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JasonT
03-10-2006, 02:50 PM
ok.. My rants (the negative ones...) when it comes to fishing are few and far between, but here's one I have to get off the chest!

It seems to be a bit of a trend at the moment to catch, kill and clean the fish, then begin to wonder about what the hell it is and wether or not it is edible.

I find this absolutely appalling! Don't people realise some fish will kill you if you eat them??
My 10 y.o knows better than to even touch a fish she's not 100 % sure of..
Guy's I'd even go so far as to say my border collie would display more commonsense in this situation than is evident in some of the posts put up lately.

QLD fisheries has in place a system of bag and size limits to help ensure sustainability of our fisheries.
These regulations are enforced by the QLD fisheries patrol who given their coverage area and staffing levels do a fantastic job.
I phoned them today to ensure what I have written about them is accurate and to make sure I had my facts straight regarding taking of protected and regulated species.I spoke to Richard and he clarified the following..

Fines for taking undersize or no-take species begin at about $150 and get larger as the severity of the offense increases.. IE you will be penalised more for a boatload of undersize crabs than you would be with just one.
QLD fishieries also has the option to seize any equipment used to commit the offense. This has the potential to include the boat, motor, all fishing gear / nets etc.... AND ALSO the Car towing it... (Bit expensive just to find out what a fish is don't you think?)

Get yourself onto

http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/xchg/dpi/hs.xsl/28_1203_ENA_HTML.htm

and check out the facts.

Take a camera or your mobile with you, Take a pic of any fish you catch that you can't identify and post it here - Someone will help out!

Don't just slaughter the poor bloody fish just because he was unfortunate enough to be hooked by a fisherman unable to identify him!

Let's not let commonsense go the way of the DODO!

JasonT

Note to Self:
Shields up.... Prepare for attack :-)

Fishing_Widow
03-10-2006, 02:57 PM
Much agreed JasonT.

Ian and I were at a tackle shop the other day and a bloke comes in and asked for a fish to be identified as he didn't know what it was. My first reaction was "why bloody keep it if you don't know what it was". It turned out to be a 25-26kg cobia.

Very disappointed in those who keep then ask. :(

Nomes :)

Big_unit
03-10-2006, 02:59 PM
Nope I wont attack you for that, its a bit of of a rant & rave BUT your intentions are for the better and for Ill give it the " fair call " status.

Its good to see things explained in laymans terms for the new fisho.

Good onya mate, takes a brave man to go out on a limb here even though the vast majority of us know well and good the rules and regs.

[smiley=thumbsup.gif] [smiley=thumbsup.gif] [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Cheers
James

JasonT
03-10-2006, 03:10 PM
Thanks Nomes!
I wasn't expecting support first up! :-)

Picture this......
Old mate fisho has just finished cleaning his mystery fish and notices upon arriving home that his dog has escaped from the yard.....

Couple of hours earlier old mate neighbour sees a dog walking down the street.. Not being sure of the breed he promptly catches and kills it..

Imagine old mate fishos face when the neighbour rocks up with a smile on the dial, dog swinging from the gaff asking "Hey I caught this down the street, any idea what kind it is??

I wonder if the stupidity of it would occur to him at that point ???


Jason

marlinqld
03-10-2006, 03:11 PM
I have to agree...why kill a poor little fish if you aren't aure?????????????

Mike

JasonT
03-10-2006, 03:13 PM
Cheers James!
I expect a few opinions to differ, but I have always had a problem with biting my tongue when something really gets to me!

Jason

choppa
03-10-2006, 03:19 PM
jason you raise a valid point and yeh i gotta agree,,, but i think it all comes down to education,,,,

have a look at all these posts you refer,,,how many of them have a number of responses and yet each one disagrees with that previously posted????

have a look at the fish,,,, and tell me how many names it can be called???

have a look a the topic in ths forum now on the parrot caught in botany bay,,,,you'll get my drift,,,

i agree 150%,,, if your unsure release it and learn,,, then once you know for sure,,keep it,, if you want it

choppa

TinarooTriumph
03-10-2006, 03:45 PM
I fully agree with whats been said. Choppa is spot on (like usual)... Education!. A lot of it has to do with plain old Common Sense... your born with it - if you don't have any then you may aswell not be here.

