Fishing Party Press Release

[kc]

Jack’s in

The first public rally of recently formed The Fishing Party (Qld) held in Cairns on June 23rd was bolstered by news that legendary fishing identity Jack Erskine has joined the party and lent his name to its push for a better voice for recreational fishers throughout the state. Party chairman Kevin Collins said, “ along with members like John Mondora and Dave Donald, to have someone as highly respected as Jack Erskine believe in our cause and our policies is a very humbling and at the same time highly motivating experience”. “This man has forgotten more than any 10 of us will every learn, seen the sport grow from its infancy to a powerhouse economic driver of much of North Queensland and knows full well that the recreational fishing as we all know and love it, is clearly on the outer in governments priorities”. “The Government is currently hell-bent on getting kids away from the TV and active, yet at the same time seems determined to take away one of the few cross generational activities that all kids love. What sport in the world can granddad, son and grandson all enjoy together, what better memories can be had and is there anything better, than just messin’ around in boats?”
“Now that we are starting to gain members, momentum and credibility we are also starting to gain the support of major corporate sponsors. The recreational fishing industry is worth $320M a year to Queensland and every sector of this industry knows full well of the threats posed by current government mindset. Companies like Quintrex Boats already have their cheque books open, their pens poised and ultimately will give The Fishing Party the ability to reach out to every recreational fisher in the state and let them know that the old slogan about I Fish & I Vote can finally actually mean something”.
The Fishing Party (Qld) launched its Great Barrier Reef zoning policy at the Cairns meeting, which met with spontaneous applause from attendees and was the talk of the town on talkback radio in Cairns the following morning . It also officially launched its election campaign for Senate seats at the forthcoming Federal election.
“ This is all about being listened to”, said Collins “It is all about the little people, who happen to live, work and love it up here, being sick and tired of politicians and bureaucrats bowing to interest groups who have all the money and therefore get their way”. All we wanted was for someone to take a bit of notice and remember they are elected to represent what the public want, not what one particular interest group wants, they would not listen to us then, they might just have to listen come election day”.



Thanks Nugget...it worked!!

KC

[Brissyguy]

Excellent news Kev, well done so far, lets hope some more wholesale/retailers get behind the party as sponsors too.

"Power to the People"

Cheers,
Rich.

[where_is_dave]

Good work.
"What sport in the world can granddad, son and grandson all enjoy together" - don't forget the girls my wife and daughters are the ones that motivate (pester) me to get out there on a chilly winters night and wet a line more often than not. they are keener thatn the boys.

[jockey]

Congrats Kevin. How many people turned up? Hope you get the sponsors.

Is the party trying to focus its efforts on fishermen with boats?

[whiteman]

Now all you've got to do is get Eddie Riddle into the fold and stop him being a figurhead for GBRMPA.

[kc]

Answers

About 250 attended what was very clearly avertised as a political rally....not a RAP protest meeting or an information night. No BS and no false pretenses. Given pollies rate pretty low on the food chain I think the role up was fantastic, especially considering it was pissing down rain.

No it is not aimed at boat owners...fishos are fishos are fishos. When we really get down to it our election advertising will be targeted at the vast majority of family fishermen who get out with the kids or their mates just a few times a year not the hard core fishos (like us).

As for Eddie, he seems like a good bloke, good fisherman and just trying to earn a quid. He now however has a conflict of interest and we will not be trying to sway his position. He has to do what is right for himself and it's not for us to be in his face.

There is clearly some life in this "thing" and we will keep pushing the barrow & see how it goes.

I got a great email this morning I will share with you. We may even use the concept as a fun/media provoking add.

dateline 2006...Federal Government announces recreational fishing tool buyback to once and for all rid the community of this barbaric sport....buy back the boats, the motors, the fishing rods and the lures, the tackle boxes and the castnets...oh yeh! and buy back the lifestyles and the fun so we can grow more fat kids!! For details contact your local federal member.

All just fun but it might be the start of a cute little campaign.

