fishing size limits what do you think?

[BigE]

I'll be up front (I'm sure I'll get a caneing at first) I believe the best option is to take big fish, the min. size should be related to the size a fish species attains after it has spawned 2-3 times (one for mum,one for dad, one for the school) sounds simple but you find most are if exclude politics & Religion

Regards

BigE

[dogsbody]

Gday Big e what about fish that change sex when they reach a certain size like barra and flathead. If we only take the large ones surely that can only lead to one outcome.

Dave.

[tunaman]

I dont know how many people on here just fish for sport, but like Ive
stated befour, 99% of fish I catch goes back in the water. And the one%
that dont go back are sharks mmmmmmmmmmm Tasty. Oh I,d better change that to 95%, cause there are times where people get up me for letting a nice fish go, and so if legal and not a breader, I give it to them
to take home. But you should see some peoples faces when I let a good fish go.

I had one bloke say to me, I a fisha here all,a day, and I catch,a nothing. You come,a here and,a catch a plenty of a fish, and ,a you let them,a go! What,a wrong with you,a Aussie. So after I gave him a good bream, and told him why I fish, he still didnt get it, but was happy about the fish.


signed tunaman

[Taipan]

What happened to medium size,, I throw most back regardless of size, but the one I do keep are usually the in between...the missus loves bream, I'll only keep those round the 30 mark, Barra, cause they're so rare for me, lol, i'll keep 60 - 80cm.
All just depends on the species and if i feel like seafood really.

[hooknose]

Most size limits should be increased especially whiting and bream( 23 cm is a joke, you cant even get a decent fillet off a fish this size. Also agree with max limits on most fish ( let the largies live on I say)
Cheers !!!
8-)

[el_pescador]

Slot limits are definitely the way 2 go.

Big E, my understanding ( and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) is that a really big female of most species will produce eggs in greater proportion to her size. In other words a fish of say 1.2m will produce 5 times as many eggs as a fish of 600mm whereas she is only twice the size.

[onerabbit]

Not sure about slot limits,

but I agree most minimum size limits need to be raised,
in my boat, if you think you need to measure, it goes back.

Most of the fish we bring home would be well over the line, with the rest being left to fight another day.

I like the middle sized fish.

Muzz

[Wear_the_fox_hat]

Good to see that the people who have commented genuinely care about fish stocks.

To the charter operators out there that take heaps of fish & use numbers on board to take more to help pay for fuel & more etc.

GO AWAY YOU MONEY HUNGRY IDIOTS & EARN A LIVING ELSEWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!

You only care about NUMBER ONE & yet you give the perception that you #are great people!!!!!!!

It gives me the TOM TITS that after having fished a reasonabl fishing spot for years (while looking after it) & then you can get pinged (drive by GPS theft which I am not guilty of myself) & then this spot is stuffed from here-onin.

Have a look at how fish stocks have declined off the the Gold Coast & surrounds & now people are looking further north to go & have a fish wide off Noosa Heads, Double Island Point & Fraser Island.

You have contributors to magizines that earn a pittance compared to what the magazine may earn & in the meantime what they do is gradually stuff the ecosystems they brag about being so great.

I know this is going to upset some people, but so be it.

All I can say is: STOP RAPING THE SEA & PULL YOUR HEADS IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


WTFH

[Tim_01]

I think that legal sizes should be increased and bag limits decreased, regardless of the species. I practice catch and release for nearly all of the fish that i catch and encourage others to do so. I ususally only keep them if they are above legal size and have swallowed the hooks. I also think that fishing comps should be catch and release only to set a good example for others.

thats my opinion,

Tim

[RCG008]

Definitley size limits is a heated topic...

I noticed the difference even between NSW and QLD. The whiting limit in QLd is a joke. When we where there in April I just couldnt bring myself to keep a 25cm example let alone 23cm. I dont know whether we make it harder it makes the system better or what? But something will happen soon. Surely if we give a species a better chance (especially the slow growing ones) with bigger, more controlled limits, they stand to be there in the future.

I still think trawlers are "not" the way of the future. Just look out off Fraser Island on the horizon for proof. Not only for us but environmentally...Big word that. Fish farming seems to be a very viable option. I dont know why we dont get behind it more. Less commercial fishing means better fishing for recreational sureley.

I think Bag limits and Size limits should be reviewed. Recent studies show fish stocks are only 1/3rd of what they used to be. Jezzz guys that is not much left. A lot of you carry on how great it is to show your grand kids how to fish. What chance am I going to have in 30 years?

Like I said a very hot topic and always someone will say something others dont like. Nice work to all the guys that stick to current limits and to the ones that barely keep fish at all.