When it comes to Freshwater fish Im usually pretty good with identification, but I don't get that much of a chance to fish the salt, so I will admit I am not too good with identifying the saltwater fish. But... if some of you watched I-Fish a few weeks ago, when they were on a Charter off Townsville (I think...), chasing Nannygai, they introduced the veiwers to this little booklet. It's like a bumper sticker type booklet, that has pretty darn close to every fish specie in Australia in it, and best of all it's lightweight and you fold and carry it in your pocket - Too easy!. Waterproof too!. Get yourself one... I did!

Apart from that, if you don't know what the hell it is, and your without any info handy at the time of capture, let the bloody thing go ya mug!.

Pink Floyyd was wrong when he said 'We Don't need no education'... In some way's anyway ;D .

sunny
03-10-2006, 04:31 PM
Don't think too many sensible people will disagree with you. #

When I first moved to Australia, it was a whole new world of different species and different rules. #I took the time to learn the common species and their size and bag limits. #I don't think there's any valid reason for not doing this. #As the old saying goes "Ignorance of the law is not an excuse"

When I started fishing in Brisbane I spent several months throwing back unidentified pretty fishies. #Not understanding my target species meant I wasn't getting anything keepable anyway #:P but it made it so much sweeter when I finally did bring home a feed.

blaze
03-10-2006, 04:46 PM
Whats the old saying, some thing like
Let those that live in glass houses cast the first stone.
Let me think back over all my years of fishing and ask myself
Have I ever taken a fish that I cant positively ID ?
The answer is yes and in recent years, hows it happen. Well by other people IDing the fish and themselves being unsure and upon further research I have been found to be in breach of the law. Luckily lessons have been learnt with no fines etc being imposed. Will it happen again, I cant be sure but I hope not but still can make no garentees of that.
Is a fish edable, Most smaller (say less than 600mm) fish are not going to kill you, if you look at the fish that will kill ya on the plate they are just plain bloody ugly to look at and most people wouldnt want them in the boat. Some my not taste good but wont kill ya.
So all the people that point out in all holiness how some people that ask for id on a dead fish have commited such a gastly crime, Have you ever done it.(remember how hard it is to id some simular species)
cheers
blaze

Duyz72
03-10-2006, 04:46 PM
As a young fella I was fishing down the Biggera Creek next to where Smugglers used to be.

Not knowing any better I released a nice cod simply because I didn't have a bloody clue and did not want to risk it!

JasonT
03-10-2006, 05:00 PM
Choppa, TT

I agree guys that education is the key.... But, who wears the responsibility of educating the fishing public?
Is it DPI and Fisheries?
Is it MSQ???

I'll give you a hint.... Neither!

The onus is on ME to know what the no-take species are.
It's up to ME to know the bag and size limits..
It's up to ME to know the go-slow zones etc.
WHY???
Because it's ME who pays the penalty if I don't.
It's up to ME to know this BEFORE I FISH!

Be responsible and EDUCATE yourself. There is heaps of info around if you're prepared to look. This site is a good place to start!

It just has me buggered guys that this is an issue at all it is just blatant common sense not to kill a fish you're unsure of..

To kill something when you don't even know if it is edible or poisonous or even legal to take is just plain stupid.
To take the risk of having all your gear confiscated for the sake of that fish is mind blowingly stupid.
Anyone stupid enough to do this doesn't deserve to fish as far as I'm concerned.

Jason

JasonT
03-10-2006, 05:13 PM
Blaze,
NO I have never done it.
And from reading alot of your own posts, I'm surprised you would!
You strike me as a practical, common sense sort of bloke..

Sure I have caught fish I couldn't identify.
Before digicams and mobiles they'd be released and a quick sketch drawn to help me remember it when I went to look it up. Now with a cam onboard I take a pic, throw it back, and then it gets ID'd at home.
I get the pic and the story, the fish gets another chance.
I Have always done it like this. Always released the fish if I didn't know what it was....
WHY??
Because it seemed bloody stupid to kill it just so I could use it's corpse as a reference when looking it up. Taking the motor out of a car just to check the coolant level strikes me as an equally stupid notion.



Jason

imnotoriginal
03-10-2006, 05:30 PM
I couldn't agree more mate, it's just common sense. You don't keep something when you don't know what it is. I can honestly say I have never done it, because I don't like taking the chance. I've never seen a fisheries officer in my life, but I just know the minute I took an undersized fish my luck would bloody run out ;D. But seriously, I don't claim to know every protected species, so if I don't recognise what I've caught, I just release it, it's always interesting to find out later what it was.
Joel

flatstrap
03-10-2006, 05:41 PM
JasonT,
You make a lot of good points in this thread but I must commend you on the BIG ONE!
The onus of education is on us.

