Fish Frames at the Ramp - Blatant Waste

[bigmack]

This has been bugging me for a couple of weeks and decided to post and see what other people feel - in the last couple of weeks after the full moon, the ramp (at Buddina) and sand in front of the fish cleaning tables have been littered with fish frames and skins etc. The fish have been large snapper, AJ's, Kings, Xos Pearl Perch, Parrott etc. My problem is that these fish have just been hacked by the fisherman who caught them - taking only the top of the shoulder and the best part of the fillet down to the tail. No attempt at all to fillet the fish properly or then dispose of the mess. No wonder amateur fisho's get a bad name.

If you go to all that effort, travel to the Barwon Banks (most likely place) why not make the effort to get all the value out of your fish!! and then at least throw the frames further out into the river. If you know these people - say something! If its you - have a good look at yourselves!

Does this happen at other ramps? Does it bug other people? not a good way to win friends if more serious limits are imposed on us. And One last thing I almost forgot - remember the big snapper are the breeding fish - its the 2kg / 4kg fish that eat the best.

What happens at other ramps - does the council cleanup or provide a facility for collecting fish frames.

My 2 cents worth today
BigMack

[zaneg]

I too hate seeing fish being wasted.

When lucky enough to catch a feed I either cook my fish whole and pick the frames clean or if big enough to warrant filleting, I try to do a neat enough job of it and whats left either gets ground up for burley or for the compost heap down the back.

The problem we face in North Queensland, Bole boat ramp being one of them, is that these clowns that do their fish at the ramp are enticing those Lizard Like Dinosaurs in for a free feed. It will be those same clowns that will be screaming blue murder when its their leg that gets chomped on whilst launching/retrieving.

My Wifey isn't very fond of fish so I use to do all my cleaning in the boat at the slow end of the day, always hoping that the extra time in the water with fresh burley would snare me that last fish. Now that the Wifey is getting use to smell of fish I have been able to put the frames and guts to better use.

My 5c (incl gst)

Zane

[beefaman]

Was at Wellington Point the other week, and there were frames scattered everywhere.....obviously thrown in at hightide, and then exposed at lowtide. Absolutely disgusting!!
Dunno about you guys, but I dont want to step on a frame of a big snapper whilst launching or retrieving my boat!! :-/

[basserman]

i'm like zane and although i belive it is against the law to clean and fillet the fish at sea (not sure of in the river but would think it is the same) i still do all my cleaning and filletsing on the boat away from the yockels and in peace
i always do it in the smae strech of river away from any swimming areas and in deeper water


as for doing it at boat ramps i don't like it for a few resons
first nothing worst than launching from a stinking boat ramp and second i hate how many of these blokes block one side of the ramp while they sit filleting everyfish they caught that day and yes i agree it does look unsightly but it does get washed away and eaten fairly quickly

for you boys in the north i sure can understand how it would annoy the crap out of you as the last thing ya want is those walking handbags around anymore than they are

[razorline]

I live accross the road from a boat ramp on the Pine River and a couple of months ago some pr!ck
dumped a whole sail fish at the ramp. Why would anyone do this :'( :'(
Razorline

[Kiktz]

I was told by a guy that claimed that he was with fisheries, that this is an unaccepted practise at some ramps. I ask why and the reason that he gave was due to the fact that the dumping of frames attracks sharks and then would be a harzard to families that wanted to use the beaches for swimming.

Personally I think this should be done at sea where it will go back and feed fish. Not at the ramps but the Law is the law.............

[bigmack]

To Propdinger - I guess by the smiley that you replied with indicates its funny to you or it is you. Mate - what you dont realise is that there are always locals sniffing around the ramp and watching what goes on - I have seen them chip people with undersize fish and complain about early morning noise. If you leave enough mess - that will be next.

But also think about the visual impact it makes to the do gooders - 100's of fish frames everyweek dumped by fisho's. Who will be the first to complain when they impose severe limits on fish or they decide to levy a saltwater licence to aid in fisheries management? I have always had a beef about pro's ripping the guts out of various places we have fished and I can now understand why some pretty pointed jibes are made at amateurs.

I like to have a good catch too and like to have some nice fillets in the freezer - we just need to be mindful of what we do and how we treat our fishery and facilities provided by the tax payers.

Cheers

[kc]

And the law is stupid!! It is illegal to fillet fish at sea and as such dispose of frames at sea. In theory you bring them in whole, fillet fish on shore and dispose of the frames.

