Fish kill 1770!!!! Help!

[agnes_jack]

Just went down to the estuary at 1770 after hearing several reports of "hundreds of dead fish washing down the estuary, around the front half of the creek!!
I went down and collected some samples of what appeared to be mainly herring, that were washed up along the shoreline.
I have rung the DPI, the EPA, the wishwatch hotline etc and basically gone around in circles back to the first number I rang. It appears that I can not contact anyone who gives a rats, until at least monday!!!
My main problem is whether or not to freeze the samples I have collected for testing????
Has anyone got any idea what is the best way to keep the samples, till I can get them to some one for Testing???
Any help would be appreciated!!!

Regards, Tony
PS.......Will post a few photo's in the morning

[karana]

Freeze the samples making sure they come into contact with NOTHING.

If you have rung all the correct numbers who knows but try again Monday. Were there any trawlers working off the estuary on an in coming tide?

[roz]

Tony,

may be a good idea to freeze some samples, and if possible store some in the fridge (in a sterile container if possible), if i had known sooner I could have sent you some.

[Lucky_Phill]

Tony, have managed to get onto the Southern Fisheries, who sometimes do the testing on these sorts of things. Spoke to a Scientist there ( well, he was out at dinner. ::) ), and he said to just freeze them. He was also surprised at you not being able to contact people from EPA or DPI, as they are supposed to keep their mobile phones on them at all times, for instances such as this.

I will pm you the good Doctors phone number should you wish to talk to him, regarding this..........Monday :-/

Cheers Phill

[DICER]

Hi Tony, I am surprised as well. If it is just herring that is affected, then it suggests a virus, but if it is widespread amongst other fish then it suggests some sort of poisoning perhaps. There are a few people who you might want to contact. But I am not sure of the phone billing.

Like people above have said; Take fresh lunch type bags and collect several samples in separate bags from different locations. Label, date and freeze them. Perhaps collect more if you suspect they are fresh ones. Especially if new ones are appearing.

You can also contact the following groups below. They have experience with the pilchard kill in western and southern Australia. They also identified the associated virus and may be interested in this case.

Marine and Atmospheric research CSIRO
Head office (Hobart) +61 3 6232 5222 or (Cleveland) +61 7 3826 7200

Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
(Geelong) +61 3 5227 5000 ~ if you think it is really widespread

The question remains if it is a local kill or if it is widespread? If it were poisoning or anoxia then I think it will be best that you keep at the local and Qld numbers, QDPI and CSIRO, until they turn up (next week most likely)! Perhaps ask other concerned people to ring their number.

No need to be sterile with the bags - so long as they are new they should be ok. Pick the fish up with bag inside out and fold around the fish. Seal out the air.

[agnes_jack]

Thanks for the reply's and advice fellas!!
Several kilo's of dead fish are now frozen, and I will persue the testing of them with relevant authorities on Monday morning. Hopefully the results will show up a not too serious, easily fixed cause. Being part of the Great Barrier Reef marine park catchment, one would expect immediate action by the authorities.
I only caught the very bottom of the tide, and missed the main part of it, the fish were no longer washing out when I got there, but the reports were of thousands of fish washing out in a line!! :-/
The samples were of fish washed up and trapped in the rocks.
Here are some photo's.

[agnes_jack]

>:(

[agnes_jack]

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[agnes_jack]

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[agnes_jack]

>:(

[agnes_jack]

>:(

[roz]

Do you know if Eurimbula was affected?

[cuzzamundi]

that is one hell of a shame tony. full credit to you for actually doing something about it! let's just hope it's a virus among the herro's and nothing more. thanks you anyway.

cuzza

[nick1971]

That is crazy stuff, I would not of known where to start had been confronted with that. You have done a wonderful job with the photos and you should be congratulated on the action taken. I hope you get a resolution on this.

