead fish in local dumps.

The netting of complete schools of fish and the subsequent waste is just not tolerable when you consider the punitive bag limits imposed on the average weekend amateur fisherman.

To see a complete school of fish with associated by catch hauled onto the beach and left to die is confronting enough; but to see tonnes of fish dumped / wasted is just a complete disgrace and insult to common sensibility and an insult to your governance and the rules and regulations imposed on all of us - which by the way is always presented as a way of conserving our fishery.

Obviously there are rules for one and not the other and the licensed fisherman seem to be well above and beyond the law..

I would also like to point out that Tailor as a species is not a fish that keeps well and is rarely seen for sale in fish shops so I can only assume that the tailor is being used for pet food or chicken feed. And that's another disgrace and blatant insult to all amateur fisherman, for the Tailor is a prized catch from the beach and eats well when fresh.

When are you going to stand up and enforce the law properly and when will you take strong enough action to confiscate boats, cars, nets ....the lot and prosecute these people and remove from the industry.

We are sick of the all the motherhood words and best interests at heart comments to appease the wider community.

Its time that you got off your back sides, get out there in the community and look at who is raping and pillaging the existing fish stocks.

I might also point out that many/most of the number plates on the vehicles belonging to the licensed fisherman on Moreton were NSW registered.

To all good Ausfish people we have to get onto this. My letter is gone .....you should write as well if you feel pissed off that this can continue to happen on a regular basis.

Cheers
Bigmack

Crunchy
19-07-2013, 08:51 PM
Well written bud.

theoldlegend
20-07-2013, 07:14 AM
Yeah, good job Big Mack.

It's so bloody frustrating to see this stuff on such a large scale, yet the powers that be seem reluctant to take positive action about it. Why? Surely people have seen it happening, then why haven't the authorities got info from those people as a starting point for future surveillance?

Can't understand it, but I'd sure like to see some prosecutions. I think we have the right to expect it.

TOL

manta man
20-07-2013, 11:58 AM
Well Big Mack i applaud you. As a Fellow Beach Fisherman this is an absolute disgrace. Fisheries claim they"ve had 11 complaints over 5 years into the on goings of this type Blatant Waste of Fish and still "No Prosecutions". I for one used to venture, to a couple of places on the Island to catch large Tailor. As said on a previous thread have not fished a Beach in 8 years, and if your wondering why, i got into a Massive Argument with some Netters on Moreton about 9 years ago have not returned since and anywhere else for that matter. I don't like being told to "F Off " by anybody especially, by a bunch of Thugs who seem to think they can do what ever they want wherever. I have"nt forgotten their Faces, and one day we will meet again.

lampuki
20-07-2013, 01:52 PM
That is sad manta. Recs being bullied off beaches. i don't fish moreton anymore either, for other reasons. baseball bats at dawn - the type of pro that bullies other people and dumps fish as reported in the cm, violence will be the most effective method...a bit like back in 03 really.

rainbowrascal
20-07-2013, 05:31 PM
We have the same problem in Hervey Bay with commercials doing what they like in the marine reserves and go slow zones. Letters have been sent to government departments and ministers with the same result, no action and meaning less replies. There have even been videos of illegal activities but all just a waste of time. Netting is allowed in the marine reserves, can you believe that!! If you have a commercial licence its just too hard for the authorities to manage so its left alone, easier to fine the recreational fisherman. There are several ton of barra netted here annually in the river heads area. We all need to take our boats and trailers and block the Bruce hiway for a day, maybe we will get a response that way.

keepitreel
21-07-2013, 10:30 AM
Have seen massive fish dumps up in the gulf rivers. I have photos of tonnes of queenfish and trevally on a river bank rotting. Pro barra boats netting off whole river systems to the point where you cant fish for fear of running over one of their nets. Absolute disgrace.