Regards

KC

[jockey]

Would you allow someone to pierce your child's face with a curved pice of metal? No - then why let someone do it to a fish? Fish should be encouraged to appreciate their own natural beauty and not partake in the barbaric act of adorning their face with rows of bright shiny hooks. Scuba divers have long held concerns about this new trend which makes it even harder for them to feel like they are getting back to nature.

Congrats on the turnout. That's a lot of people.

[kc]

Yeh right??

Good on ya'

Go have a bex and a good ly down.

KC

[MTpockets]

Correct me if I am wrong.... did Jock just smile at KC, then whip round and bite him on the arse, then smile again???

Geez jockey... ya not bad mate !!!!!!

[SeaHunt]

That's looking great Kev.
Your meeting even made the news here in Brisbane.
:)
Jockey,
If scuba diving is getting back to nature, so is space travel.
50ft under water is one of the most un-natural places for humans to be.
We are part of nature and it is much more natural for a man to fish than to scuba dive.
BTW , before you ask , YES I have been scuba diving quite a number of times, I don't really see what the big deal is about , it's much more fun to go fishing, or to the pub.

And do you get out much? , our kids do adorn their faces with shiny bits of metal , hooked through their chins ,lips , tongues , eyebrows, nipples and noses or havn't you noticed. :P

[blaze]

I think every body should agree with jockey because then he would turn to the other side, just seems to me like if it doesnt stir up the members then jockey doesnt want to know, I read just about all these post and it still confuses the sh** outa me. I would consider myself just an average fisho who cares for the envoiroment and do my share of lobbying pollies etc in tassie, love a feed of fresh fish, tag a few, let a few go.
Thats about What I stand for
Jockey what do you really stand for, Please explain IN SIMPLE TERMS
I try to understand all view points, some of what has been said has me bug**red
cheers
blaze

[jockey]

Sorry that was a joke. I was referring to kids piercing their face. It was sortof a take off of that PETA website. I guess I should have used the emoticons.

Seahunt you'd be surprised how deep we can dive naturally. I've seen people do it - without flippers.

[megafish71]

Yeh and sometimes I freedive down to a fair depth, But not without my speargun. Never know what fish might be about.

[northsboy]

Hey kc did you read the cairns post today?? Friday the 25th..... Bottom of the front page then on the inside....Whats that all about? Was that discussed at the meeting on wednesday nite?

[Robbo_Townsville]

Here here Blaze, lots of confusing mumbo jumbo shit comes fort from your mouth nob JOCKEY

[kc]

No I haven't seen a Cairns post. I did get a call about the JCU backed article about coral reefs worldwide in decline...is this what you are referring to?? I also got a call about the complimentary zoning thing and am following this up tonight because I have a written undertaking that the Qld Government would not do this without a consultation period!!

What article are you referring to??

A letter to the editor of the Cairns Post should be attached...if I can manage it (I'm a computer clutz). If not it will follow. Nugget "sorted" me on how to do this.

KC

Sir,

It is in no way surprising that GBRMPA and its government masters are cranking up their wonderfully resourced propaganda machine to justify their vote driven barrier reef shut out of recreational fishers, but what is surprising is that your editorial reflects you actually buy into the rubbery figures. Without doubt coral reefs world wide are in decline and overfishing is one of the reasons. Overfishing by dynamite, cyanide and huge multinational commercial fleets all trying to satisfy an insatiable international market for countries that have taken their own fisheries to the brink of total collapse.
But through the rhetoric just look at the cold hard facts of the GBR. The total combined commercial and recreational catch for the park is roughly 56kg of fish/square kilometre per year. The average for indopacific reefs is a whopping 7700 kg/square kilometre per year. The total commercial and recreational catch for the GBR is similar to that of the Florida Quays in the US which is 1/10 of 1% of the area of the GBR.
Recreational fishers are not against protection, we are not against bag limits, we are not against size limits, we are not against seasonal breeding closures, what we are against is being made the scapegoats for a vote driven publicity stunt when we believe there are much better ways which can meet the long term goals of protecting our wonderful marine park yet still allow those who live and work here to enjoy its bounty.
The JCU figures and plethora of expensive GBRMPA advertising is no more than thinly disguised electioneering by a Government desperate for green votes.