Cheers Nick

[agnes_jack]

G'day guy's
Lucky phil and I have just been down there again at the bottom of the tide :(
Made yesterdays look like chocky cake, dead stinking fish everywhere :o
In front of the caravan park is horrendous, piles of em. This now has me very concerned, This time we found herring, yakka's (yellowtail), some queensland pillies. So that to me says that it is less likely to be a virus. More chance of polution of some sort. Seems like way too many to be trawler by-catch.
More photo's coming :( :(

Roz
No reports from Eurimbula so far..........This is not good, no matter what the cause is.

Regards, Tony

[agnes_jack]

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[agnes_jack]

:( >:(

[agnes_jack]

:( :-? >:(

[agnes_jack]

:( :-? :'( >:(

[agnes_jack]

:( :( :( :'( :'(

[agnes_jack]

:'( :'( :'( :'(

[agnes_jack]

:'( :-/ :-/ :-/ :'( :'(

[agnes_jack]

:-/

[agnes_jack]

>:( >:( >:(

[agnes_jack]

:'( :'( :'( :'(

[agnes_jack]

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

[agnes_jack]

:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

[agnes_jack]

:-/ :'( :-/ :'( :-/ :'(

[agnes_jack]

:o :o :o

[agnes_jack]

>:( >:( >:(
The next move is to head out tonight on the top of the tide-start of run out, and see if we can work out where these fish are starting to float. It only seems to be on the first half of the run out tide, later in the tide there seems to be no fish washing down. Suggesting that this may be occuring somewhere in the first half of the creek. The species affected appear to be those that frequent the top half of the water column, leads me to assume its a floating pollutant.

Regards, Tony >:(

[rando]

Good luck I hope you find the source of the kill. Ihope its an accidental occurrance and not some act of stupidity!!
rando

[lippa]

any rain up there lately tony? big tides? is it starting around tom's creek? those salt flats up there could make the water pretty yukky. drive into tom's creek from wistari crt (the road willo lives on) and check the flats down there. just a tought.

cheers

lippa

[Ozwald]

It might be a little late by now but a few water samples from the affected areas might be useful too? Not a WQ expert but keeping any samples cool and in an air tight container might be the go.
regards
Oz

[DICER]

I don't see any big fish in the pics posted. So my guess at the momment is not a poisoning but more likely viral or bacterial infection. It is interesting there are pillies in amongst them. Are the fish just turning up in this esturary? If not I'd contact AAHL, as posted above.

[woodchopper]

It may be a bit late but i reccommend taking a water samples/s as well. Put the samples in a sterile plastic container 500ml-1 litre and place it underwater to put the cap back on to eliminate any air which can affect the end results. take it home and put it in the fridge and try to keep light off it as light can also deteriorate the sample.

better to collect the samples now then wait untill EPA gets back to work on monday.

good luck
Ben

[Lucky_Phill]

Tony will post more here I am sure.

Tony, Sandi and I put the boat in last night and went up stream for a couple of K's and found dead fish all the way. Found them in Tom ( Tom's ) creek, but not far up. They were also further upstream than Tom Creek. The fish were downstream a way.

Noted, no fish other than Herring and Yakka ( Yellowtail ). We did not see any obvious pollutants on the water. There hasn't been enough rain here to have any effect, and Tony has been here 12 years and never seen anything like this, even after very heavy rains.

We did see many Gar, Mullet and prawn active, as well as Bream. These species seem to be not affected. We are still unsure of the Cause. There have been a few theories tossed around:-

Trawler By-Catch
Virus
Rain
Pollution

We have been trying to contact authorities for a while now with no luck.

I have made contact with Sunfish and they are keen to get a hold of this and do what they can. I have also contacted the media and are awaiting their response.

Further information has come to hand that the baitfish population in Eurimbula and Middle creeks have not been as prolific as has been in very recent times, but certainly no dead or dying fish there. Personally, I think this is not related in any way.

I have also been up to the saltpans out the back ( Wistari, Innaminca etc ) and found no problems there.

I travelled up to Eurimbula Creek and the beach area there and found no dead fish.

