Bull Sharks- Carp of the canals/rivers?

[4x4frog]

Getting back into fishing again after a long absence. I did a trip to carp busters in Beaudesert a few years back and thinkging about that trip I was wondering what if any similar laws govern catching bull sharks in the Rivers and canals around SEQ.
With carp you have to throw them as far from the water as possible and it's illegal to use any part of the fish as bait.
I would be surprised if the bullshark is like that, but what the hell do I do if I catch one as I would have no idea how to 'dress' it for the table or consumption. I would shy away from catch and release as they do tend to be aggressive and attack occasionally.
Just food for thought I guess.

Chris

[fish2eat]

I do not believe they are in the same category at all as carp.

They are native, not introduced

They are part of the natural food chain

Some people do eat them, so they are a resource not a pest

[Just_chips]

Carp are an introduced and noxious pest that destroy our waterways and compete with native fish. Bull sharks are a natural part of the ecosystem and if you do not intend to keep them for the table then they should be released unharmed.(Best to cut your line as close as you safely can to the hook) You may need to sharpen your knife a number of times whilst filleting bull sharks because of their tough and abrasive skin but apart from that it is no different to preparing any other skinned fillet.

Cheers Kev

[4x4frog]

I kind of thought they would be Ok as they are native but you can never be too sure these days. SOme of the laws made by the empowered and 'educated' are sometimes baffling. I will most probably release any sharks that are unlucky enough to get caught by me. ;D WHich would be a very unlucky shark indeed I think.
If I do decide to keep one should I happen across any is there an optimum size for eating??

[Panda]

At my local fishing spot I constantly see the corpses of catfish, stingrays and sharks slung up among the rocks above the high tide mark. Some people regard these creatures as vermin that must be destroyed. Or perhaps it a little bit of disappointment at bringing in a heavy fish that turns out not to be a barra or a grunter. A couple of weeks ago I saw a kid about 13 catch a nice little sand flathead about 50cm. The kid was obviously perplexed about to get the hook out, and I was about to go over and give him a hand when I saw him pick up a piece of driftwood and proceed to bash the fish into a pulp, which he then threw back into the water. Now he was just a kid so you cant blame him for ignorance, but he is going to grow up with the same sort of attitude towards fish he considers ugly, inedible or threatening unless someone educates him.

As for throwing carp (and talapia) up on the bank to rot,-- its never made one ounce of difference in their spread and never will. About all it achieves is to stop people transporting a fish to a different location where it may escape while still alive or perhaps be released.

Vilifying and creating public hatred of a particular species doesn't really do much good for anybody. Fishing is a blood sport. Its just hunting in another form. Sometimes it can bring out the worst in people. If we want to continue our sport in the face of ever increasing pressure from those who would like to stop it on the basis of cruelty to the fish, we need to be as responsible and humane as possible in the way we deal with our quarry.

[Feral]

A couple of weeks ago I saw a kid about 13 catch a nice little sand flathead about 50cm. The kid was obviously perplexed about to get the hook out, and I was about to go over and give him a hand when I saw him pick up a piece of driftwood and proceed to bash the fish into a pulp,

Aah yes the old "bless you my son"


which he then threw back into the water.d humane as possible in the way we deal with our quarry.

How many dives did it take you to retrieve dinner? love flathead!

[Bream_Reaper01]

"With carp you have to throw them as far from the water as possible and it's illegal to use any part of the fish as bait. "



P.S
Don't forget they must also be killed before throwing them as far up the bank as u can.Preferably put them in a bin,as they are mouth brooders and if we get flash flood in that area.Little ones may return to the system.

[SeaJay]

"With carp you have to throw them as far from the water as possible and it's illegal to use any part of the fish as bait. "

P.S
Don't forget they must also be killed before throwing them as far up the bank as u can.Preferably put them in a bin,as they are mouth brooders and if we get flash flood in that area.Little ones may return to the system.

I'm not having a go at you Bream_Reaper01, but what you said could cause a bit of misunderstanding.

Just to clarify something a couple of things there:

(1) I am not aware of any requirement with respect to dealing with noxious fish you catch (e.g. carp, Tilapia) apart from killing them and not having them in your possession. Once they are dead it doesn't matter how far they are from the water apart from the pollution/smell etc issue.

(2) I am not aware of it being illegal to use PART of a carp for bait (although you definitely can NOT use them alive), except for the issue of having a carp in your possession. Strictly speaking the law does not seem to differentiate between alive or dead noxious fish, but I doubt a fillet or something would be a concern.

(3) It is Tilapia that are the mouth-brooders not carp (I think that is what you meant anyway), and I very much doubt there is much chance of any young surviving more than a couple of hours after the adult is removed from the water.

