Reply With QuoteShark bay in WA has only 28 licensed prawn trawlers.
Is it really possible that Moreton has hundreds.
Increase size limit
decreased bag limit(REC)
6 week closure(rec/commercial)
4 month closure(rec/commercial)
commercial closure (6 weeks)
commercial closure (4 months)
decreased quota commercial
tax/licence option
do nothing
other
well, the poll is about where i thought it would be, just under 50%would be happy with a size increase, and a good showing for bag limit decrease. i see approx 5 greenies visiting the site with a 4 month rec/comm ban.
And alot of "other" votes with some really good suggestions.
thats great guys, keep them coming, maybe they might listen to us, as the new minister has promised!!!
...of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy. ~William Sherwood Fox.
Shark bay in WA has only 28 licensed prawn trawlers.
Is it really possible that Moreton has hundreds.
What a great thread.
Maybe this could be used as evidence that we (rec fishos) do give a damn about sustainable fishing .
PS. Sorry about that sustainable fishing part , the general anesthetic is still wearing off, I sound like a bloody treehugger.
Shawn.
Originally Posted by rando
It seems to be one of those things that is hard to find out exactly how many prawn trawl operators there are in Moreton Bay and surrounds. Top secret information!!
If any one knows please let us know. Otherwise I will do some more digging.
I know though that I counted 42 quite a few years back one night all in one little area halfway between Redcliffe and Bribie trashing the place. But they are always out there doing the same.
Pretty sure BRD's would be a bit of a joke with these guys.
Its not just the QLD boats because there is a crap load of NSW trawlers that also hold Queensland endorsements that spend many weeks or months working Queensland waters.
To get a full number you need to find out how many NSW trawlers have dual endorsements.
It's a wonder the govt haven't let the Taiwanese, Indonesians etc in for a few $ in fees so they can sell our undersized fish back to us frozen and packed in some other form. Maybe they do.
After seeing what gets killed in the nets or shortly after their supposed release I always thought it was a joke re fish size limits from the rest of us.
But of course I do endorse size limits. Just wish netters faced the same scrutiny, but it's OK so long as they throw them back to the sea apparently. Doesn't matter that they die and at least the dolpins, sharks, rays, birds etc get a good feed.
Everyone needs to complain to your State Govt Member, they need your support if anything is going to change. Evidence of this is good but be carefull taking photos on board a trawler, you might end up as fish bait.
I cant find current figures but an outdated report( 2002) had 400 odd trawler licences, with a logged effort of 70,000 days fished for the year.
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_15511.htm
Overview
The trawl fishery is Queensland's largest commercial fishery, with about 600 vessels producing up to 10,000 tonnes of product worth about $110 million each year.
There are two basic types of trawling: otter trawling and beam trawling. The otter trawl fishery which operates in more-open waters is by far the larger, accounting for about 95% of the total harvest taken each year.
The beam trawl is used in estuaries.
Queensland has four main trawl fisheries:
* the East Coast Otter Trawl Fishery
* the Moreton Bay Otter Trawl Fishery
* the River and Inshore Beam Trawl Fishery
* the Fin Fish (Stout Whiting) Trawl Fishery.
Are any of you blokes getting in a huff about the total Trawl effort in SEQ or just what goes on in the bay?
I thought the original arguments were about keeping the bay for a nursery and trying to ban the trawl effort inside the bay.... I hope this isn't also spreading into the offshore blokes as well. The offshore blokes are not even allowed to trawl inside the bay mostly as they are prohibited.
I certainly love my fair share of Aussie caught king prawns and would hate to see even more pressure put on the offshore prawners just so we can save the nursery of Moreton Bay.
Democracy: Simply a system that allows the 51% to steal from the other 49%.
Seeing the results for the commercial only closures are pretty low, i thought that they would have been quite a bit higher than what they are. I thought rec anglers would be more against the commercial sector, but it looks like we sympathise with them.
...of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy. ~William Sherwood Fox.
My take on the commercial fishers generally is that they are fine as long as they are managed well, sensibly with sustainable licence numbers and so on.
My take on the Moreton Bay Prawn trawl is different because of the indescriminent bycatch of juvenile fish that are born and grow up in these types of areas and are killed by the tonnes each week. I don't know official figures because there wouldn't be any that were legitimate at least. But it aint rocket science and I have seen what comes up in just a few hauls over two nights and I was disgusted and sadened at what I saw. The operator didn't give a S#%t.
Commercial Snapper fishers and others should also be bringing attention to this as one commercial industry is putting pressure on the other.
So yes I would be in favour of commercial fishing bans but specifically what should be severely restricted is the crazy practice of running fine mesh nets in Moreton Bay and similar breeding and maturing areas unnecessarily killing small fish and other creatures for a bucket of prawns.
Farm the bloody things and get these nets out of these sensitive areas.
The price is just too high for me.
i think if people knew where alot of the Moreton Bay prawns come from they wouldnt eat them, when i fish the mouth of the Brisbane river i see the prawn trawlers zooming back and foward for hours right in front of the poo shute at luggage point, mmmmm tasty.
...of all the liars among mankind, the fisherman is the most trustworthy. ~William Sherwood Fox.
I am fairly certain that they are mandatory, at least in the Northern Trawl Fishery. Things may be different down there but I would doubt it. As someone has pointed out tho there will be those that avoid using them and run the gauntlet to get a few extra prawns or valued by-catch.
The BRDs are different to TEDs- Turtle Exclusion Devices. And they do work well, more so on stronger swimming fish such as snapper. It would be good to have a look at the discarded bycatch and do a \ survey of species. I reckon you would most likely find Pony Fish and other such weak swimming species make up the majority if a BRD is employed.
I do agree that nursary areas should be lightly trawlled, if trawled at all because there is still an impact- it is just lessened if a BRD is used.
Just found this on the FIshweb site (DEEDI):
Both TEDs and BRDS are mandatory in all otter trawl nets of vessels fishing in the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery. BRDs are required to be used in all beam trawl nets of vessels fishing in the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery.
Gee, I hope Fisheries aren't monitoring this thread, they might stumble across some genuinely valuable information.............
Great thread BK some really great posts here IMHO FWIW.
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