This, In My Opinion only, seems to be a localised kill. The fish are seen in a 3 kilometre area of shoreline. Given wind and tidal conditions and including drift speed observations, the fish died IN the creek system. No evidence that they came from offshore.

Water samples were not taken due the length of time since the kill, big tides, no physical evidence and total inexperience in these matters.

Updates to continue.

Cheers Phill

[gif]

I was asked for some help so I stuck my nose in.

Well doen to those making an effort so far.


Would you all please write down what you saw and when, who you called and what happened / what they said? A sort of diary.

I just wrang fishwatch hotline - Neither Brisbane nor 1770 are answering.

I would appreciate it if the locals doing the work please give me a call or send me you rumbers?

Gary
0412 111 573

[HBK]

seen similar things around moreton bay . I used to work for a local council and would occasionally receive calls about fish kills. It was always associated with trawler by-catch - 1 species thoug hcould be something else...

[lippa]

glad to see the salt pans checked out allright. one off the list any way. best a luck with it blokes. throw a tinny willo's way when ya see him for me ;) ;)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheers

lippa

[major-defect]

That's how the beach here at Mission used to look when the trawlers used to work in close.There not allowed now.

[DICER]

Hi Tony,

If it were trawler by-catch I'm sure you'd see some other species in there:

My best guess still, is it is a virus or bacterial infection, followed by other biotic factors (eg. rain or anoxia). Though even in the other two later possibilites you would also have larger fish mixed within the kill as opposed to what you have seen.

AAHL in Geelong have the ability to test very rapidly for the presence of particular types of viruses, such as the virus observed in the WA ans SA pilchard kill. I believe you may recieve a result within 24 h or less after they have analysed the samples. If you are asked to provide material they may be able to determine the type of virus from a small frozen sample you have collected.

Since pilchards, herring and a few other bait species are the majority of the kill I would certainly give AAHL a call. They should be able to help you and provide a contact person there.

Cheers, Adam

[Az]

doesn't look good at all :o

well done Tony, Phil and Sandi for doing something about it, i'll be keeping a close eye on this thread.

Cheers
Az

[agnes_jack]

G'day Guys
The latest is... Friday night was I was unable to get any response from Authorities regarding this issue, and despite leaving my phone number at various authorities, did not get any replies over the weekend. The Epa have been contacted again this morning so we are waiting for a reply from them, and again I have left a message witha contact number the DPI gave me, I also sent an E-mail to the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority this morning. It will be interesting to see how quick, if at all, the authorities act on this issue.

News flash..
It has been stated that, on GOOD authority, that these fish were the result of a LOCAL netter, having a shot at what he thought were a school of mullet, and that he did not realise what he had, and that he then dumped these fish at the 1770 marina!!!

I will not say at this stage where that came from, but it sounds incredible to me! On saturday night we found heaps of dead fish still floating around in the estuary, and when a spotlight was shone on the bottom over the sand flats, there was tonnes of dead, decaying fish rolling back down the creek on the bottom!! How many tonne can a local netter hold on his boat, considering this was supposed to be one shot that turned out to be mistaken identity????
And this boat would also have to be small enough to negotiate it's way to the marina???? Something smells fishy with that story,

Updates as they occur!!

Regards, Tony

[gif]

I made a few phone calls.


DPI&F are investigating why phone calls to the fishwatch hotline were not returned. It seems as if the problem is with the paging service. My message left at 3:43 yesterday was only passed on at 9am today. Not good enough and DPI management are on to it.


It seems that EPA did send down an officer (Helen) on Friday afternoon and collected samples from someone at the Marina. They are being sent off for testing.

It also seems that she did not follow procedure – to call back the caller to tell them that action has been taken.

Anyway - the tree has been shaken and lets not stop calling when such a thing happens.


Along the way I heard from the Local member Rob Messenger that he had shamed the Minister into closing down an open sewerage pit some 300m from the creek, and this was in recent months.