[Feral]

I leave it to the experts.
I figure they are getting all my tax dollars to give me an opinion, so I may as well use what I paid for.

I then follow the rules, trusting that it is the right thing to do.

[Homer_Jay]

Definatly a slot limits and bag limits. But I must say I am not a big fish eater, I only fish for the fun of it.

HJ

[BigE]

interesting views guys(&gals) keep em comming, it's good to see there isn't any insults flying around seems we all recognise this as a serious issue facing us all. notice a few guys concerned about spieces that change sex. I was of the belief that if the level of females dropped down that largest males in the school changed sex. I think the DPI studied this at some stage when fish farming was being researched.

Regards BigE

[mylestom]

Well just an opinion and an observation fishing this system and a few others for near on fifty years.

Large breeding Flathead female to approx 6 to 7 smaller males in tow. If you take out that female what happens then. The ratio seems to be about the above stated and would make more sense to take what you need only for your immediate needs of the smaller males. Why take out a breeding age female with her capabilities of restocking the system, in the hope that one of the smaller will grow into her size and breeding abilities. Seems a strange way to think to me.

Leave the big breeders alone and let them do their job.

Believe that the slot limits like Queensland have for Flathead should be implemented in NSW.

But Queensland? and NSW need to increase size limits on some fish.

All states needs to constantly review stocks and pressures and with consultation with the community, not just the greenies, come up with a working discussion paper, that is viable and not just a political point scoring document.

Just one persons opinion.

Merry Christmas to all


Trev

[fish81]

Having bag number makes sense but I think size limit is bulls**t. How many fish can a recreational fisherman get in a day? Those trawlers and commercial fishers clean up a lot of fish in a day! use net with bigger holes to prevent getting small fish is a scam. The number of small fish they kill in a day is nowhere near the number of small fish all Ozs local fishermen could kill in a month!

[mylestom]

Totally disagree, there are too many people out there both rec fisherman and tourist who take too many and either to small or fish to large.

The regulations may not be perfect, but we have to start somewhere.

The more we discuss the matter and do the figures the better off in the long run.

Our system here hasn't had any pressure from commercial fisherman for a few years now and we can start to see the results. However in saying that some local fisherman are still taking undersize fish.

Believe as stated previously that we need bag and slot limits for the fish especially of the easily caught species. Yes there are places where you can bag out if thats your thing.

I take what we can eat and return the rest for the grandchildren and future generation. Yes that is my choice.

Merry Christmas


Trev

[Feral]

What we need is Governments to seriously embrace the idea of restocking saltwater target species. If they stocked flathead, snapper and jewfish in Qld, they could cater for most fisherman getting a feed and a bit of sport, if necessary closing down all other species on a regular basis to allow natural numbers to build back up.

[Livey]

There are many reasons to go fishing but a big one for me is to catch a trophy fish. My target species are snapper and Red Emperor in Qld. Reds have a min size of 55cm which I think is pretty good but snapper are still 35cm which is too small. Why not increase the size limit so that fishermen dont bag out so quickly and when they do they will come home with a decent weight of fish and hopefully a nice one. its a long way to go offshore only to bag out in the first half hour even when applying your own limit for me its 40cm. People fishing in close may not like this but eventually the big fish will come back if the size limit is increased.

p.s. the size limit for most species of cod is 38cm some cod rarely even get this big eg tomato, coral cod. I have very rarely seen a cod swim back after it has come from the depths and if it will never be legal it seems a waste

[gone_fishing]

most fishermen have now increased there kit to obtain a camera
good work folks
catch what you need enjoy the experience let the breaders live eat the rest ;D
ps really if you liked seafood in the long run its cheaper to buy it from the co op
tight lies to all ;D ;D

[ronnieandbill]

Hi All
I have seen just legal flatties being cleaned and commented that they should still be swimming-- they are next years catch. I was also out one day and heard a woman comment that her husband at bribie landed a nice flathead that was 72 cm's long. I had to have a go and stated in no unpleasant terms that the legal limit was 70 cm's and if I were her I wouldn't be bragging and to go back and tell her husband that he needed reporting. It really gets up my nose when I hear or know of someone doing stuff like this.
What do they think we have size limits for- so it looks good on a piece of paper.
S*****T I get annoyed when I see someone cleaning a little flattie that must of been stretched to make the limit. I even told the B****** they were cleaning next years catch.
Since I moved up here and started saltwater fishing I have noticed how much the size and quantity of our catch has depleted.
If an increase of size or a bag limit on species is going to preserve our sport for the future then do it.
I feel very strongly about preserving the fishing industry not only for Commercial but for recreational fishers to; so whatever we can do to protect our most favorite past time do it. Take a camera with you and if its under or over size at least you have a lasting memory of the ONE YOU LET GO.

