Simmo's hit the nail on the head with that one line. Common sense....sure there are no laws against crabbing in a main channel but who in their right mind would sit out in the traffic in a small waterway and launch a pot anyways??Originally Posted by Simmo2
yeah i have to agree. its very frustrating when there put right in the middle of a channel. i dont think you should keep up the vigilante attitude thou. mate lifes too short to be getting worked up over this. just remember. there are a lot of big knives in tackle boxes, so calm down before something gets outta hand.
is it really worth a criminal record over a crab pot ?
All the piss and vinegar aside.
one thing that needs to be understood is the concept of responsibility at sea.
The laws and regulations concerning many things "at sea" may seem to be easy going but the over all concept remains.
If you caused it, its your fault and you are responsible.
yeh there is an obligation to kepp an adequate look out and to travel at a safe speed. but the reasonable person test would apply.
So you put a pot in a channel.....no specific law against that.
BUT
If the presence of that pot, float and rope causes damage, injury or loss of life, you most certainly can be held responsible.
Remember legaly your pot must be marked with your details, so it makes legal action very convienient and easy.
You may be happy to drop your pot in the channel.......but it might cost you your house and your life savings.
think your boat insurance will cover that.... dont think so.
If I had that problem & I was satisfied that I had been keeping a proper look out.
I would first examine the float for the details...... no details..... boating & fisheries patrol...unmarked illegal pots....remove said pots if expressly instructed by an officer of the crown
If there was details.....note details...... contact water police...( remember you are obliged to report all incidents that may endanger life or limb)....examine for damage.......... get quotes.......legal process.
life is more complicated than you think.
cheers
Skippers responsibility. No way in the world would someone be liable for prosecution because he/she put a crab pot in a channel that fouled someones prop. c'mon, the courts have a hard enough time convicting murderes let alone irresponsible fisherman, cmon !!!
OK.
Firstly you only have to have your name on the float. Your details are on the pot. If someone is cutting off floats, then that will be hard to match pot with float.
Secondly. I don't agree with putting crab pots in the main channel. If you are after muddies, that's not where they're at! It also makes navigation difficult.
Finally. Any prick I catch touching my crab pots will have his and his army sporting a new @rsehole.
How's that for fence sitting?
I just did a google for navigational hazard, but the results are too huge.
I'll just presume, that if a person were to purposely place an item that was to interfere with traffic in a known/recognised thoroughfare, they must hold some responsibility.
If I were to place pots in the entrance to a marina, or in the seaway is that ok??? Don't think so!
Prosecution....... small bananas.......... civil action is the one to worry about.
A fine might be a couple of hundred dollars.
you stuff up one of those fancy rich mans boats or injure "one of his"...... you wont even be able to afford the legal bills.... let alone the damages.
cheers
IF I see them in the middle of a small channel I will often pick them up and throw them as far up on the bank as I can.
so funny...an army behind you..no army son..just a gang..and little men need gangs as they are not man enough to handle things themselves. just go out there and enjoy yourself..it ain't worth the hassle to get irritated.
the prosecutor/ civil action person has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was the defendants fault.
in the case of a pot in the channel damaged by boat there are a few defences like the current pushed it into the channel. to many variables to be beyond reasonable doubt in my book.
neil
They don't have to prove squat to make your life a living hell.
blokes who own rich mans boats, by definition have substantial resources, all they have to do is start the legal wheel rolling to cause you a world of greif.
If you leave in pot in a channel and the rope lies in a manner that is unavoidable, beyond reasonable doubt, that is irresponsible and reckless.
More importantly if it is civil there is also an equal requirement for you to PROVE that your actions did not constitute " recless endangerment" and you took "reasonable care" in setting your pots. So the float wasn't the correct colour or a reasonable size..... ooooo that doesnt look good, so have you had pots damaged before......hmmm wouldnt that indicate that you should have used mor care....... and on and onn and on.
They might even table this thread in court to show that it is an issue and there is an eliment that has a reckless atitude and deliberatly sets pots in channels with little care for others.
When they are standing up against you with a line up of suits and a judge that doesnt fish...(more even worse has spent half an hour untangling rope from his prop two weekends ago)... what are your chances.
Even if it is chucked out and "own costs" are awarded you are still out of pocket a lot more than a crab dinner.
the other bloke.... well he earns enought to cover his end while he is eating his wheaties and reading the morning cartoons.
Consider also it will probly be the insurance company you are up against. these guys arent going to cough up tens of thousands of dollars with out trying to get it back from someone.... they'll try it on even if they think you might pay from fright.
Even before it goes to court, there are the letters of demand, notices of intention to sue and such like. how is that going to go down with the misus when they start arriving
No a bit of care and not recklessly setting aparatus where it may impact on and indanger others is the best option.
cheers
Pots in channels should be illegal IMO. Its just plain stupid to put a submersible hazard where all the boat traffic is coming/going. I cant understand why its not illegal.
Anyone tried spotting a pot in a half meter chop? its bloody hard.
Anyone who puts pots in main channels should think. What would your reaction be if it was your prop caught in a rope?
But what the original poster did was plain illegal and stupid too IMO. those lost pots will go onto kill hundreds of crabs....
I partiallly agree, but it depends on the circumstances. I thought I was in trouble one night up at Jumpinpin. I was in the channel on the North straddie side of the island and had been trying to get the anchor to hold but no cigar as the tide was fairly ripping. Anyway to cut a long story short, I picked up a crab pot and stalled the motor. I started drifting out the bar at a great rate of knots. Anchor wouldnt hold, and the motor was useless till I cleared the tangle. The bar was fairly pumping on a run out tide. No way I wanted to DRIFT through the bar.
Anyway, when I CUT the pot away, I pulled up the float to find the details, cause I was so incredibly pissed off at what had happened. The float was a clear 2 ltr cordial bottle with no details on it.
Now, who's fault would that have been if I hadnt got the pot cut away in time. I accept that maybe I had some blame in the situation, but putting a pot in a channel of a bar like that, with a clear float in the dark is just crazy, and totally irresponsible.
Hey, I ran over my own pot once ... what an idiot .... could have punched myself out!!!!!!!!!!!
its not a mistake until someone finds out
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