Thumbs down to B&B

[dazza]

I couldnt believe my eyes. On page 23 of the current edition "A steady stream of butchers donged on the head".
Reading this made me feel sick. The anglers in question were catching grinners and "donging them on the head " to feed a porpise that was swimming around the boat. Just because the poor old grinner isnt all that edible, these guys thought it was OK to wholesale slaughter.
I cannot believe Ron as editor would condone this practice.
It is printed in the mag, so I guess the editor read it and the contents deemed appropriate to print.
Crap like this does nothing to help rec fisho's.
I think power boat anglers need to take a long hard look at themselves, and B&B discontinue to condone actions like this.

* Fish taken should be killed quickly and should be prepared and preserved in such manner as to minimise spoilage and waste. Where a fish is not wanted it should be returned in such manner as maximises its chances of survival. Wanton unnecessary destruction of undesired species is unacceptable. (taken from ANSA code of ethics.)

Cheers
Dazza

[Steve_Ooi]

I dunno dazza, they where fishing in about 50 metres of water so the article states, after pulling the fish out of 50 metres, may be the most ethical/humane way to treat them was to put them out of there misery, quickly. Especially with flipper around.
I'm not sure on the effects from pulling fish from that deep quickly but it can't be that good. Even if they did prick them and released them i reckon there chances of survival would be minimal with flipper around.
They saved flipper the energy and the grinners the pain of getting eaten alive.

Poony

[Heath]

Dazza,

While can understand your concerns, what would be difference if those fish were used for berly or if they were thrown in the water alive & flipper ate them?

I think in all fairness, the grinners would have been smacked by the dolphin even if they were returned to the water immediatly.

If the fish were being indescriminatly killed for no reason then, yes maybe it would be an issue. But providing a Dolphin with a free feed is nothing to be concerned with IMO. :)

[Rev]

And then the Dolphin gets used to the boats and them providing it with food and no longer sees the need to hunt as it gets a free feed.

This goes to more than killing a few fish to feed a Dolphin, don't think they are doing it a favour by feeding, because they're not. http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/smilies/cwm10.gif
Next thing you know it is pestering boats out there and some silly bugger takes a shot at it because it pinches the prize catch or just because it p@#&es them off. Seen it and heard it all before.

At least try to help the fish, by releasing the swim bladder, if they need it, and throw them back in on the other side of the boat and make the dolhin chase it.

Dazza you're right even if they do it, the should not have let it get through to print. Now we (Recreational Anglers) get painted with the same 'by-catch' brush as the Pros.

Rev.

[dazza]

These are wild animals that get conditioned to feeding. Next time a boat pulls up old flipper will be straight onto it. These are intellegent and resourceful creatures. What happens when he grabs a pillie with a gang of 6/0 in it =1 distressed dolphin that potentially may die as a result. Similar thing to the Fraser Is dingoes, a few food scraps wont hurt. Now look at the problems they are having. Ever been camping when the local campsite goanna is around. They annoy the hell out of you, try and get into food etc. This is a result of people feeding wild animals.
I guess my point is minimum impact. Weather it be on the fishery or the wildlife in and around that fishery.
While clubs like powerboat anglers are advocating these fishing practices, we as rec fishers have a long hard road.
Cheers
Dazza

[Steve_Ooi]

Interesting points brought out there, and the fact of feeding wild dolphins and the impact that it may have is one that needs to be considered. good point


I don't think there was any reason to bring the editor into this discussion ,cause if that was the case i'm sure we could have a list of nearly every magazine/paper produced and editor in this country, that has promote something that many may have consider to cross the ethics line .

Interesting about the dolphins though, a while back i was trying to find out some info on the accidental capture of dolphins , after searching the internet i couldn't find any info.
I would be interested in any stories , websites, or other info or experiences relating to this subject though.


Cheers Poony

[Ron_Collins]

Hi Dazza
Thanks for the post. I'm sorry for the delay in responding to the good points you have made.

