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View Full Version : 1 Year Moratorium on Snapper & Mackerel



imported_admin
06-04-2002, 09:42 PM
Have your vote and have your say

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Brian
07-04-2002, 10:11 AM
My vote went all Qld. although i wish thier was a vote for unsure. I agree with Vern consideration needs to be given to all the jobs, not to mention tourist monies lost.

Don't get me wrong we need to URGENTLY sort the management of our fishery out and this needs to be looked at from all stake holders before it is to late.

Brian

jaybee
07-04-2002, 01:20 PM
Maybe if a ban was put into place as suggested (Qld should be divided into four sections (Far Nth--Gulf to
Cairns) (North Cairns to Mackay) (Central Mackay to
Gympie) (Southern Gympie to Tweed) and a 2-3mth
Ban applied to the start of all Breeding/Migratory Seasons
in each Section during the Year. This should apply for a few
years so at least some species can replenish or are given a
chance too. ) cant see why not (with a bit of pressure from the amatuers and the businesses affected if they are..as there are other species to target)..on the government to supply low interest loans..the closure of barra fishing and prawning up north hasnt seemed to hurt the industry dollar wise but quite the opposite. I also personally beleive that when the bans are in place in a certain area fishos will travel to the next area if they are keen enough..okay so they are taking their spending from that area but that area will reap the benefits when the ban is lifted.. also from what I read on this board there are quite a few members who travel thousands of klms every year to fish. I am in great favour of increasing size limits tho as for the last few bream seasons I have been fishing bruns ..the extra inch on a bream makes it all worthwile..I am aslo in favour of QLD bringing in amatuer licenses not to supplement the pros but to use the money wholly and solely for fish management and education of youth. I also beleive what has been missed here is the nursery..the wholesale slaughter of the mangroves for canal estates..not to mention the covering of shallow reefs with land fill to extend the estates out to sea.. the government knows the devestation this has caused to fish population yet it still goes on and another added pressure is other countries relying on our fish stocks. However, all in all, we can blow our trumpet in this room and magazines and newspapers, but the fact is how much did we know 20 to 40 years ago that it would get like this. We are now at an age where we can turn things around before its too late, for the future of our childrens, children with the right education and fish management.

webby
07-04-2002, 03:28 PM
We all cryout now about the dimished stocks of certain species, especially in SEQ, of course reducing bay limits &
increasing sizes with help, So Who do we Blame ??? ???
There are some Clubs, whose sole aim is to go offshore to
catch Snapper & offer prizes to the biggest.
For too long Charter Boats plundered certain species to make a dollar & now also Cry Out for Restrictions, I no some
have reduced their paying clients limits, but it has come too late.
We have Fishing Magazines & TV Programmes, their experts aspiring us to be like them, telling us where and how
to catch them, where as most are more concerned with their
public image, then with the true aspect of angling.
GPS and Sounders have added a nother dimension to the
art of fishing, getting to the exact spot and ontop of schools
giving them no chance.
Of course the biggest destroyer of all species is the
Commerical Market, who constantly target fish in some aggregation areas where they school to breed, some species especially mackeral, never reach their southern
destination as they are devastated further north. Of Course
we still need Commerical Fishing, to cater for the Non-Anglers Market, But these people must wake up also &
realise that their licenced to Harvest not to Obliterate.
We no longer have dunny men,garbos,whalers & many
others whose professions disappeared because of progress
& they never cried out for compensation.
What is needed is a Dept, whose Primary is the Management of our Fisheries for the Future, not a Dept whose main aim is agriclture & who treats the Fishing Inviron-
ment as a Primary Industry. It will be easier to catch a good
does of sunburn soon, then to catch a fish.
Fishing is the last thing we have that help us keep in touch
with nature, to escape the Stressed out World we Live In.
To catch a fish you must be able to understand them & their
environment they live in, just being out there and testing your
skills of Angler v's Fish is the true feeling of being a Angler.
Qld should be divided into four sections (Far Nth--Gulf to
Cairns) (North Cairns to Mackay) (Central Mackay to
Gympie) (Southern Gympie to Tweed) and a 2-3mth
Ban applied to the start of all Breeding/Migratory Seasons
in each Section during the Year. This should apply for a few
years so at least some species can replenish or are given a
chance too.
I may have upset some with some of the above Facts, but
I am only stating my views as to why the fishing Industry is in
the state its in at present.