Information doesn't just transfer from its source by osmosis. All of us must ask the questions and find the answers. Pointless in having a plan or good intention. The real benefit is ACTION from good information.

Thank you for raising the subject...flatstrap

bidkev
03-10-2006, 05:46 PM
OK, break open a slab, pull up a chair, and let's have a bloody good giggle ::) Come watch my video ;D

First time out in Kingtin, (first time out on Aussie waters as a matter of fact) and fishing hard up against chain bank for whiting and lizards. The little feller got into a pretty decent fish on his little 15buck combo. As it came to the surface, I cried, "bloody hell, it's a small cobe....................no it ain't, it's a mack tuna, wait.........it's a kingfish!" Can't for the life of me remember saying anything, "cept good on yer mate" to the little feller, but it's all true I tell yer ::) ;D The deckie got it all on video, I was like a little kid at the Chrizzy tree ;D I really had no idea what it was ::) ;D <thinks> "must destroy that bloody video! ;) ;D

Turned out to be a 2 kilo Samson fish and I'll be buggered if he didn't catch a nice sized nannygai ten minutes later. Have to admit, they both came home before I'd got a positive ID............why?.............because to familiarise yourself with all of the fish would take ages, so being new to the game, I simply familiarised myself with those that might put me 6ft under or were prohibited, so although I couldn't ID 'em positively, I knew they weren't poisonous or prohibited.

I learned from that as the nannygai was only 1cm over the lower limit and I could've been in strife it had been the wrong way and a cm under. I now carry a copy of the regs, Grants, and a couple of other books and if I'm unsure it goes into the live well till I get an ID..........the kids love looking 'em up and keeping the fish alive till it is done is the way to go.

We all have to learn and folk new to fishing can get pretty excited about catching stuff when they ain't got the faintest idea what it is that they've caught. With that in mind, and thinking of how I reacted when pretty green, I can well understand (although not condone) a newbie being pretty rapt with catching and keeping something unfamiliar, but like Jason, I am amazed at the "long in the tooth" fishos who do this. On two occasions now, I have had folk who appear to have been fishing for years, come to me at the ramp and ask if I can ID a fish of theirs :o ::)

kev

If life deals you a lemon, make lemonade.

Loco_Pez
03-10-2006, 05:50 PM
Jason & co, you are onthe money. Don't kill something when you don't know what it is. I think it's bloody obvious.

I remember when I lived in Sydeny hearing about migrants who poisoned themselves eating toadfish & other similar nasties. This is not to denigrate migrants but just to show you need to educate yourself.

You can travel overseas & hire a car & drive on the road. No one will tell you the road rules it is up to you to find out or pay the consequences. Ignorance is not an excuse. It annoys me that more and more people are not having to be responsible for their own actions. Next you will have someone suing fisheries for not having signs out on the water telling people not to eat certain fish or not to cuddle stonefish.

Blaze, misidentification is another matter entirely, at least some effort is made to identify the fish & it is done in good faith. If however you have no idea, then why kill it ? Take a photo, identify it, & then kill the next one if you want to.

LP

Loco_Pez
03-10-2006, 05:52 PM
. . . yeah but did you know if there was any minimum size Kingtin ?

JasonT
03-10-2006, 06:16 PM
I really didn't expect this much of a response but I'm very glad to see it, and glad also to see so many others who choose to release their fish if they can't ID it!
It's so black and white to me.!

Jason

onerabbit
03-10-2006, 06:24 PM
An amazing response from a group that bags "greenies & tree huggers" as a catch-cry.

YES, I have bought home a few fish that I was unsure of, I have even put up a post concerning one of these fish.
A lot of the fish I catch are beyond release when they get to the boat.
I have not had the misfortune to catch a Black Cod, which is totally protected in NSW, but if I did, I would be forced to throw it back over the side only to watch it float away, dead.

I agree JasonT, if more fisho's were more educated on the fish in their area there would be less "what fish is this" posts.
But if I catch a fish that fits a family group, ie wrasse, whatever, it usually comes home for further "research".

If it's an "I have no idea fish" & it can go back , it usually does.

