trawlers boudaries

[maverick1]

Would anyone know the trawlers fishing boundies in moreton bay?
at times in the early hours of the morning they seem to come fairly close to bay islands i fish {green & mud islands} , this can't helping our fish stocks in the bay .

[wombat45]

This is just my personal opion but if the Trawlers left the bay alone and just fished outside in the Ocean then there would be plenty of fish for the Rec fishers,as most of the boats of Rec fishers are not big enough to fish the ocean all the time and that way we would not have any fears of being run over by some of the bigger trawlers,as I said this is just my opion what are your feelings on this subject.
Cheers Wombat.

[jaybee]

Wombat
as most of the boats of Rec fishers are not big enough to fish the ocean most of the bay trawlers arent big enough to trawl the ocean either wombat. However there arent as many now as there use to be back in the seventies, a combination of dwindling stocks (prawns) and too much money to keep on the water
cheers.

[Big_Kev]

Yeah Joe I think this is going to be a problem that will only get worse .
My opinion would be to not commercialy fish Moreton Bay full stop .
Cheers Reel Hard

[jaybee]

yeh reel in full agreeance (did i spell that right) but then we still need to look at the industry for those that don't fish, bay prawns these days are not like the days i worked at the markets, where a boat would catch a couple of tonne, now its more like a couple of buckets up to 100kg, they have worked themselves out of a job, but to what extent of damage to the bay. ???
cheers.

[aquarius]

I totally agree with you guys....all these proposals being put into place now should have been done 10 years ago......Why do we leave it until each fish species is nearly wipped out to go and do something about it!!
Jaybee is right we still have to supply those people who don't fish but who knows in the years to come will there be any fish to harvest?
Cheers # Brent ::)

[mackmauler]

Sink them all ;D The old motto "catching fish for everyone" or prawns ??? Life will go on for those not so inclined to find their own ;) Not much good to me the old trawlers, I'll still catch my bucket quota of bananas on the good days with the cast net and release the small fish at the same time, I would support cast nets for the pros ;D Be about as useful to the pros as a fishing rod to catch spotty mackerel, Write to the minister he may go for it :-/

[Vern_Veitch]

DOn't get carried away with this "catching fish for everyone" bulldung. Catching fish to make money from a publicly owned resource. Most of our fish product caught in Queensland goes interstate and overseas. Why do you reckon the prices are so high. And look at what is offered up in the fish shops as "fresh". Nile Perch, Hoke, imported aquaculture prawns etc.
Just my own view.
Vern

[Big_Kev]

It seems that I am not the only one who does not like to see Moreton bay beaten to a pulp before something gets done .
Moreton bay gets an absolute canning from industrial waste , errosion and siltation ,chemical run off and any other form of degredation caused by a highly populated city .
It is fortunate that the council seems to be sympathetic to the cause of protecting our bay , more so than the state government .
There are other options for the supply of prawns . And when considered the quality of the bay prawns these options look even more attractive .
Cheers Reel

[Kerry]

.... There are other options for the supply of prawns ....

And what might that option be #??? and if the answer is prawn farms then the only difference is it won't be Moreton Bay but obviously some other bay which will be subject to the same similar polution and degradation effects.

"More attractive" is starting to sound like it will be ok as long as it's in someone elses backyard #>:(

Cheers, Kerry.
#

[Simon]

Vern has pretty much hit the nail on the head with a pile driver. All our best seafood, same as meat and more so fruit and veg goes OS at top dollar. Top dollar for our local prized fresh seafood going OS means we get less than john west wich is pretty bloody ordinary when your talking fresh, so we get the @#$%& crap they can't sell else where. Don,t get me wrong every aussie loves their seafood its just that most are dupe'd into ing that what we get is top shelf. True fisher,s know that mostly what you get in the maekets is nowhere near as good as what used to be put there.

only my drivle

Simon

[Big_Kev]

Kerry FYI there are a number of so called prawn farms around the bay as it is , just not in it .
Farms which produce the type of product that as said by other respondents #, is exported .
I think that the point which is trying to be made on this subject , is that the bay (being Moreton) does not produce the quality or quantity of prawns that it has in the current generation , and the effects that trawling has upon all sealife in the bay .
If current trends continue where will our bay be in another 20 years .
Not in to good of a condition I would say.
In my opinion if this is the case I would think that all options would need to be considered . And that prawn farms may be able to produce a better product and have less of a damaging effect upon the bay enviroment.
Cheers Reel .