Again – full praise to the guys at 1770 who were on the ball and did all they could. Tony Phill and others – well done


Gary

[agnes_jack]

I was just contacted by the EPA who said that they have sent samples away to a Queensland health laboratory for testing, they should take a few weeks to get results back. And the DPI have samples as well, and they are likely to have results within a week.
Gunna be interesting, whichever way this goes.

Regards, Tony

[Lucky_Phill]

It is looking worse. :'( >:( :(

Today I travelled offroad to the back blocks of Tom Creek and found more and many dead herring and yakka. I went further upstream to an offshoot of that creek system and found more, but not in the numbers at Tom Creek.

Tony and I have put an estimate of the kill ( that we could see and as at Yesterday ) at a minimal of 5 tonne. But after discoverying todays deposits, that figure is probably way too low. Taking into consideration the numbers of fish that we saw on the creek bed in less than 3ft of water, and we couldn't see deeper than that, so the tonnage could balloon to " who knows ".

The Trawller / Netter theory is NOT looking good. But, ya never know.

We have had contact with print, radio and TV media outlets that are keen to take up the story. The story being, primarily the Kill, but certainly and just as important, the lack of contactability of the various departments that are in place " specifically " for these instances. >:( >:(

This is NOT the only issue at 1770. There is another and just as important issue that is being investigated as we speak. I am unable to elaborate at this point in time, but will keep you good Ausfishers informed as things come to light.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have just about had a gutful of the incompetience of the Government Departments that are in place to not only protect the environment and it inhabitants, but to police any and ALL users of said environments.

As a recreational fishermen being pounded by new and restrictive regulations, seemingly on a monthly basis, at all times being aware of those rules and doing the right thing at every opportunity, then when I need assistance in this instance, I am totally let down by the system that is in place and designed to protect the environment I treasure and spend many hours of enjoyment.

I have been in contact with many people that work behind the scenes and from varying backgrounds in Government departments and private enterprize over the last couple of days. What I am hearing will send a shiver up the spines of every recreational fishermen in Queensland.

If anyone of the Ausfish family has any " firsthand and factual " evidence regarding the problems within certain Government Departments dealing with the Environment or Fishery or Marine Parks, please contact Gary Fooks via pm here.

Take a deep breath Phill...................... >:(

Updates will continue and all details of all investigations will be posted as they come to hand.

Cheers Phill

[lippa]

keep at it boys, ya'd think them bastards would jump at this opportunity to justify there wages! the mongrels will be to busy chatting over a latte with undereducated (lifeskills) uni students on how they can shut down more off our favourite spots. give me a yell if there is any thing i can do down in brisbane. i go knock on the ministers door if i have too. what about Nugget getting in touch with 4bc's john miller. he seems to be able to get the beuracats back peddleing.

cheers

lippa

[the_baker]

Hey tony , sandi & phil
very sad to here of all the news, just keep pushing. & Lippa I have got a realy big hammer
to go knocking with i will gladly come along.

[thedeckie]

Anyone would think Phill's lycras had shrunk in the wash with that outburst........very well said Phill!

I think he is pretty well on the money at what he has stated....WHERE ARE ALL THE RIGHT PEOPLE!!!!!! When you need them!!!!!! :(

Tony mentioned in one of his earlier posts (correct me if Im wrong Tony),1770 and its surrounds are part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park,you would think that would be enough to get these people off there backsides and at least return phone calls!!!!!! >:( >:( >:(

Its an absolute shame to see this happen in such an enviroment!!

Best of luck to all involved,Im sure you will get the best of runarounds by the inventors of red tape!!!!!!!!

Cheers
Paul

PS : VOTE 1 The Fishing Party

[Dignity]

Tony, very responsible attitude and you all are to be congratulated. Hope you still have your samples. Would be interesting to have a second opinion on the tests. Would love to help Garry with incompetencies in govt agencies but unfortunately the person who related some interesting goinga on to me died just recently in a motoring accident. He left his job because they wouldn't let him do his job which was catching black marketeers in fish. He knew who they were and where to catch them but was not allowed to act.

sam

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Good work and congratulations to Tony, Sandi and Phil. My wife Suzi just had a look at the photo's with me. She remarked that it is strange that there aren't seagulls or pelicans in the pics. Wouldn't you expect the birds to be going ballistic over such an easy feed??