So, you take them home and get abused by the missus, dump the frames in the bin and get abused by the garbo, maybe, if you have a freezer you can dump then frozen so you only have the wife to worry about.

You can clean them at the ramp...relaunch the boat and take them to sea and dump them...then, when you come back to the ramp, you will have fillets on board (or in the esky in the car) and can be booked.................or, you do what a lot of people do...dump them at the ramp. Attracting crocs, sharks, stinking up the place and generally giving fishos a bad name.

Surely some geniuos in fisheries could come up with a minimum fillet lenght which( allowing for a small margin for error) was the legal fillet lenght for each species. Not the current rot where a fillet needs to be 40cm for a fish with a legal size of 38cm.

Without any doubt the best scenario is fillet at sea, retain skin or portion of skin for identification and have fillets from a legal size fish fit into a size range for legal sizes fillets......seems just too bloody simple doesn't it!!

KC

[mackmauler]

Prove me wrong but I happily fillet snaps and perlies at sea with no problems, and the fillet can be any size I like.

rob

[zaneg]

I use to do all my cleaning in the boat #at the slow end of the day, always hoping that the extra time in the water with fresh burley would snare me that last fish

Just as clarification, I only gutted and gilled whilst still in the water, the rest was done at home. The few times fisheries did have a look at our catch nothing was said.

I was aware of the 40cm fillet requirement (not often I would be lucky enough for these size fillets) and I remember reading that skins must remain on. Now that you have got me thinking I will have to rehash my memory on what is and isn't allowed.

Thanks

Zane

edit: This is for Queenland

http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/11416.html#skinning

Skinning and filleting fish
In relation to fin fish (other than coral reef fin fish) a recreational fisher must not:

remove the skin from a fish on a boat until the fish is brought to shore;
bring a fish ashore and remove its skin and return the fish to the boat; #
divide a fish into portions other than in a way that allows an inspector to easily count the number of fish possessed by the fisher; or
possess a dead Spanish mackerel unless a pectoral fin has been removed from the fish.

In relation to coral reef fin fish a recreational fisher:

must not possess on board any boat fish taken from a boat other than in one of the following forms - whole, gilled or gutted or filleted;

may possess on board a boat a fillet of a fish other than a Chinese footballer (blue spot) trout as long as the length of the fillet is at least 40cm, and skin and scales are attached to the fillet;

must not return fish taken ashore from a boat and filleted and returned to a boat unless the length of the fillet is at least 40cm, and skin and scales are attached to the fillet;

must not put whole or gilled and gutted fish into cool storage without first removing a pectoral fin (see illustration in “Fish measurement”); or

must not bring live fin fish ashore.
Note: for information that may apply to recreational fishers on a commercial fishing tour please consult theFisheries Regulation 1995 and/or relevant management plan. Copies of legislation are available on the Office of the Queensland Parliamentary Counsel website.

[bigmack]

In Qld I am sure that it is against the law to (mutilate) fish at sea. Fisheries words........and that your catch must be brought back to the ramp whole!

From the DPI website

Skinning and filleting fish
In relation to fin fish (other than coral reef fin fish) a recreational fisher must not:

remove the skin from a fish on a boat until the fish is brought to shore;
bring a fish ashore and remove its skin and return the fish to the boat;
divide a fish into portions other than in a way that allows an inspector to easily count the number of fish possessed by the fisher; or
possess a dead Spanish mackerel unless a pectoral fin has been removed from the fish.

[zaneg]

Hi Bigmack

My take on the info provided by the DPI QLD for fin fish other than coral reef fin fish is this:

You can fillet your fish BUT the skin must stay ON and the fillets should be recognisable as a fish i.e One pair per fish. The point about Mackeral is obvious.

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Zane

edit: I appoligise if this is taking the subject title off topic

[snappa]

"fillet & release" is what i do.... :D

[mattooty]

Can i just ask, what is the go with the removing pectoral fin from the spaniards? I dont get it? :-?
Matt

[gropeher]

Mattoty, it is so you cannot sell the fish to the fish markets etc.

[ahjayem]

I have to agree with the sentiments of this post, and believe that the smell of rotting fish frames and skins whether they be in a bin, near a bin, on or near a boat ramp, washed up on a beach or sand bar, or on the compost heap can be gut wrenching, or unbearable to say the least. Maybe I’m a bit of a conservationist, and a little bit “scotch” into the bargain, but I recycle most of my fish frames as crab bait.