The Power Boat Angler reports in our June edition were processed and subsequently checked by a "sub editor". What was brought to my attention was the fact that the word "prix" had been used, not that a procession of them had been killed. So I need to improve our line of communication in that regard.

I don't get to read every word of every report because they all come in at the same time and we just don't have the people power to process all of the info in a week. (We would have the time if the reports were well out of date, but I prefer current information.)

Having now had a look at the PBA report I agree with you that it's promoting bad ethics. But by it being published at least there is some discussion and hopefully an educational value to be gained. Just as a matter of interest, would you have preferred it if the reference to the grinners had been edited out of the report? Or do you think an "editorial comment" should have been made in the report? Or have you got any other ideas about how "we" recreational anglers can assist in the education of those in our numbers who may or may not be doing what "we" think is the right thing?

Sergeant bakers are a pretty tough fish and I'd have expected them to survive being caught in deep water. The concept of killing fish like this is from an era long past and I hope the PBA members learn from these comments, which I'll endeavour to publish in the next edition of BNB Fishing.

In general, what I endeavour to achieve for readers of BNB Fishing is a mix of information that is relevant to the majority of rec anglers. There is nothing wrong with rec anglers catching a feed of fish, or using bait to do just that, and so on. Similarly, not every fish has to be released, but we do have to have a responsible and happy medium if "we" want to keep catching them into the future.

I hope my comments have outlined BNB's position, and I also hope the discussion has or will lead to the promotion of better fishing ethics. Ron Collins, Ed.

[lordy]

I'm impressed by your openness and honesty. Lots of people would have tried to brush it under the carpet or shrug it off. Keep up the great work. A quality mag has just gone up a notch higher again.

[fishy_phil]

g'day
just thought id say that if you guys havent tried it use the old sargent BAITFISH for bait for snapper and the like you might be pleasently surprised!

><>y phil

[dazza]

Hi Ron,
Thanks for your reply. I can understand it is difficult to read everything printed. In my opinion editorial comment at the end
would have been good. It would educate old and new anglers that we have a responsibility to fish in a humane and ethical manner.
I am all for catching a feed of fish, using fish for bait etc, but any unwanted fish should be returned unharmed and in the best possible condition.
I agree 100% with Lordy, you as editor of B&B have raised the standards and you must be congratulated for that.

Steve,
I thought it was appropriate to raise these issues with the editor, as the buck stops there.
I was in no way questioning Rons ethics. I have read B&B for many years and Ron has made it very obvious that he is passionate about the issues etc surrounding rec fishing.
I saw a video that was made in Broome years ago. These guys were livebaiting for sails and a dolphin grabbed a livey. It ended up dropping the bait after a short run.
Cheers
Dazza

[Ron_Collins]

Hi Dazza
I think you've made the right call - an editorial comment should or could have been added at the end of the report. I'm not in favour of editing things out and pretending that they did happen, so your solution seems the best.

Thanks all for the input and interest. We'll endeavour to lift our standards as suggested.

By the way, one of my very few moments of glory was at the Straddie Classic in, I think, 1995 when I was lucky enough to catch heaviest pearlie (and I've dined out on it ever since).

The bait? A whole fillet of sergeant baker... Good fishing and fun one and all. Ron Collins, Ed.

[Heath]

Interesting points brought out there, and the fact of feeding wild dolphins and the impact that it may have is one that needs to be considered. good point


I don't think there was any reason to bring the editor into this discussion ,cause if that was the case i'm sure we could have a list of nearly every magazine/paper produced and editor in this country, that has promote something that many may have consider to cross the ethics line .

Interesting about the dolphins though, a while back i was trying to find out some info on the accidental capture of dolphins , after searching the internet i couldn't find any info.
I would be interested in any stories , websites, or other info or experiences relating to this subject though.


Cheers Poony


I was unlucky enough to witness a Dolphin whack one of our live baits. It came up out of the water with the bait in its mouth, did a double somersault & then as it powered away busted off.
We have had Dolphins hang around the boat many times while fishing & have only once which was this occassion had one touch one of our baits.