Cheers

Dave

[Lucky_Phill]

Reel Nauti,

The eyes of all fish were picked out, presumably by crows or seagulls.

There were a few Pelicans about, and at one stage I picked up the ' freshest " looking Herring and threw it to the Pelican. He looked at it, picked it up in his bill, shook it a little and spat it out in disgust.

You make of that what you will, I have my opinion. :-X

Phill

ps. If only the Lycras were the only thing causing the blood pressure to go up, Paul ;)

[karana]

Gary Fooks has contributed to this thread and he is a good man to have on the case.

[mod5]

If anyone of the Ausfish family has any " firsthand and factual " evidence regarding the problems within certain Government Departments dealing with the Environment or Fishery or Marine Parks, please contact Gary Fooks via pm here.

Gary does not receive pm's. Please phone him on 0412 111 573 or email g.fooks@uq.net.au

[Jim_Byrne]

Great effort Tony Phil and Sandi, only such a shame you have to do all the work and not those who job it is! Hope you get to the botom of it soon.

[Lucky_Phill]

Pics from Tom Creek today.

Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

Tom Creek

[Lucky_Phill]

more

[gif]

Listen in today at 4:20 pm on 4bc

if not in Brisbane you can lsiten in on the net www.4bc.com.au

.... wish me luck!

[gif]

Here is a lesson for us all.

Whenever something like this happens :

1 take evidence and photos and samples
2 report it asap #- and take a note of the time date and name of the person
3 Ask for a response # #- insist on a response perhaps
4 Follow up and say – where is my response??

[CQ_Fisher]

Hey Tony & Phill,

Any more updates on this situation?

JD

[gif]

I got 3 minutes on John Miller yesterday. He is a great guy, like most of the people at 4BC - they are “real” There is no glory grabbing here - the producer knew me and was more comfortable with my reporting and some people feared a local backlash. Phil and Tony were Ok with me appearing

Someone gave my name to the marina owner who called me ....

I reported what I was told by EPA staff - that EPA did not respond to hot line calls after hours.

Today I get calls asking me who said that - they want his name. Guess what I was thinking ?

Anyway - we have finally stirred up a hornets nest.


If they never find my body you guys have to promise to take my 2 boys fishing every now an then? Deal?


The fish tests will take a week or so - and I have been promised a result.


Phil’s blockbuster issue is also getting attention on 2 angles - but I leave that up to him.

Again I have to say – the guys in 1770 did a fantastic job - all I did was make a few calls and thought of some new buttons to push.

Gary

[Lucky_Phill]

The story of the fish kill made page 11 of The Bundaberg Newsmail. ::)

No mention of the problems with the Authorities.

Further, Talking Fishing, with Dave Downie ( Nugget ) this Sunday on 4BC 1116am on the radio, about 6.30am Dave will be talking to Tony regarding the fish kill.

ON the good side, I fished the estuary this arvo / evening and found the system in good shape as far as Barra, Grunter, Bream, Moses perch and Cod are concerned. ;) :-X NO further signs of problems, but the place still has an ' odour ' to it.

We will keep you informed.

Phill

[mcsalty]

Good on ya mate for doing your bit.

[bigmack]

Sooo - does anyone know what it was or is....................last year we had fish kill in the Maroochy River and it was some idiot poured termite pesticide into the water somewhere ( or down a stormwater drain.)

The short sightedness and blatant criminal neglect of ordinary man continues to astound me. Do people juts not care anymore.

Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

WE WILL NOT LET THIS REST, until we achieve a result that satisfies our concerns.

The test results are coming, but take time. Stay tuned.

Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

Today on Talk Back Radio....4BC... Talking Fishing with Dave Downie ( Nugget ), Tony, myself and Gary Fooks spoke about this problem. Hope you early birds caught it !