For example, on the weekend just gone, a party of eight of us chartered a boat out to the reef off Townsville. We had moderate success and on Monday arvo my son and I filleted and skinned twenty-two fish of our thirty-four fish catch. A couple of our party members were from out of town so took their share as whole fish. All of the fish had been gutted and gilled at sea.

After keeping the frames and skins on ice until yesterday, I cut up the frames and made up about sixty crab baits which were put into (old type) plastic shopping bags, at the rate of ten per bag, and then put in the freezer – just a small one (the old Tucker Box size) which I keep just for bait etc. They will be used as required in the future by family members – beats buying kangaroo meat or fish frames from the fish shop. A couple of years back I paid ten bucks for three mackerel frames and thought it was a bit steep, considering that years ago one could get a potato sack full for free or at the most ten shillings (that’s a dollar for those who went to school after 1966).

The frames are only good for one day’s use if “dillying”, or two tides, if setting safety pots. After use, the baits are returned to the creek or river where crabbing thus feeding the crabs who are “pot shy”.

Tight lines,

RJM

[robersl]

what a waste of good frames i recycle mine deep freezer to crab pot to mud or sand crabs ( not the other sort of crabs) to my stomach


shane

[robersl]

what a waste of good frames i recycle mine deep freezer to crab pot to mud or sand crabs ( not the other sort of crabs) to my stomach


shane

[-spiro-]

I am one of those people that throw my frames into the water at Kawana ramp. First thing is- have you seen how full the bis are most of the time. 2nd- There are stingrays, cod, bream, whitting, and crabs that all live around the pontoon and deeper water. I have seen all these critters over my time down there eatting left overs. 3rd- The amount of run{current} in and out of there picks the rest of the left overs up and takes them away. 4th- I would gladly throw my frames offshore but we all know the rules about that. 5th You want me to take my frames and dump them back at sea so i have to put my boat on the trailler clean my fish then take it off again. Yeh right u must not use a ramp very often and see the amount of traffic there. 6th- I have a average family size and would not be able to put fish heads or frames in the freezer for crab bait. Our chest freezer is full most of the time with day to day things. 7th-I would guess that most people dont have a veggie patch to go burry there scraps. Also how many people have a dog or cat that would raise the frames from the dead, this add's to vet bills now{great}8th- i don't know when your bin gets emptied but mine is never around fishing time, so my neighbours would be reel happy with the smell as would the free roaming dogs in the neighbour hood.

So that is what i do for now. You come up with a better solution that would work and i would be quite happy to change my practices.
Maybe you want me to ring you on the way in so you can have my frames for crab bait? Then you would want to hope that we don't have good weather as i might have to ring you 2-3 times in one week.

I am not the only one who dose this, so i would like to here from other members who do it to!!!!

[-spiro-]

One more thing
I fillet my fish properly and don't waste any flesh ;D

[Streaker]

Spiro,
You got me. I have often made comment about the Kawana ramp that they should have a bin for the disposal of fish frames. I too fillet my fish and return the frames to the water where I fillet, I would prefere to do all of this at sea but the regs do not allow this while being sensible about the fillet sizes. Dammed if you do Dammed if you don't.
Wayne

[propdinger]

bigmack i was playing with all the new smilies and someho wforgot to delete one so in no way was i having a go at you fair dinkem. and i dont know if you noticed when i realised it was still there it was deleted ;D.

as to your post on fish frames and waste all mine get filleted at home and taken out on my next trip for burley so i dont leave any waste at the ramp :-*

[bigmack]

no worries Prop Ding! - the site of it just got to me and the frames are not being washed away on the tide so over the last couple of weeks each time i have been down to the ramp I have picked up and turfed into the drink about 20 frames to get rid of it all. A lot of people swim their dogs and themselves along this reach of the river and I wonder how long before we have some kind of shark incident. Someone told me that the men in grey follow the trawlers into the river.

Apart from that - its just a smelly mess and I dont want to tread on a sharp rotting carcus in the dark.

to the rest of the guys - why not put your frames in a bucket and drop them off the end of the pontoon instead of throwing them in front of the fish table.

Cheers

[-spiro-]

not a bad idea?
but that is still going to entice SHARKS.