[Kerry]

Reel, for sure prawn farms are basically land based and there lies part of the problem as has been experienced in other countries. Some countries have totally baned this type of industry but still we appear to want to find this out for ourselves.

These types of activities tend to stuff BOTH the land and sea environments.

At a guess any bay surrounded by people, #canal life styles, industry, farming etc etc has more of a problem than simply being degraded by fishing but then some can't (sometimes don't want to) see the overall picture and what some of the real issues are.

Fishing might still be ONE of the issues but not as total as some would like to believe.

Over the next 20 years by far the biggest impact will be people, everyday people living and doing the simple things people do like fertilizing their grass and all the other associated things that come with "development" and life style.

So does anybody know if the "lack" of and quality of prawns in Moreton Bay is due to fishing or has the life style affect already becoming entrenched. As an example Fire weed has a bearing and affects ALL fisherman and it's fairly obvious what has caused this stuff to bloom in recent years.

Cheers, Kerry.
#

[Big_Kev]

Kerry I can hear what you say about the impact that the population is having , and that of the every day lifestyle of the population in the catchment area of the bays tributeries .
But there is sweet fxxx all can be done about to turn the hoards away .
The easiest solution as I see it would be to grow our food in a controlled enviroment (ie;farming) .
If managed correctly I beleive that this can be done in a manner which would have a lesser effect on the enviroment than current methods .
Example would be that if some industrious cane farmers
(who cannot make a living in cane) were to utilise there land in farming seafood , purhaps this this would give them a more equitable living as well as having less of an enviromental impact than growing cane does .
But maybe I have my head in the clouds Reel

[jaybee]

The easiest solution as I see it would be to grow our food in a controlled enviroment (ie;farming) Reel it takes 3 - 5 kg of wild fish needed to produce 1 kg of cultured fish;don't know what it is for prawns but i am lead to beleive it takes more then a kg for a kg return to feed them, then you have all the problems of nutrients run off killing seabed grasses etc and the list goes on. This is why other countries are shutting down farms and looking for a more sustainable industry. if you need some figures give me a bell and i will send you some sights to peruse.
cheers.

[Big_Kev]

Yes Joe have the handle on that , which is why I said controlled enviroment .
I am still of the firm belief that this is the better option .
Until I am realised otherwise , but I am all ears for a better solution .
Cheers Reel

[Kerry]

Reel, I don't have the answers either but the hoards just might have to accuse themselves one day but do you think that will really happen.

As Jaybee mentioned 5kg of raw protein to produce 1 kg of farmed product, now that's not sustainable either and guess where and who catches the wild feed.

In comparison with some other so called "environmetal" friendly activities like Ethanol (corn) production in the USA, these corn farmers who push the green barrow actually have to use natural fuel (diesel) to farm with, otherwise the cost (if actually using ethanol, which they are supporting ::)) would not be viable.

One problem with some of the overseas disasters and escaped mutant ninga product, which in some places have totally wiped out the wild fish is we appear to be letting these same companies get a foot hold here now and all in the name of sustainability and environemtal friendly practices etc etc


Cheers, Kerry.

[Gazza]

Hi Kerry /Reel Hard,
hmmmm......5kg. of protein makes 1kg. of prawn , I have a solution!! :o

So a 100kg. "anti-fishing" minched-up Greenie would make 20kg. of prawn !!!!!

Yippee ;D , I'm for it ::) :P
(Sorry Kerry , ExtinctBloke/Devil made me say it!! ;) )

p.s. haven't worked out the "Trawler Boundaries" tie-up yet ,but I will ,but I will

Regards
Gazza

[stevedemon]

Hi mavrick1
Snappyone and I where Fishing Green Island here not so long ago and the trawler came within the 30mtr range of us fishing
I rang the fisheries to inform them of this caper but just recieved a dum response and the same thing with the trawler Asoc they don't care till some gets hurt

Cheers ;D ;D
Steve :P :P

[jaybee]

In reality there is no boundaries for trawlers in moreton bay. It is closed to all commercial fishermen between 6.30 pm friday and 6.30 am monday morning, unless the times have changed. In reality steve if you were anchored on coral there is no way you would have been hit. Coral has two effects on nets, 1. it rips them to shreds, (thousands off dollars damage) and 2. if they are hooked up there is a very big chance they will sink. Also most trawlers not all are on auto pilot while shooting the nets, whether there is a watch in the wheelhouse at all times can sometimes be debated. Also at times you will see trawlers with their wires out, look to see if the otter boards are still up, if so, they are dragging the nets to clean them, usually of jelly fish.
cheers.