Further information has come to hand, but yet to be absoutley confirmed.

EPA hotline for " fish Kills" will only act if the callers are , Police, Ambulance or Fire Brigade ! WTF ! :o

Jeez I hope this isn't right.

Phill

[karana]

Phill,

I hear what you are saying about possibly only responding to Police, Ambulance or Fire Brigade reports.

I heard this in an incidental conversation yesterday on another matter about potential pollution hazards.

I mean what would some of us know about potential or actual pollution given for example that I have only 32 years practical experience and training on these matters I can really see me going into a discussion great depth with and ambulance worker who went to a half day seminar on the subject. But such is the modern world, we have instant experts everywhere and providing you have a certificate that really makes you the supreme expert.

[barradise]

If the EPA are out of the Gladstone or Rocky office, you can expect no action.
Just look at their history around the Gladstone region when it comes to pollution and wildlife kills.
Like fish kills, dugong, turtles, air fallout, oil spills and the list goes on and on.
Perhaps anglers should ask or demand answers from their local sitting member as to why this situation is occuring and don't leave their office until your satisified.
John

[dasher]

Phill,

I hear what you are saying about possibly only responding to Police, Ambulance or Fire Brigade reports.

I heard this in an incidental conversation yesterday on another matter about potential pollution hazards.

I mean what would some of us know about potential or actual pollution given for example that I have only 32 years practical experience and training on these matters I can really see me going into a discussion great depth with and ambulance worker who went to a half day seminar on the subject. But such is the modern world, we have instant experts everywhere and providing you have a certificate that really makes you the supreme expert.



So am I to assume, if I am walking along the beach and sight 1000's of dead fish on the beach, because I don't have a uniform I obviously can't be trusted to adjudge said fish to be dead.?????????

[gif]

Dasher

You need to read it in more detail mate

What one officer told me was that AFTER hours and weekends they dont respond

Others had trouble getting to someone to answer a phone on weekends


The result in this case was that teh samples were too old to do a pathology

So if you see dead fish - grab samples - freeze some, refrigerate some. Take photos, call the police and ask them to call EPA. take the police officers name and note the time
Call EPA during business hours.

Gary

[blaze]

seems funny that they can find human remains, fossils etc and determine cause of death when they are 5000 years old
Maybe they dont want to know the cause of death to the fish
cheers
blaze

[karana]

"The samples were too old to do pathology".

Samples were frozen within 4 hours of the original post and I advised freezing given that authority contact was difficult and especially the time of week and possibility of elapsed time since death.

The advice was given following the Noga Table (modified) for the keeping of fish samples for examination. Although freezing is not the best way to keep fish for examination given the circumstances the fish are still generally good for a range of examinations.

The whole incident appears to show an absolute lack of interest by the authorities.

[agnes_jack]

Still have heard no results from the authorities concerned!!
Will start phoneing around on Monday and persue these results.

I am glad that this problem does not appear to be ongoing, every organism in the estuary would be dead before the test results came back!!!

or am I just being kept in the dark :-? 8-)

Regards, Tony

[blaze]

Hi Tony
Maybe Monday is the day they lock you up in a little dark room somewhere out of site and sound because you are asking to mant question. Stick with it and keep pestering them for result. I will come up and break you out the holding cell.
cheers
blaze

[agnes_jack]

G'day Blaze!!
They will have to make the cell soundproof!!!!! LOL ;D

Tony

[bidkev]

Tony, and all concerned. Top marks and my appreciation at your persitence.

It makes you wonder though, that nobody in authority is available "out of hours" :o ::)..........What would it take to make them sit up and take notice?..........that whatever caused the fish kill was also toxic to humans? I mean, if you see a fish kill on a large scale, wouldn't your first thoughts be, "We need to get on to this immediately and ensure that no humans come into contact with the water"?

It seems to me that this kind of event is taken far too lightly and things will only change when a human is seriously affected by it........by then of course, it will be too late.

kev

We treat this world of ours as though we had a spare in the trunk.