Why we are on this cleaning up the ramp. Get rid on the people that fish on the pontoon, that i have to try and miss there lines when landing. They should'nt be on there at all.
The car park is for boaties not a car park for lookers!!!

[westie]

Spiro.... The pontoons are PUBLIC pontoons BUT fisherman have the right of way same as a jetty. They MUST make way for boats to berth and if they refuse give them your boat No, tell them to report you to the authorities for using it, when they are fishing. They will set them straight, there is signage on these pontoons just they can't read them.

Now my 1 cents worth of frames at ramps, I have stood on a frame after getting out of the boat ( I now us the Coast Gaurd ramp) and for 6 mths was reminded of it. To Me maybe instead off throwing them from the table a sign with something like Eg:

"All frames returned
to water depth
of a Mininum
of 2 meters"

This would make people keep frames at table until finished there task wade into the water and throw them into deeper water, some may get washed back but the bulk would stay in the deeper water.

Authorities still have the fish to check, anyone not doing the right thing can be fined, no more smell, no more spikes. We live in a world of signs but some have not learnt to read them.

I am one of the lucky ones that live on an acre, and do all my cleaning on a table down the back and have a freezer in the shed for bait and frames not that I am one of the lucky ones that catch big fish, if I was then I would do as the sign suggests above.

This is not having a go at anyone, I feel we are after the same thing here and need to find a solution to this problem. The sign above would be a step in the right direction. We all know the bin thing is not a option at ramps NO one wants that smell outside there door and why dump it on landfill when the marine life can benifit more, returning them to the water ,where most ,if not all, of it would be disposed in time, is the best option.

Westie

[finding_time]

. And One last thing I almost forgot - remember the big snapper are the breeding fish - its the 2kg / 4kg fish that eat the best.

BigMack

Dead right about the taste. unfortunately i can't chose which fish take the bait.( If i could they all would be HUGE ;D ;D) after pulling fish from 90+ meters i doubt the realease of bigger fish would be sucessful. I recently caught a very large female full of roe it would have been nice to release this for breading reasons would it have been successful ? not buy the size of the swim bladder and chest cavity . Would i have released it. Not on your life. :) it was a pb.

I quite often take the frames and drop them into the esturary near the inlaws hoping to improve the crab population some GREENIE will tell me i'm some sort of enviro vandal though. >:(

[gunna]

Its worth thinking about because if people complain the obvious Council solution will be to remove the cleaning table.

[Custaro]

If you can't keep your frames & skin in your freezer until bin day, then maybe try and keep em bagged and on ice in your esky. You should have plenty of ice left over if your looking after your catch. If you go fishing again then dump out at sea OR they should keep till bin day.

[roz]

I think local councils and in some cases local fishing clubs could help the situation, by providing facilities.

The local fishing club at Coffs, years ago built sheds with tables taps etc, just up the hill from the launching area, keeps the boat ramp spotless...well sort of.

roz

[dfox]

I believe its important that all these frames and off cuts are returned to the sea. We take alot from the sea whether its bait, fish and crabs ,so anything that isnt going to be used should be returned. What good is it dumping it in the bin and only adding it to land fill. In the ocean at least it helps the food chain.
Looks to me like as fishos we just have to be a little more sellective where we dump our unwanted frames....foxy

[blaze]

lucky I suppose, clean at sea legally.
Had an arguement with a guy once on the Stanley Wharf (deep sea port) as I threw my frames in the water, dropped the bucket on the rope and rinsed the wharf where i cleaned my fish. His idea was to leave it on the wharf for the seagulls to clean (carry all around town) and because I threw it in the water the seals would come in a be a pest. Now I understand about the seals but have fished there for 30 years and they really dont cause that much of a problem( the seals come, fish stop biting, seals go and the fish start biting again.
But it back where it come from
cheers
blaze

[Fisher_Boats]

Sounds like the same old story...... A few people who don't think (or give a shit)
could ruin it for everyone else. ::)
Besides that...imo.. you should be able to fillet your fish at sea if you want to, leave the skin on, what's the problem with that? Fish fillets freeze well with the skin left on and #the flesh side left together in a sealed bag. Also they don't go near tap water. Bang the skin off when it's thawed out.
Surely fillets can be measured. #:-?
As others have said .... at least it goes back where it came from. #8-)

Cheers Col

[finding_time]

Col

I didn't think you kept any fish?? I mean anybody that throws back a nice big reef jack surely doesn't keep anything else!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D yep the red bass fiasco is still amusing me. ;)

[Kiktz]

Just because I am a Dumb arse,

Let's say:If I catch a reef fish, Re Spangled Emperor

Being my lucky day the fish is 63cms,
I am a complete loser when it comes to filleting
and I take a fillet out that is 39cm one side and 42cm the other
is this fish then legal?
Or I have taken a fillet that is 40cm+ and then the other is less than that
so i keep the frame as to prove that this in fact is the fish I caught and the Fillets that belong to it. I am in the wrong also?