[adriancorrea]

Dosent matter what they were doing.
The FACT is that they did come that close to us :o.
I couldnt stop laughing at Steve going off at them as they approached us :D ;D.
Dont know what they were up too but they were going around and around for a while real early in the morning.

Tight Lines
Adrian

[jaybee]

Adrian if they were going around in circles good bet is they were trying to clean the nets, either that or they were hooked up, when i use to fish off the tweed i have thrown 8oz droppers through their windows, not being nasty, but it woke someone up the fact they were about to hit reef with the nets. Hey these guys are only trying to make a living, if they cant afford deckies, then who is in the wheelhouse taking watch, got to sleep sometime, we can sit and pick the S@$% out of these guys, but its their living, and there arent too many of them left. know what i mean
cheers
joe

[Vern_Veitch]

Joe,
if they cannot afford the operation including safe staffing levels, then it is time to stop. Nobody should be allowed to put the general public at risk simpy to make a buck - and we all know the damage that is done to non-target species.
I cannot knock individuals who operate within the law (I'll throw rocks at Government for not changing law instead) but those that don't are only giving the rest of the industry a bad name.
Vern

[adriancorrea]

I agree with vern
Safety first.
But like I said it was worth them coming close just to see Steves Reaction

Tight Lines
Adrian

[jaybee]

Vern when i use to work at the markets back in the early 70s it was happening then but due to greed, back then a bay boat would weigh in a few tonne of bay prawns every morning, today it is happening because the skipper/owner cant afford the crew, the bay has been raped, and that is why there are less trawlers working for a few kilos each night, but on the other hand the outside boats are doing the same, from what my bro has told me, for a trawler down bruns to bring in a 2 gal bucket of kings is doing well, it pays for the fuel and the skippers wage, but no deckie ??? these guys outside or in the bay cant keep working like that, as you say someone is going to get hurt eventually.If someone had listened back in the sixties that the bay would be like it is now, we wouldnt be discussing this.back then it was bought to the attention of the state and federal gov this was going to happen by world renoun and local scientists, i have it here in writing with photographs, i think i sent it to you actually, but hey its not yours or my fault, only the governments for not listening. and they will continue not to listen until one day there wont be any exports. :-[

[jaybee]

hey adrian i would have liked to have seen steves reaction as well, when a boat is close enought to smash a window with a dropper now thats wake up time, i could say a few things here but not on the net, but in all honesty, alcohol and drugs play a part here with some trawlers, but proving it is one thing unless you yourself or you know someone who has been there.
cheers
joe.

[Vern_Veitch]

All I would say is that we must go forward. We cannot change history but we can start today to make it better for tomorrow.
Vern

[jaybee]

I agree vern, however with the damage that has been done, not by trawlers and pros alone, there is the degredation of the nurseries with the canal estates, i don't think i will see days like i did 30 yrs ago on the bay, not in my lifetime, it is going to take a long time to fix :'( :-[
cheers.

[Vern_Veitch]

Hate to say ot Joe but I agree. Probably not in this millenium. It will take an ice age and a few big sea level changes to fix the mess we have made over the last hundred or so years.
Vern

[nhoj]

About 30 years ago I lived for 5 years in Gippsland, Victoria, and used to go to Lakes Entrance fishing fairly often. All you could catch in those days were Bream in the 10 - 20cm range.
Two years ago I happened to be travelling through Lakes Entrance and decided to stay overnight. I walked down to the footbridge and stoped to talk to a guy that was fishing. Within 45 minutes he had caught his bag of squire, reasonable size, and was just throwing them back. I commented to him that you were lucky once if you could catch one decent fish let alone a bag limit. He said since the Victorian Government introduced licences and got tough on the netters and banned netting in a lot of the entrances fishing had improved drastically. You could acually see weed beds and bait fish where once it had been barren. Maybe there is a future if we all pitched in together and got off our behinds and did something. I am not proposing to just introduce licences for revenue sake, it has to be a balanced reform from all involved.