"" The Human Being is the Most Dangerous Predator on
Earth , we Destroy for our Existance & Profit""

regards

jaybee
07-04-2002, 04:23 PM
Was speaking to my bro from Bruns today about this..he is all for the ban as well even down in NSW. He was saying how a person last year caught 9 really huge snapper and all were roed up. Apparantly some of the locals (bro included) gave him a really hard time at the ramp as he gutted and threw the roe in the river. He doesnt bother staying at the ramp to clean fish anymore. Boats are going out day after day down there and this season on mackeral and snapper is worse then last even the pros are saying bruns has had its day. :-[

Vern_Veitch
07-04-2002, 05:36 PM
Not sure I agree with a total 1 year moratorium. Although we must put the fish first, wemust also consider the human impact, jobs etc.
Any bag linit of less than 5 shold be declared non-commercial for a start. We need to make sure our size limits let the fish breed but this will not help teraglin as they have very poor release survival. Perhaps in critical areas, no-go zones are an answer but they must be no-go to everyone and not just no-fishing.
Most of all, we must get our habitat management right. IF we destroy the kindergartens and nursery wards then reduced fishing pressure will mean zip.
Vern

Kerry
08-04-2002, 09:10 AM
Rather a bit over zealous in expectation but the reuslts so far are what one might expect where maybe the "overall" issues have not been fully and totally consdered.

Cheers, Kerry.

dazza
08-04-2002, 10:12 AM
This is a difficult subject with many different view's etc. Here are my personal opinions. I mainly fish catch and release. Keep one or two for a feed and put the rest back. I am not taking a high moral ground, but prefer this type of fishing.
I recon that the baglimits should be reduced and size limits increased. Commercial fishing does have a place, but its impacts in certain areas need to be closley examined. For eg: compare the NT barra fishery and the QLD fishery. QLD is a joke. Rec anglers also need to look at their practices as well. Have a look at a few club reports
"214 fish for a total of 36.375kg" and "45 fish were caught for 11kg". I these fisho's haven't broken any laws or reg's but they have had a fairly big impact.
Protecting certain areas on a rotational basis, closed seasons, total closure of habitats etc etc must be expanded. We all have an impact on the fish stocks and environment
in one way or another, and it is up to everyone to be responsible, but I would have more chance of flying to the moon and back than that happening.
Cheers
Dazza

jaybee
08-04-2002, 10:53 AM
HEY i'm a QLD'r and I agree with dazza..sorry queensland but I am very passionate about this...specially when you read the article in the readers forum in this months bush n beach about the RIS survey...i put an answer in the Tailor bag Limit forum ...

Vern_Veitch
08-04-2002, 05:02 PM
The Gold Coast is a special case as there is easy access and it is close to the coast. If you want to catch snapper in Mackay you need to travel 70 nautical miles and there is not a problem with the stocks. A bag limit of 10 is fine but remember when you are going out that far, the trips are few and far between due to weather etc.
I fish by myself for my family and I do not think 10 spotties is excessive. At 60 cm (the new proposed size) it is about 10 meals and a bar-b-que with a few close friends. I never give fish away but do not think inviting 1 or 2 other families over for dinner should be ruled out.
With spotties the commercial catch has increased from 40 tonne in 1990 to 400 tonne in 2000 so we know where the problem lies but a bag of 30 is way over the top. Both commercial and rec should be cut by 66% and that is fair to all and should see the fish recover in 2 or 3 years.
We have been too quick in the past to give up bag limits and all that has happened is that the commercials have moved in to take up the slack. If snapper are in such strife they should be declared a non-commercial species but I do not think that is justified state wide.
There is a lot more to this than meets the eye and we need to look at zoning at a much finer scale than proposed above by Jaybee. That zoning must also apply to commercial operators who should not be able to fish outside their allocated zone commercially.
Just a few thoughts.
Vern

Fitzy
08-04-2002, 05:12 PM
There is a lot more to this than meets the eye and we need to look at zoning at a much finer scale than proposed above by Jaybee. That zoning must also apply to commercial operators who should not be able to fish outside their allocated zone commercially.
Just a few thoughts.
Vern

Hi Vern,
Wasn't that part of the role of the failed ZACs?