Kevin Collins
The Fishing Party (Qld)

Sh..t!! It worked. Nugget your a legend!

[jockey]

Where do those figures come from? The ones comparing catch rates.

[PinHead]

What the problem with body piercing, Jockey???
Lots have it done.

[jockey]

It was a joke. I don't have a problem with body piercing.

[kc]

Figures come from Dr Walter Stack, an INDEPENDANT (ie not and never on the GBRMPA payroll/grant bandwagon)

Local figure is easy. Total combined commercial and recreational catch divided by square kilometers of the marine park.

Overseas figures care of Dr Starck, which have been published and verified by media outlets and GBRMPA.

Dr Starck is a marine scientists of over 30 years standing (now retired) and is identified as "one of the pioneers in the scentific investigation of coral reefs".


What has become apparent during a bit of digging is that virtually the entire reef research in this country gets its funding through government/GBRMPA chanel.

I don't know about you Jockey but if was me and I wanted to keep my job, I would not be wanting to come up with findings my boss did not like.
While every Reef CRC report i read is in terms of statistical data and cold hard numbers is apparently accurate the same can not be said for the executive summaries and conclusions these reports reach and there is also an issue with reports that do not agree with the green agenda, never being published. Dr Starck has actually identified some of these reports, such as the one about nitrate/nutrient levels on one tree Island. The study was done, the results did not show the expected detrimental effects so the report was never published.

KC

[jockey]

Yes but I would like to know how they are calculated. It just sounds too good to be true. For example, the total area on the GBR could include the lagoon, whereas the oversees figures might only count actual coral reef. Furthermore an island for example might sustain a large pelagic fishery that has nothing to do with the reef.

I read Dr Starcks article on the sunfish site. I found it interesting that he titled it 'where are the reef studies?' or something like that but didn't say where the were except for a general reference to some library. He didn't even say which ones he was talking about.

About the paper you mentioned, is it normal for them to publish everything? If the results of a paper are not interesting then why should they publish it if it doesn't contradict other evidence/advice and doesn't add anything useful to fisheries managers. You only publish new stuff, not confirmation of what is commonly known.

If you have a report where the summary and conclusion doesn't match the data then tell everyone about it. That is scientific dishonesty and if what you say is true the scientists involved should get there career screwed over it. Peer review doesn't just mean other scientists. Most of it is simple enough for many non-scientists to understand and if our criticism makes sense people will pay attention.

[kc]

It is figures for entire marine park as are the figures for overseas indopacific reef fisheries. If you take the GBR catch rate back to just hard reef it is 330 kg /sq kilometer per year but in doing that you are leaving in the catch tonnages associated with off reef areas such as school mackrel, tuna, billfish and to some degree spanish. GBRMPA have debated on air with Dr Starck and they do not dispute these numbers.

The point about the one tree island study is that it was expected to show an increase in nitrate and nuitrient levels. When it did not...they did not"bother" to publish it.

Why? Because it did not suit their agenda!! Seems pretty simple doesn't it?? Or is there some other deep green reason I am missing?

KC

[jockey]

Maybe its just because it wasn't worth publishing?

[Kerry]

Maybe its just because it wasn't worth publishing?

Worth publishing! now why don't you try didn't fit the "required" outcome, just how thick are you, we've been there and done this before (now how's your limited memory today ;D) and you failed then and you'll fail now, facts are wonderfull things except to the people (that includes you by the way) who don't want to know about them.

Funny hey how people like you are very scared of facts, oh shock, oh horror, oh no facts, O no can't handle facts, O too much for poor old jockey to handle :-X

Cheers, Kerry.

[Kerry]

Hey KC, got a riddle for ya ;D What's a pendulum and jockey got in common ???

Cheers, Kerry.

[kc]

They both swing back and forward, work themselves into a frenzy, & don't actually go anywhere??

or

They are both a heavy weight on the end of a long stick, that, after you watch it for long enough, it ultimately bores you shitless??

or

If you follow its every twist and turn, before you now it, it's bloody near midnight, I've got to start work at sparrows, & I'm off to bed. Times flies.