[Lucky_Phill]

Tony,

I think the local member might need reminding how few votes it will take to put him out of a job at the next election. The sitting members are our servants, they work for the people that put them there, to represent us and to present our opinions and concerns to the government of the day.

Phill

[agnes_jack]

G'day Phil
Yeah mate, there may be a few people getting a stir-up on monday if we don't have any results. The local member included!!

Regards, Tony ;)

PS... might be worth a bit of a troll round the headland in the morning, rumor has it a little black about 5-6ft was hooked off the rocks this morning ;)
Never know ya luck!!

[DICER]

Perhaps if you contact AAHL, fish disease laboratories, you could have a result?

[agnes_jack]

Dicer
We still have plenty of frozen samples and if we do not get sufficient results from the epa and dpi we will be looking to have them independently tested. If thats the case we will contactaahl for sure. Regards, Tony

[Lucky_Phill]

Well Tony, I would have been out all weekend with the weather the way it is, but a certain Bugmeister, has my boat at Awonga. He and Leanne are putting in a few days there prior to their impending departure to Tassie to live. Apparently the Barra are hard to find down there ! ;D ::) :P

OH, hit the place I told you I was going to. Spent an hour there, result in pic,. Dinner is served ! :D

CHeers Phill

[Gorilla_in_Manila]

Nice feed Phil.

Guess you are going to tell us they were all caught on your special slugs!
;) ;D

Cheers
Jeff

[agnes_jack]

Nice one Phil
Fresh whiting for brekky.....mmmmmmmmm :P
We will have to send Brett and Leanne barra photo's :D
The Marlin was apparently hooked on a raider.


Regards, Tony

[gif]

Results were back in a few days ago

despite promises I had to chase them.


Announcement here soon or 4BC Talking Fishing

[blaze]

be nice to publish results here to garry for all those that dont listen to nugget (bit early for this kid on most days)
cheers
blaze

[Sandman]

Just a thought , many years ago i remember a big kill in the tweed river around the current mariner, the cause was a large school of pilchards being driven onto the banks by rather large sharks, the bay was thick with fish that drowned due to lack of oxygen. No large fish mainly pillies and the odd flathead and whiting. I am told the sharks were Bull sharks and tigers!

[karana]

Hope they are posted here quickly.

[Lucky_Phill]

I can confirm that the results of testing ( very limited ) has been complete. There were no pesticides present in the fish specimens.

I will let Tony and Gary elaborate on this, and what our next step is.

Interesting thought Sandman :-?

In the end, I think all of us in this neck of the woods hopes it is a Natural Occurence.

Cheers Phill

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

If an announcement can be broadcast on radio....why can't it be told here??? I can't follow you on this one Fooksy?????

Cheers
Dave

[gif]

Phil and Tony did all the work on this one I just followed up in Brisbane So I was giving them the courtesy of announcing the results.


The fish samples were too decayed to do a detailed analysis. They confirmed that there was no presence of pesticide. That still leaves it open to be other poisons or many other possible causes - including natural causes like a virus.


My guess is that the officer who took the samples - late on a Friday afternoon did not do a thorough job. In fact she was handed samples by the Marina operator. So she missed the oil leak ( see Phill’s other post on this ) and goodness knowa what else.

Jonathon Dalton of EPA confirmed that they do not respond to these problems after hours.


For future reference:

- take samples of fish hand water and any sludge
- freeze some fish
- refrigerate some fish
- take photos
- And contact the EPA
- Contact local Council as well

[blaze]

I congratulate all the people that put the ground work in on this and persisted with it, very sad that the people that are paid good money to do a job only put in a half arsed effort. Like I mentioned in an earlier post about the test that are done on decaying bodies and some remains that are thousand of years old they can tell you what they had for their last meal. Very poor outcome by the EPA, bloody poor effort.
Keep up the pressure
What is the cost to have the samples tested that Tony (or Phil) have in their freezers.
I would be prepared to check a few dollars your way if you want to have them tested privately.
cheers
blaze

[DICER]

::)