Vern_Veitch
08-04-2002, 07:18 PM
ZAC's were only supposed to provide advice. Zoning is a change in the legislation that ties commercial operators to a limited geographic area. In my view, the smaller the better and if we could get to the stage that a licence covered "X" miles of coast and no other commercial operator was allowed to fish that area then he might have a good reason to look after it. Let's face it, I can't build my swimming pool in your back yard and my mate can't grow his cane in a national park. If the fish do not turn up it is no different to poor rainfall on a farm in ??????. It seems so simple but the commercial sector hate the idea even though they hate outsiders coming in to their area. Strange bunch.
I reckon that over time it would increase the value of the good guys licences and the bad buggers could be easily brought out. At least we would know what we are paying for.
The problem is the big business in the industry that wants to be able to go anywhere, anytime and can sell off their licence to some poor young buck who does not care about the fishery and is just trying to make a buck out of a publicly owned resource.
The whole issue is too many licences and it is too complex to detail here but we do not seem to be getting anywhere. They have reduced the trawl fishery by 240 licences but over half have just moved sideways.
Vern

saundy
09-04-2002, 05:30 AM
Without designated areas being brought in, a license is just a piece of paper that allows someone some fishing rights. It is not managed at all as far as I can see. Acording to the pros proposed management plan for the Great Sandy Strait and Hervey Bay, there are 302 pro boats between Tin Can Bay and Bundaberg. Plus "a handful in Tewantin". This is in about 200k of coastline. I read recently that there are 94 in the Gulf of Carpentaria and they were buying back licenses on a regular basis. I think Qld is the only state that does not have a minister for fisheries. Politicians need to be reminded that we employ them, they are not a superior race who can ignore the public. http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/smilies/cwm16.gif

Kerry
09-04-2002, 07:03 AM
Similar to drivers licences where one may have a car licence that doesn't qualify one to say drive a truck etc and as I understand it commercial (fishing) licences have similar breakdowns. Sometimes convienient to group all things together but is the breakdown different considering the purpose.

I also think if one looks into things that for certain fisheries there are already area restrictions, time restrictions and other restrictions and simply one licence does not cover all possible fishery options.

Cheers, Kerry.

Fitzy
09-04-2002, 07:32 AM
Similar to drivers licences where one may have a car licence #that doesn't qualify one to say drive a truck etc and as I understand it commercial (fishing) licences have similar breakdowns. Sometimes convienient to group all things together but is the breakdown different considering the purpose.

I also think if one looks into things that for certain fisheries there are already area restrictions, time restrictions and other restrictions and simply one licence does not cover all possible fishery options.

Cheers, Kerry.
#
Kerry,
Also noteworthy is that many commercial boats are designed & setup with one purpuse/species in mind.

Vern,
If each pro were given X amount of shoreline that is "his only" I agree that he would be likely to care for it. It may also tend to make them slay every pelagic that wandered into "their" digs before they moved off into Fred Blogg's turf. (Oportunity lost?)
If they can't follow them, then they'd be tempted to finish them off on the spot. Same result?

Cheers,

Fitzy..

PS- Good discussion #:)

Vern_Veitch
09-04-2002, 04:47 PM
According to the catch and trends report Fitzy, they are doing that anyway. Fact is we have too many licences in Queensland. I believe there has been one brought out in the gulf and that program is considered a failure.
There are approx 240 east coast barra licences. The NT has 23.
There are 1500+ licences authorised to fish in the coral reef fishery at present. We need some major management changes and the longer we delay, the more it will cost both in terms of sustainability and in compensation to get rid of the licences.
Vern

Fitzy
09-04-2002, 05:43 PM
According to the catch and trends report Fitzy, they are doing that anyway. Fact is we have too many licences in Queensland. I believe there has been one brought out in the gulf and that program is considered a failure.
There are approx 240 east coast barra licences. The NT has 23.
There are 1500+ licences authorised to fish in the coral reef fishery at present. We need some major management changes and the longer we delay, the more it will cost both in terms of sustainability and in compensation to get rid of the licences.
Vern

You got that right Vern!

Kerry
09-04-2002, 06:11 PM
.... There are 1500+ licences authorised to fish in the coral reef fishery at present .....


:-X I wonder how many of those licences are duel fueled "enterprises" and in the past been used in the off season, especially in conjunction with some northern farming cycles ;D.

I suppose some of the recent changes might weed out some of the casual licences that in the past have probably been more convienient for other purposes than earning a primary income ::).

Cheers, Kerry.

Kerry
09-04-2002, 06:13 PM
Speaking of mackeral especially spanish. has anybody ever seen a Spanaird less then 500mm ???

Cheers, Kerry.

Vern_Veitch
10-04-2002, 05:47 PM
Yes Kerry. I caught one on lure in a mangrove creek in Hinchinbrook Channel many years ago chasing barra & jacks. It was about 20 or maybe 25 cm at most. I did not get a photo nad got it back in the water straight away. Put up a great fight.
Vern