Muzz

bidkev
03-10-2006, 07:22 PM
. . . yeah but did you know if there was any minimum size Kingtin ?

Yes, I was more familiar with size and bag limits than I was with identification. Size and bag limits are pretty much useless if you don't know what the fish are anyway. It seems that most are familiar with "bread and butter" fish such as bream, whiting, mackerel etc., ........it's the reefies that I (used to), and many others seem to get confused by (identification).

I always carry, "A brief guide to recreational fishing rules and regulations" and this is suffice to educate anybody regarding regs. As for identification, I also carry, "reef fish field guide" which is an excellent full colour booklet illustrating Qld reef fish, which can be obtained free of charge from the DPI&F. Where this booklet is superior to others is that in the illustrations it has identifying features such as protruding upper lips, fins edged in white etc circled in the illustrations, so that identifying features that distinguish it from similar fish are drawn to your attention.

kev

If someone is too tired to give you a smile, leave one of your own, because no one needs a smile as much as those who have none to give.

2fishy
03-10-2006, 09:43 PM
i agree with all you's and yes the lack of education is a reason for not being able to identify fish.

yes they do have free size/bag limit guides but this does not help if you do not know what the fish is. now with most licence's (car, boat, etc) you get some sort of information or booklet to help identify situations etc, so why is it that when you purchase your fishing licence they can not provide you with a booklet of fish species (pictures) along with their sizes, bag limits etc. I know that it is possible to get these books but they never seem to be readily avalible (at least were i fish anyway)
I know it would cost money to give everyone a book like this, but people will continue to take fish because they simple dont know that what they are doin is wrong.

for example a few months back, walking along the beach i asked a fellow fisherman if he had caught any, he said '2 whiting' so i went over and had a look....you wouldn't believe it, they were flathead (undersized). he even had one of those fisheries measuring stickers on his bucket. and this is not the first time i have seen somthing like this.

matt

Hornblower
03-10-2006, 09:56 PM
Good post Jason,

I agree with you 200%.

For those that do kill the fish before knowing what it is - it is a bit like hanging a person before the trial - isn't it???

Cheers ;) ;) ;) ;)

ancienttinnie
03-10-2006, 10:08 PM
Getting started the right way goes a long way to helping stop this problem. I nearly cried when I found that the fish I didn't know and thus went by the rule "when in doubt throw it out" turned out to be a moses perch almost fourteen inches long. Just the same the blame for some of this can be cast at some of our professional people that do not always take the time to make sure beginners have a copy of the rules and some basic ID info. Most fishos are generally keen to build up their knowledge, and sensible beginners are often all to grateful for any and all help they can get. Great point though and it should be emphasised to all fishos!

SeaSaw
03-10-2006, 10:35 PM
Ok I agree that it makes no sense to take a fish if you have absolutely no idea what it is. If that is the case then throw it back - I do ;)

BUT ........ The lynching gang around here is as uninformed as the people taking unknown fish. Everytime someone puts up a post to ID a fish, people attack them without knowing the circumstance. :(

I have taken fish home many times to positively ID them AND I have been 100% sure I was not breaking any laws. How ... glad you asked ;D

Here's an example. I catch a job fish, that I am 100% sure is a job fish, but I am not sure which one it is as many of them are very very similar. So I take it home to ID it as I know it is a job fish and good eating. I know I have not broken any laws as every type of job fish has a minimum size of 38cm and you can keep 5 of most (although only a combined limit of 5 for rosy & lavender job fish). However I have less than 5 in total of all job fishes and this one is over the 38cm limit.

The other thing that people need to understand is that the restircted fish list is not that big. It doesn't take too long before you can positively ID every fish on the restricted list. Once you can do this, ANYTHING else you catch is legal to take home. If it is not on the restricted list then there are no bag or size limits and you can legally keep it even if you have no idea what it is.

Now I am not saying it is a good idea to keep unknown fish if you are in this situation, but it is perfectly legal, and people shouldn't have to face the lynching gang for asking for an ID.

I guess I am agreeing that people shouldn't take a fish if you have no idea what it is, but it is about time people were given some leeway and allowed to ask for an ID without being attacked. I am sure many are no longer willing to ask for an ID because of the way many have been treated, and this is counterproductive to educating people.