Other than that Kerry I am like a deer with no eyes.

I do know the weather is going to smile on us for the last weekend before RAP. Jesus was a fisherman!

Get out & enjoy it, catch a few fish and when the rachet screams on the first spanish of the morning........spare a though for us poor bastards workin'

KC

[MTpockets]

Should be a law about working on Sundays KC, poor bugga :(

[Kerry]

Yep, ;D KC's, into the "swing" of things.

But don't think you missing much this morning, southerly's 20+ and Hamilton hitting 30, stay in bed weather apart from the "workers" ;D.

Cheers, Kerry.

[webby]

Hi KC, Havent stuck my nose into any of these debates, but have been following your party build up with interest, glad to see the launch in cairns was a success.
So though i'd have my little say
Any thinking angler today can see the major threats to the fisheries resource, pollution, destruction of nursery habitat, overfishing by commerical operators and the impact of foreign and domestic longliners can. and are, doing long term damage to our fishery.
Us Recreational fishermen are a soft target for governments to hit, either to gain publicity as being conservation minded or to appease any other resource user group, simply because by nature we are a laid back bunch, and dont pose any threat, mainly because we arent organised enough yet to convince them (governments) that if we were to become united, rec fishermen could become a thorn in there side.
Time and again we see figures suggesting that recreational fishing is the largest and most popular sport in the country, with millions of participants every year, spending billions of dollars.
Unless this vast bunch of anglers, can unite, speak up and put the fear of God into governments, forcing them to address the Major threats to the fishery of this country, then we shall remain a soft target and find that the resource, our resource, will be carved up and utilised by somebody else.
regards

[northsboy]

KC,
Mate this is just part of the article that was written on friday the 25th,Sorry its a late reply i haven't been on the internet for a while.
Blockade protest against reef zones....
"Fishing industry leaders say tempers are at boiling point because the federal and state governments have ignored their cries for help as the day for large chunks of the reef to be put off-limits draws near.
They plan to gather as many boats as possible in the marina on July 1 to slow outgoing marina traffic on the first day of the fishing restrictions."
Thats just a part of the whole write-up,i was wondering if that was talked about at the meeting? Not that it makes much difference or anything but just wondering how they organised it. Are you going to be involved in that?
Cheers mate
Liam

[kc]

Hi Liam,

This something being organised by the commercial guys and nothing to do with us.

We considered a similar idea and actually (pre fishing party days) pulled the same thing in the Whitsundays during RAP round 1. At the end of the day you have to offset the publicity generated with the enemies it makes. Particularly of the holiday makers ..."general public".

The jury is still out on this whole issue.

Do we go down the millitancy road or try to stay moderate.

The majority of voter/fishos are the 2 or 3 times a year mum dad & the kids types.

While the keener, and more hard nosed amongst us would like to be millitant I believe we need to be moderate and keep our voter base as wide as possible.

So...no it's not us. I personally would not like to see the fishing party involved, but that does not mean we can not use the publicity it will generate to further our cause while still appearing to be moderates.

KC

[SNELLY]

Kev,

In the Cairns post on Friday there was also comments about complementary zoning

Snelly

[kc]

Thanks Sneely,

I heard that. I followed up straight away with an email to a David Briggs. Team Leader. Policy Division EPA. I have an earler email from him regarding this issue and written advice that the Qld Government will not introduce complimentary zoning without a public consultation round.

I have not yet had a reply (but only sent the email Friday morning after the paper came out). Suffice to say! I'm on it!!

I will post any feedback.

Regards

KC

[SNELLY]

Kev,

Good work again


How is the membership scoreboard doing ? - sounds like we have finally got some momentium going. Most people who I have been talking have or are joining.


Snelly

[kc]

Getting a few, need a LOT MORE...more, more, more!!

Membership equals credibility and credibility equals sponsorshp dollars and sponsorship dollars will equal votes.

Fly the flag as high as you can.

I Fish & I Vote ...finally actually means something.