Because as my simple mind understands this currently, You are to remove the pec fin ( if a keeper) before it goes on ice/ or kept. You are not allowed to fillet a fish at sea. You are only allowed to Gut and Gill.

The way I read the above from the DPI is that if you can take a fillet off that is greater than 40cm and scales left on that you can indeed fillet at sea?

Can you guys offer me some clarity on this.

Your Thankfully

Lost (Aj)

[Fisher_Boats]

Geeze finding time... I'm not going to here the end of that for a while by the look of it :-[ :-[
Least no one will stand on the frames at the ramp and get poisoned by the bass :D :D

[finding_time]

Geeze finding time... I'm not going to here the end of that for a while by the look of it #:-[ :-[
Least no one will stand on the frames at the ramp and get poisoned by the bass :D #:D

It really was a nice JACK ;D ;D ;D At least you got a photo

[fisho]

I have been fishing out of Buddina for 10 years.

Leaving heaps of frames in people's way is not acceptable, however I will continue to fillet my fish at the ramp and throw the frames well out because that makes more sense then stinking out a bin or helping the local rat population to flourish.

I don't think it' ;)s a huge issue.

[westie]

I have been fishing out of Buddina for 10 years.

Leaving heaps of frames in people's way is not acceptable, however I will continue to fillet my fish at the ramp and throw the frames well out because that makes more sense then stinking out a bin or helping the local rat population to flourish.

I don't think it' ;)s a huge issue.


I agree, all it takes is to wade out a bit and throw them into deeper water AT ALL CLEANING STATIONS supplied. SO SIMPL.E

Oh!! A sign for the hard to understand persons, along with a Pic for the
........ Ignorant ............

[-spiro-]

Westie
what about all the ignorant people that pee me off with my issues of the ramp/pontoon. There are signs there maybe they need pictures [smiley=huh2.gif]

[westie]

That is what I mean . Some you can put pictures up and still find a reason not to do the right thing.

By the way nice to see you back on the site as you have been very quite of late, anyone would think you have been busy fishing . Or doing like a lot of otheres boat repairs and reel rebuilds, line replacement just incase the weather changes and we can go fishin, instead of climbing the walls at home.

[baldyhead]

NOW HERE IS THE PERFECT SOLUTION FOR YOUR FISH FRAMES AND SKINS

First you have to find out where YOUR LOCAL QLD HON. MEMBER LIVES ( HE/SHE the POLLIE was advised and voted for the regulation)
THEN you take ALL your frames skins etc to HIS/HER house and DUMP them in THEIR front yard.

Second you have to find out where the Bureaucrat (QUEENSLAND FISHERIES SERVICE) who advised the MEMBER lives and give HIM/HER the same TREATMENT.

AND if all else fails take your frames skins etc and dump them over the fence of YOUR local FISHERIES OFFICE etc.

If enough of US did this then you can bet that the HON MEMBER would get HIS/HER arse into gear to find out why WE are doing this (as most of them have NO IDEA of ANYTHING FISHING) and MAYBE AMEND these RIDICULOUS REGULATIONS to allow us to fillet on the water leaving the skin on the fillet of ALL legal sized fish.

THINK ABOUT IT! ;D ;D

[-spiro-]

Now thats a practice that would put you in jail. ::) but would solve the problem ;D

[baldyhead]

Only if they can prove that you did it ;D

[Punkin]

Toss a decent size backbone in some seasoned flour and onto the hotplate with a little oil and butter...Hard to beat eats.
I be keepin mine ;D

[sjp]

yep or toss the frames and head into apot to make a bellisimo soup or stock ,i mean its about time we start getting a better percentage food volume,(less wastage) out of a 2 or 3 year old fish ,look at a meat pie or a meat lovers pizza or a salami and you'll see just how much food volume comes out of a 3 yo cow :o ,its all not made out of a slab of wholesome rump ::)