Mark


PS Muzz, I've caught a few Black Cod and they taste great ;) ;D and this is just fine in QLD

JasonT
04-10-2006, 06:43 AM
Mark,
It's just as easy to ask for an ID from a picture of the fish taken just before you release it.. :-)


Jason

blaze
04-10-2006, 06:53 AM
Hi Jason
I understand where you are coming from but let me ask you have you honestly never broken any law of sea/fisheries. You keep coming across so rightous like. Yes, education is the key to it all.
cheers
blaze

Jeremy
04-10-2006, 07:29 AM
Picture this......
Old mate fisho has #just finished cleaning his mystery fish and notices upon arriving home that his dog has escaped from the yard.....

Couple of hours earlier old mate neighbour sees a dog walking down the street.. Not being sure of the breed he promptly catches and kills it..

Imagine old mate fishos face when the #neighbour rocks up with a smile on the dial, dog swinging from the gaff asking "Hey I caught this down the street, any idea what kind it is??

I wonder if the stupidity of it would occur to him at that point ???

Jason


Drawing a bit of a long bow aren't you :o
OK, so how many of the posts you refer to in which people who claim to have caught and kept unidentified fish were actually in breach of any law?
There are far worse things to do than keeping one undersize (or even oversize) fish. If they happen to eat a poisonous fish, well that would be bad luck to them.

I suggest you get your knickers in a knot ;D about some real issues
www.fishingparty.com.au

Jeremy

finga64
04-10-2006, 07:35 AM
I understand and appreciate both sides of the I.D. arguement but there's something that really peeves me to no end and something that there is NO excuse for and that is


Dissecting a 20cm bream or flathead or any juvenile fish to retrieve a 3 cent hook. Just cut the bloody thing off and let it go


There, that's off my chest #:)
I always carry an ID book but that that was after I stuffed up in keeping a protected species accidentially. My postive ID was out, way out. # :-[

chrisfish
04-10-2006, 07:39 AM
I put it back if I'm not sure about ID and also about size limits. It is not hard to keep up to date with the most frequently caught species. I caught a 30cm cod recently and could not recall if the minimum was 30 or 35 so it went back. The minimum is 35 and even if it was 30, borderline should get the benefit of the doubt and be returned anyway.

JasonT
04-10-2006, 09:24 AM
Blaze,
I'm, sure somewhere I have broken a few rules. I'm sure I don't even know all of the rules and regs!
I'm not trying to come across as righteous and I apologise to you if that's the case.
Mate I love fishing, I love the beach, the sun, the water, and the rest of this country.
I respect the fact that it's not a 100% replenishable resource.
I think you may have mistaken my passion for righteousness.
I'm not tolerant of stupidity and I make no apology for that. Anyone removing a fish without a good idea of it's species and any regulations regarding it in my opinion deserves to lose the right to fish.
To me this is not alot different to the water situation in QLD right now. Blatant waste is blatant waste and in my book killing anything for the sake of curiosity is blatant waste, the same as pouring a million litres down the driveway just to make the concrete appear clean for a week. Especially when there are other methods available which allow the fish to be released.
At risk of being labeled a "greenie", we need to realise that this country and it's bounties are not an infinitely sustainable resource. We need to start thinking alot harder about this, not with a view to maintain the status quo, but to actually make an improvement.
At the end of the day it comes back to each individual to approach their fishing with conservation in mind.
I'm not strictly catch and release, I do keep fish for the table, so please don't think I'm against taking fish altogether.
I just want to promote a more responsible attitude to fishing than what I've seen some of the posts convey.
Did you notice that some of these people have absolutely no idea that what they are doing is wrong???
That's the real problem as far as I'm concerned.
Maybe this thread will get people thinking.. Maybe not. Time will tell!


Jason

Dirtysanchez
04-10-2006, 09:56 AM
It's amazing how people ark up over these things. The points Jason raise are very valid and should provoke some thought and maybe guilt in all of us.. Going on the defense and having a go at him / others gets you no where..

I've probably taken an undersized fish or 2 when I was young and we camped up the beach and ate what we caught, but 20 years on I know it is wrong and I am certainly more diligent on such things nowdays, but it doesn't mean I should have a go at the messenger on this post !

I've never caught anything weird or exotic that had me wondering if it would be good to eat or would kill me, so maybe I am lucky :-?