Mr Squiggles
21-07-2013, 03:34 PM
Well Big Mack i applaud you. As a Fellow Beach Fisherman this is an absolute disgrace. Fisheries claim they"ve had 11 complaints over 5 years into the on goings of this type Blatant Waste of Fish and still "No Prosecutions". I for one used to venture, to a couple of places on the Island to catch large Tailor. As said on a previous thread have not fished a Beach in 8 years, and if your wondering why, i got into a Massive Argument with some Netters on Moreton about 9 years ago have not returned since and anywhere else for that matter. I don't like being told to "F Off " by anybody especially, by a bunch of Thugs who seem to think they can do what ever they want wherever. I have"nt forgotten their Faces, and one day we will meet again.
I was up near North Point a few years back & "I'm pretty SURE who you're talking about" came up & had the hide to ask me if I'd seen any activity or caught anything. At least I was in the position to tell him to F off this time!!

bigmack
21-07-2013, 05:59 PM
Guys - thanks for the positive response. The attitude of these people really galls me and its not just the fish, camping in unauthorised areas, threatening amateurs or anyone who looks sidewise at them, cra&8ping in the dunes etc. They just don't care and think its their god given right to rip the guts out of the ocean. These people are not professional and not commercial.........they wouldn't understand those words. They believe their license makes them untouchable and gives reign to take everything.

I am more than happy if you use my letter as a template to draft your own letter and send it off to local members or minister or fisheries.

The other thing that pisses me off about these situations - the complete invisibility of the greenies, do-gooders and environmentalists who think they know how the fishery should be managed but fail to wade in in situations like this.

There has also been some press in the Sunshine Coast Daily with comments from Noosa North Shore way about the decline in Tailor and a useless graph published to try and imply that this is a cyclical thing. That's bullshit as well.

If we don't keep applying personal pressure as a group, then nothing will happen, as usual.

Good fishing guys

BM

Slider
22-07-2013, 01:24 AM
Big Mack,

While I support your efforts here to some degree, I can't let your comments re the Noosa North Shore tailor situation and the article in the Sunshine Coast Daily go untouched.

The graph to which you refer, which was constructed by myself, in no way implies any cyclic scenario and the article in no way implies any cyclic scenario - quite the opposite and clearly so. There is a clear downward trend of tailor yields in the Cooloola/Fraser region and the graph is demonstrative of that. For your information, that graph and the article by Bill Hoffman was the catalyst for Fisheries to last week re-assess tailor stocks and reverse their assessment that they are being sustainably fished. As a result of my work and that of Bill's, which you are criticising for some bizarre reason, Fisheries are now committed to look at ways of recovering tailor stocks and have invited me to be a part of that process. I will, in this process be representing the interests of the recreational fishing sector and the community at large - including yours.

Perhaps you should read the article again and not just the comments after - and I notice 2 new ones that must be yours. While you're re-educating yourself, have a look at "Tailor Stocks Hanging by a Thread" in the News section of this website and see what other 'bullshit' I'm capable of.

Lindsay Dines

Apollo
22-07-2013, 07:26 AM
........... Fisheries are now committed to look at ways of recovering tailor stocks and have invited me to be a part of that process. I will, in this process be representing the interests of the recreational fishing sector and the community at large - including yours..........
Lindsay Dines

Lindsay

Good to hear you have been invited to the discussion and I wish you the best in achieving some meaningful results. I must admit, that I fear that their version of providing sustainability and improved tailor stocks will be nothing like your and that we will only get shafted more by reduced bag limits on recs fishos or a closed season/area or worst a green zone, whilst no real action is taken on others issues affecting sustainability.

Best of luck with your endeavours.

Slider
22-07-2013, 12:25 PM
There's a chance that you could be correct there Appollo, but I'll have to play that by ear. We should all know a little more in a couple of weeks.

Dave_H
22-07-2013, 01:23 PM
I might also point out that many/most of the number plates on the vehicles
belonging to the licensed fisherman on Moreton were NSW registered.