Sorry guys I may of got off the track a little from your pole but as I stated if its too small or to big let it go.

Ronnie

[oscar64]

Interesting post guys.

There seems to be plenty of voices on here.

How many of us have filled out the East Caost Finfish survey that will ultimately put in place how we fish.

We have a great sport that effectively COULD BE WIPED OUT if we dont ALL work together.

Instead of beefing on here get a survey , for yourself, wife, sister, daughter , son and the whole bloody neighborhood, fill it in and get it back to DPI by the 7 Feb .

Otherwise our 'lovely' pro friends will get what they want and our fish stocks will start to decline until we end up like the UK and Europe, where you catch sweet fa most of the time.

Once the new regs are passed there will be no use coming on here bitchin and moaning about it all when you have a chance to have your say.
If you dont want to do it for yourself , do it for your children or grand children, because one day they may like to go fishing ... but there wont be many fish for em to catch.

Mine has already been posted weeks ago, by the way.

The choice is yours.

Pete

[ronnieandbill]

Pete
Is the survey online???? If so link please and I'll make sure we all fill it out.

I have my own opinions on things as do we all but it is true--- we need to say what we think before and not whine ang bi***tch after the damage has been done.

Ronnie

[fishplukka]

i thnk the slot and bag limts are good ! size limits need reviewing i personly throw back {gentley} the smaller ones ! and the big females we need them for future stock ! but what about crabs ? how many females do we need ? are their any males left ! havent caught a feed of decent sized males in recent times !

[Bender]

I grew up fishing for enough for a feed and releasing the rest. As population grows so does the pressure on all natural resources not just fish.
Fishing is great sport and a lot of satisfaction can be gained from an outing and there is almost nothing like a young child catching thier first fish.
I will always keep what i need and let the rest go (sometimes there arent any to keep or let go lol).
It is certainly encouraging to have maximum size limits applied to fish, and definatley a step in the right direction for the longevity of fishing.

[Cobia_Kid]

a few cm over legal is fine or anything u can get a descent fillet off ;)
unless it is a big cod or flattie and those s orts of things. ;D ;D
cheers
jamie

[Reef_fisher]

I always find it interesting when recos are "asked" what they think should happen in our fishery. The problem is, different fisheries have different problems. Over fishing by trawlers or pros in one area don't apply to other areas yet other areas are effected by legislation leading from the information. Just one of many things that happen when legislation is decided upon.
Call me untrusting but, is this process designed to keep us concentrating on our own needs and not the overall big picture. Sorry guys but restricting recos limits is only one very small way to help the fishery as a whole. As stated some people ignore the rules anyway which would make them useless.
I have attended meetings , filled out paperwork etc. with a view of my region in mind whilst doing so. I still have a bad taste in my mouth about it all. After reading some of these responses I wonder if this "data" is applied to regions rather than the whole state. I truely hope so.

[grubfish]

education and promotion of catch and release fishing practices has evidently been pushed into the recreational sector. i beleive that the continuum of this will definitley be more beneficial than restrictions on access and quota's. you will always get the old fashioned catch and kill your bag limit fishermen, but with the positive ethical trends of catch and release fishing practices it may assist as an excellent management action.

well...... thats where i stand.

[01wombat]

Hi all :) :) :)
Bag and size limits are a good ideas :D :D and you all seem to care for the futcher as do i. ;D ;D ;D I can see by all of your comment's that every body means to do the best that they can in one way or another :) :) :).You all need to be commended ;D :D :)for you dedication and the effort you put into trying to keep the system working . ;D ;D ;D ;D
The thing is there is a lot of people who don't care or think as you all do and take what ever, when ever and how ever . What we need is Proper Policing and more manpower out on the water . ::) :-? :o :-/

[ak73]

i personally think bag limits should be tighter... but really you can't police everything.

[ronnieandbill]

Hi all #:) :) :)
Bag and size limits are a good ideas :D :D and you all seem to care for the futcher as do i. ;D ;D ;D #I can see by all of your comment's that every body means to do the best that they can in one way or #another :) :) :).You all need to be commended #;D :D :)for you dedication and the effort you put into trying to keep the system working . ;D ;D ;D ;D
The thing is there is a lot of people who don't care or think as you all do and take what ever, when ever and how ever . What we need is Proper Policing and more manpower out on the water . ::) :-? :o :-/

I have to agree that in part there are alot of people who don't give a rats a*******e about fish limits and size and boating laws and all that goes with our sport but
Thats only part of the overall picture.
perhaps like everything else its not just a matter of going out and getting a boat and licence and a couple of fishing rods--- its what you should know and learn and be made aware of before you do it.
Perhaps more should be done to educate some of the ones that don't know there are bag and size limits and don't know how do operate a boat effeciently and safely and keep our waterways clean and why therese rules/laws are in place.