If we are to sustain the fishability of our rivers, bays and beaches we all need to be sensible and educate ourselves and our kids on what is right and what isn't

Thanks ;)

choppa
04-10-2006, 10:42 AM
i dont think any one is having a go at the ""messenger of the post"" sanchez,,, in fact most of the replies agree with him

i think the overall ruling though seems to be a bit wayward,,,

jason agreed that education was the answer to my reply earlier in the piece,,, which was backed up by theo,,, however the defense came back swiftly on WHO'S RESPONSABILITY it became??

i thought this was bloody obvious myself,,,,

you dont go bushwalking without the right gear,,

no one seems to have picked up yet why we respond to these queries in the way we do,,,,even the most seasoned amongst us have problems identifying fish,,,,so imagine what a novice has to go through!!!!!!!!!!!!

lets see,,,choppa comes to bribie island 15 years ago,,, catches a whiting,,,,now is it a bloody

SUMMER WHITING
DIVERS WHITING
WINTER WHITING
SAND WHITING
WHITING (IN ITS OWN RIGHT)

I KNOW ,,, I'LL ASK ON AUSFISH,,,

Jeremy
04-10-2006, 10:49 AM
I'm not tolerant of stupidity and I make no apology for that. Anyone removing a fish without a good idea of it's species and any regulations regarding it in my opinion deserves to lose the right to fish.

Jason


That is a completely ridiculous statement to make. I'll say again, there are many far worse offences occuring on our waterways every week.



OK, so how many of the posts you refer to in which people who claim to have caught and kept unidentified fish were actually in breach of any law?

Jeremy

Since you have been unable to come up with an answer Jason, I'll help you. None!

Jeremy

blaze
04-10-2006, 10:54 AM
Hi All
I am all for substainable fisheries, was the state tagging officer in tassie for a few years, release a lot of my catch etc.
I also believe that education is the key to good fish management but it is a fact of life that these things under discussion are going to take place. Some of the blame must lay squaring with the state and federal goverments for lack of funds and the lack of resources ( I believe Angus Jack, Tony has trouble every year getting info to pass on to fisher people).
So for sure bring up the topic but before tearing strips off someone thats ask for a fish ID lets try to first help them ID their fish (education), if the fish is then illegal, lets point that out to them to, but lets not harp on how they are such a bad bastard and treat them as a lepper because some may leave the site and it is after all an exelent place for education.
So I do agree with whats being promoted but disagree with the method of promotion. I also used mysef as an example just to show that we all make mistake and with proper education we learn by them.
cheers
blaze

JasonT
04-10-2006, 11:00 AM
Nice Choppa!

"lets see,,,choppa comes to bribie island 15 years ago,,, catches a whiting,,,,now is it a bloody

SUMMER WHITING
DIVERS WHITING
WINTER WHITING
SAND WHITING
WHITING (IN ITS OWN RIGHT)

I KNOW ,,, I'LL ASK ON AUSFISH,,, "


The fact that you could identify the said fish as a member of the whiting family indicates a general knowledge of fish species commonly caught in QLD.

This info is available from innumerable sources in the way of books, websites ets.
As a reply indicated earlier it is not difficult to familiarise yourself with the common species, or even just with the no-take species.

Without going back into it all I really want to do is get people thinking about what they do with their catch and get them thinking about the future of fishing. I'm sure we'd all agree fishing won't be much fun without fish!.

I don't understand the senseless waste of killing something you're not sure you can take, or even eat. I want to actively discourage this.

To me it's simple... If you're not going to eat it (and the only way you can decide this is by knowing what it is..) THROW IT BACK!

If you're not sure what it is... THROW IT BACK!

All I'm trying to say is think about the future.
Why waste today something we may need tomorrow?

Jason

JasonT
04-10-2006, 11:11 AM
So Jeremy,
The fact that worse crimes are being committed daily on our waters makes it ok to indiscriminately waste this resource?
(Is this thinking along the lines of "it's already broken so breaking it worse won't matter")

As for how many were in breach of the law???
No idea mate, as it is impossible for me to know the details of each situation, and I'd reckon impossible for you too, but if you have proof that there were none, please show it :-)

Can't see where you're coming from with your comments I'm afraid.

To me taking a fish i'm not sure of is equivalent to taking undersize or no-take fish as If I can't identify it I am running the risk of having an undersize or no-take species onboard.
Given the penalties involved and the fact I'd like to keep fishing in the future I'll play it safe!