Do you think you may have overlooked one small thing? You assume that the person/s who have caused ALL of these kills are licenced professional fishermen. I must admit that there are rogue elements in every industry (I have no doubt that you can ID those responsible) but there are still people in society who are not licenced or pro fishermen who think it is their right to also use nets to fish. These are the ones you'll never stop unless you get them red handed. Farks it for everyone else I know and they do it under cover of the night for the most part, but I must admit I have never known one long term pro fisho to go raping and pilliaging the resource in the way that you folks are seeing up there. Most of them know if they were to do so today would mean the demise of the resource at a later date.

I know some of you are dead against pro fishos but just be aware what you've seen may not neccessarily be caused by them. That said, I don't live with my head in the sand and if you know exactly who they are then get evidence and get it to someone who can do something about it and if they wont then social media like newspapers and facebook work so much better when there are photos of them in the act to name and shame....

lampuki
22-07-2013, 01:51 PM
I was waiting for this comment....surprised it took so long. Cant we just get along bs.....in the case of beach netting, its us vs them. Those who net, and those who dont. What the hell is a rec fisho going to do with tonnes of net caught fish??

Dave_H
22-07-2013, 03:40 PM
I was waiting for this comment....surprised it took so long. Cant we just get along bs.....in the case of beach netting, its us vs them. Those who net, and those who dont. What the hell is a rec fisho going to do with tonnes of net caught fish??

It wasn't a "lets all get along and hum kumbyah" comment, it was a very plainly put "be careful who you blame if you didn't see them do it" comment. So next time I see half a dozen built maoris or other indgenous fellas row a net around a beach I should stop one of them and ask for their licence? Bugger me....

Learn to comprehend rather than just read before you shoot your mouth off...

lampuki
22-07-2013, 11:59 PM
Fair point Dave, you were simply stating not to make assumptions on this particular kill.

Over time on ausfish there have been a fair few posts on the topic of beach/inshore netting and ultimately the old "its not too bad", "be careful what you wish for" chestnuts gets thrown out as defence for the practice of beach netting - that's were my comment has come from.

Dave_H
23-07-2013, 10:22 AM
Fair call. My apologies if I offended in my further reply.

B_E_N
23-07-2013, 12:58 PM
tip, do not approach these guys with the attitude that you need to enforce the law. much more evidence can be gathered by sucking up to them. close up pics, audio, video and hey maybe you can even purchase a fish off them (another law broken). we need to be the eyes and ears and gather as much info as we can as quickly as we can if we want these practices to be stopped.

bigmack
24-07-2013, 03:41 PM
Big Mack,

While I support your efforts here to some degree, I can't let your comments re the Noosa North Shore tailor situation and the article in the Sunshine Coast Daily go untouched.

The graph to which you refer, which was constructed by myself, in no way implies any cyclic scenario and the article in no way implies any cyclic scenario - quite the opposite and clearly so. There is a clear downward trend of tailor yields in the Cooloola/Fraser region and the graph is demonstrative of that. For your information, that graph and the article by Bill Hoffman was the catalyst for Fisheries to last week re-assess tailor stocks and reverse their assessment that they are being sustainably fished. As a result of my work and that of Bill's, which you are criticising for some bizarre reason, Fisheries are now committed to look at ways of recovering tailor stocks and have invited me to be a part of that process. I will, in this process be representing the interests of the recreational fishing sector and the community at large - including yours.

Perhaps you should read the article again and not just the comments after - and I notice 2 new ones that must be yours. While you're re-educating yourself, have a look at "Tailor Stocks Hanging by a Thread" in the News section of this website and see what other 'bullshit' I'm capable of.

Lindsay Dines

HI Lindsay - I am fully supportive of your work and have read your previous information on Tailor Stocks, netting, panic and danger message from trapped fish affecting all other species on the beach etc etc. If my comment was misconstrued I am sorry. What i tried to say was that anyone who believes this is cyclical and I think there was a reference from someone in fisheries that said this was cyclical??? is rubbish. I think those people who have been fishing for tailor for more than 40 years (me included) will know that the species is in genuine decline.

If you had read my article you would know that I am on your side otherwise wouldn't have bothered to be angry enough to write to the minister....

Cheers