For the ones of us that care and know the right thing to do we will do it and only hope that others follow our example so we can go out in ten years time and catch a flattie or a toad for that matter.

The answer may not be with increasing size or decreasing bag limits---- who knows but we need to be mindful that we do the right thing and at least we know then in our own minds we have done something we can feel good about.

Ronnie

[Great White]

Most size limits should be increased especially whiting and bream( 23 cm is a joke, you cant even get a decent fillet off a fish this size.
Cheers !!!
8-)

I agree with you hooknose :confused: try and pull a fillet off a 23 cm W & B and there isn't a lot of fish left to eat. I only keep the that size if they ain't going to make it.

[Ausfish]

Have added the poll back in to the thread.

Please re vote

[Synful]

Hi guys and girls,

Fundamentally I think that there needs to be two things happen:

Bag limits need to be reviewed; particularly where large fish such as Barra are concerned. I'd like to see no more than one per person in this sort of an instance - after all I think that we are all agreed that the fresher the fish the better tasting it is. We don't need to take 3 or 4 fish home; there's only so much that you can eat after all.
DPI patrols need to be stepped up. I don't want to look like I am picking on any one group; but I am yet in over 10 years of fishing to see a DPI patrol rock up to a jetty or any other popular land based fishing spot to do any checks (in QLD anyway). No use having the laws if they aren't policed...They probably aren't going to be popular suggestions but it's what I personally think. I want to take my little boy fishing when he's old enough and have him be able to catch something asides from toads or rays.

[speed]

Went fishing at Victoria point Morton Bay late thursday afternoon. I caught a lot of just under limit or just on limit. I'm quite picky with this kind of thing, as I like to take fish that are more than over limit. I got 2 snapper and a parrot fish which I kept. The 3 hours I was out I caught 10 fish but kept 3 worth eating.

When I got back in to the jetty there was a small barge on the otherside of the jetty. Got chatting to the guys and they were pro netters.
The barge they tow behind their fishing rig was full of dead fish, all species and all sizes. They already had about 40 containers on there 4x4 full of fish and they were only have way. They had some big fish but they had a more than enough of undersized fish as well.

So all my goodwork of throwing small ones back get taken by the pros. They said they do most of their fishing behind peel island and I was shocked by how much they are catching each time they go out for a team of 2 blokes. By the looks of things they are too busy to sort undersize fish out in the water and when asked they said they only sort them out when they get home. These guys were white Aussie locals.

The bigger problem in my opinion is the pros taking all fish sizes in our bays by their nets. The average Jo like myself is informed about bag limits and sizes and only take what we need. The pro fisherman takes 100000 time more fish in 1 day, and they are doing this twice a week. Even with 50 Jo's out in their boats with two rods would never match the pro fishermans quoter for one day.

[speed]

qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq

[Squiggle]

All about money really, the pro's pay for this privilege and you don't. Remember the old saying..."Money talks"

[Brett1907]

I pay for the liscences I need in my industry. It doesn't mean I can break the rules.

Brett

[Stumpy-USA]

I must say that slot limits have helped our fishing greatly. At first I didn't like the idea, but now I see that it was for the best. My home lake is a perfect example. Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper Alabama has had a 13 inch to 16 inch slot for about 15 years. When it first began we called the lake "The Dead Sea" , now it is taking 15 to 16 pounds to win tournaments and bigger bags (5 fish) are common. Its all because we had to throw the spawning size back. Now Smith Lake is everyones pick to turn out the next world record spotted bass.

Stumpy

[shorty 01]

i take home the big ones. their is no point taken small fish because you dont get a good size fillet off them. if you take the small fish home you end up taken twice the amount of fish to have a good feed.

[MeePee_99]

Hi,

I believe that bream and whiting limits in qld should be increased to at least 25cm and the bag limit should be 2, really who needs more than 2 fish of the same species per person!!!!

[Outsider1]

Hi,

I believe that bream and whiting limits in qld should be increased to at least 25cm and the bag limit should be 2, really who needs more than 2 fish of the same species per person!!!!

25cm makes sense, but a limit of 2 whiting!!, when was the last time you feed a family on 2 whiting??


Dave

[MeePee_99]

Well maybe 5 or so, but not unlimited. So many times in papers such as the Sunshine Coast daily in the fishing section do you see people with 20 - 30 whiting and bream on a tray. Who in there right mind need twenty or thirthy fish, and they wonder why areas are becoming fished out!!!!