Jason

Jeremy
04-10-2006, 12:05 PM
of course I do not condone anyone taking undersize fish or exceeding their bag limits, but there are far worse things happening in and under the water which have a far greater effect on fish stocks. These are what you should be worrying about.

And if you can't tell me which of the recent threads on ausfish actually broke any law - yes those threads which you say inspired your first post - then why is this such a big issue for you?

Jeremy

JasonT
04-10-2006, 03:21 PM
Jeremy
I don't think I've actually said anyone has definitively broken the law.
I'm struggling it seems, to get the point across that if you don't know for certain what a particular fish is, then you run the risk of breaking the law.

It's such a big issue for me because there's no need to kill a fish to ID it.
No need at all. It occurred to me that pointing this out in a public forum might give people cause to think about it next time they catch something they can't identify!

I've missed a couple of good fish because I couldn't ID them on the spot and released them. Stiff Sh*t I say! It made the anticipation of catching and keeping the next one that much more fun

Jason

Cruize
04-10-2006, 04:09 PM
Eat hamberges and throw all your fish back! Problem solved.

JasonT
04-10-2006, 05:31 PM
Cruize...
;D ;D ;D ;D

If only beef tasted as good as flathead!

Jason

Big_unit
04-10-2006, 11:17 PM
Fellas,
Jason has a got his hooks into to this issue and is being staunch about following it through, that's a commendable effort. I reckon if you dissect this issue too much then the whole point of it, is lost. Stick to the fact that this issue is a one problem of many that recreational fisherpeople have and has been addressed fairly well. We as rec fishos need to be aware of our obligations in keeping any species of fish. I challenge anyone here to bring up another serious issue and follow it through with the same conviction & tenacity as Jason has. Perhaps he did rant & rave a little but at the end of the day his cause is just and worthwhile, its for our own longevity and enjoyment.

Fishing is not a right, its a privilege we must preserve.

Cheers
James

JasonT
05-10-2006, 07:21 AM
Thanks James.
It think you're right..
Enough talking about it.. Let's just do it!

:-)

Jason

fisher28
05-10-2006, 09:50 AM
i have an old,but very handy fish guide on my boat,look at the picky,if neccessary a quick phone call,whammo-soon find out whether its t or not to be!!!

Dirtysanchez
05-10-2006, 02:56 PM
Well said Big Unit

Hows fishing up Hervey lately ? hope to be up there soon

KelvinH
05-10-2006, 08:21 PM
If you aren't going to eat it, put it back.
If you don't know what it is, don't eat it!

TinarooTriumph
05-10-2006, 08:58 PM
If you were a novice snake handler, and you came across a snake you'd never seen before - You wouldn't pick it up, would you now!. Unless you had some sufficent ID of the snake with you at the time. And although snakes and fish are totally different, it's the same case with you now being a novice angler - you wouldn't do it now, would you!. Common bloody sense.

I was at the Mourilyan Jetty one day, we had come down to see some mates and had a rod in the back so we could maybe wet a line. As we approached the Jetty, this guy came up to me with his right hand wrapped up in his shirt, with a little blood on the shirt, and asked me what he had caught about 30mins ago. He then pulled off the lid to his esky, and pulled out what myself and a fellow angler at the Jetty thought was a baby Barracuda, which had been slighty tanned due to him leaving it in the sun whilst trying to find some ID on the fish in his car. 'Sh!t did it rip me up' he said!... my reply was 'Yeah well thats what those very obvious Barracuda teeth do to you mate'. That's about the only case I've seen anyway... Im sure there will be many other's to come...

As for undersized fish... I don't know how much of a problem it is on the coast, or down south, but where I am - It's pretty close to the top of the 'Worries' list. Two months ago I had my mother pick me up from a school activity out on Tinaroo. Got in the car, and she began to tell me how these guys had caught 2 or 3 Barra from the newly built Pontoon... I was quite amazed, as I wouldn't even picture Barra being caught from there. My mate Brad asked the anticipated question... 'So how big were these Barra'. 'Oh, not very big, about 30 odd cm's' she replied. 'WTF!!!'. She could also tell me that she thought these fish had yellow tag's on them!. I was just about to throw on my Learner plates and hurl mum out of the car, when Brad told her what the problem was. We travelled as fast as we could back to the pontoon (with mum behind the wheel >:( ), but they had obviously packed it up for the day, so we took a drive around the Holiday Park to see if they were there - Nothing. This is just 1 case...

I need a drink... ;D