Cheers mate

KC

[cHiCo]

was just down at erskines and heard rob and them talking about something happeneing wednesday night at yorkeys....

[SNELLY]

cHICo,

There is a meeting with GBRMPA on this Wednesday June 30th at 7-00pm at Yorkeys Knob Boat club. As far as I know it was arranged by the Yorkeys Knob GFC.

I called the club today to confirm the time.

Not sure what we will get out of it - but the truth about who is driving this nonsense would be good.

I'm going, so see you there

Snelly

[cHiCo]

might have a fish in the marina that night then come up for a gig! so its not fishing party related?

[kc]

No. It is not us. If you find out who is organising it send me their contact details so i can touch base.

I would like them to be aware of our positionand see if we can help. It does not matter who is pushing the barrow, as long as we are all pushing in the same direction.

Regards

KC

[SNELLY]

KC,

When I made the comment about who is driving this nonsense I meant from GBRMPA and the Gov

Snelly

[jockey]

KC perhaps you wouldn't be up past midnight if you didn't participate in slanging matches. There is nothing wrong with GBRMPA not publishing a report. 'Not publishing' doesn't actually mean anything. Someone has obviously read it. For all you know they could have tons of unpublished reports that are unpublished simply because they are so damn boring. Publishing is expensive so the decision was probably based on whether people were willing to pay to read it - and in the end someone has to pay for it (via tax, subscription or advertising). Unless you have evidence of GBRMPA actually covering up important information or trying to mislead us then you have nothing.

Why should I take Dr Starcks words for granted? I have given the source of all the numbers and other important information that I have posted here. If those numbers were real he'd go out of his way to provide the deatils and make it easy for us to chase it up. He is obviously not comparing apples with apples so a lot of judgement would be required in preparing that information. I get very suspicious when people who claim to be academics (or anyone for that matter) don't refer to the source of their information.

[kc]

Welcome back Charles, I thought you must have been on holidays. Been very low key lately with no one playing devils advocate. Catch up on a bit of news about the outstanding ethics of the GBRMPA and their campaigns of disinformation on some of the other posts.....or better still, watch the 7.30 report in a few days time. Catch up on the mapping issue and also the ABC poll result tampering. One, clear evidence of the confusing information being printed by GBRMPA and the other...well, time will tell whose grubby fingers are involved in that one!

As to Dr Stracks research....also more to follow and a whole raft of all the evidence you seem to want.

Things have not stood still during your break.
To the contrary it just keeps getting better and better.
As to the GBRMPA "selectively" only publishing reports which are "interesting" and not wasting money publishing "boring" reports............come on!! I don't mind a reasoned case but that comment is bordering on plain silly!!

Get back on the horse with some reasoned arguments, not something like this just trying to get a bite! If the "boring" report reason is the best you can do you need a bit more time off.

Welcome back anyway!!

KC

[jockey]

KC you seem to have forgotten who I am while I was away. I've caught up on everything here. I am eagerly awaiting the results of whatever id going on. I am also eagerly awaiting finding out where Dr Starck's info comes from. I don't see why this should take so long.

There is nothing wrong with not publishing a report. I don't need to come up with a reason why there is not a conspiracy behind that. It is up to you to try to show there is. You have the information, therefor it has been published! Perhaps you should go into some detail about how hard it was to get that information?

[PinHead]

"Why should I take Dr Starcks words for granted? I have given the source of all the numbers and other important information that I have posted here. If those numbers were real he'd go out of his way to provide the deatils and make it easy for us to chase it up. He is obviously not comparing apples with apples so a lot of judgement would be required in preparing that information. I get very suspicious when people who claim to be academics (or anyone for that matter) don't refer to the source of their information."

Suspicious..that is what I am with any so called scientist's findings..they all bow to the master with the dollars...hell...greenhouse effect..holes in ozone layer...global warming etc etc etc ..all a bunch of crap..all driven by scientists dancing for their respective pipers.

[jockey]

"they all bow to the master with the dollars"

sound like a conspiracy theory with no evidence to back it up

In my experience scientists are fiercly protective of their academic independence.