Please feel free to correct me if you are aware of something to the contrary!

Cheers
David

[Bream_Reaper01]

"With carp you have to throw them as far from the water as possible and it's illegal to use any part of the fish as bait. "

If your referring to this David,it was cop[ied from previous post and what the poster didn't mention is that upon capture,carp must be killed,and it is my beleif that carp too are mouth brooders,i will post in freshwater section to confirm or otherwise.

[4x4frog]

"With carp you have to throw them as far from the water as possible and it's illegal to use any part of the fish as bait. "

If your referring to this David,it was cop[ied from previous post and what the poster didn't mention is that upon capture,carp must be killed,and it is my beleif that carp too are mouth brooders,i will post in freshwater section to confirm or otherwise.
The aforementioned quote was mine and I am fairly sure it is correct and a little adlibbed too, about throwing them as far as possible.
(I had a couple of books from the library lately and one was about fishing in SEQ. I can't remember the title but it had lots of great info right down to what permits were needed for what impoundments and details about stocking, saltweter hotspots, too much to list. I will have to go and check back and see what it was and put ina recommendation for all to look at it. )
I remember reading the two details about carp and tilipia. Throwing them 'far away' was common knowledge I thought. :-?

[Bream_Reaper01]

Just checked with dpi and carp are not mouth brooders.I type as i'm eating humble pie.

[Panda]

Step 1. Remove carp from hook.

Step 2. Stab carp several times (aiming directly at the heart).

Step 3. Bash carp several times against closest gum tree

Step 4. Sling the bugger as high as you can up the bank

Step 5. Stand tall, stand proud, for you are Australian. Stand up straight with pride in the knowledge that what you have just done will protect Australian inland fisheries against siltation, damming, excessive irrigation, salination and the evils of CARP. Be proud that you efforts today will have a genuine effect on ridding this nation of the scourge of carp. And feel proud that the anger you release while dispatching this piscatorial enemy of our great nation will ultimately lead to a renewed and pristine Murray Darling River system.

God Bless Australia!

[4x4frog]

Watched an episode of Rex Hunt last night on Fox and he was down the Murray fishing for huge cod. He never got a big one but the guy he used as a guide says he had caught a few huge cod that have regrgetated 20c piece size scales. The concensis is that the larger murray cod are striking a blow for australia too. 8-) ;D

[Panda]

If the cod are regurgitating carp scales up to the size of a 20 cent piece, why then does Rex want to kill them? ::) Sorry, I was just being a smart ars* there.

Rexie could spend up to 2 weeks making a half hour show, so things are not always as they appear. One does have to wonder if the "injure and release policy" advocated by many fishing show celebrities is in the best interests of preserving fish stocks for the masses or rather in the best interests of those selling fishing shows and their sponsors.

[szopen]

Panda,

I fully agree with your points regarding the treatment of carp and tilapia.

Where I come from carp are native species and a top fishing C&R fish.

Where I live carp are native, tilapia are introduced and both are doing very well.
Both are targeted, carp is generally released as Chinese are not too fond of eating them, tilapia is eaten (it is a good table fish).

In the dam we usually fish there is a good large mouth bass (also a foreign species) population and tilapia are the main food source for them.

Bass grow very well there.

I find tilapia better fun as fishing is concerned.


I can not see how carp or tilapia are destroying the rivers??????

[SeaJay]

I can not see how carp or tilapia are destroying the rivers??????

The simple answer to that szopen is that many introduced species such as carp and tilapia compete with native fish species for food and space, can prey upon the young of native fish, and can disturb the spawning of native species. Further, the introduction of non-native species is sometimes associated with the introduction of new fish diseases (the introduction of the fish parasite Lernea with the introduction of carp is probably a good example in Australia).

All that tends to amount to less native fish, and since the ecology of our waterways is 'designed' around our native fish the introduction of non-native species is not considered a good thing. Why disrupt the balance of nature if you don't have to? And who needs carp and tilapia here anyway? Yellowbelly, cod, bass etc are generally considered to be better recreational (and table) species anyway.

Mind you, some of these comments also apply to introducing Australian native species to areas of Australia where they did not occur naturally, such as the introduction of yellowbelly to southeast Qld. Some of the comments also apply to the stocking of huge numbers of predatory (native) species such as bass to natural waterways, the fish fauna of which is comprised predominantly of small native species gobbled up by all those hungry predators. I won't even go near the potential effect stocking thousands of (potentially) genetically narrow fish might have on natural populations in this conversation.

Its all about how far you are willing to push nature I guess.