Double Island Lagoon netted and cleaned-out by the pro's!!!How can this be allowed???

[Fallen angel]

Hi Pinhead

You need to start somewhere. On your figures this equates to around 21 million dollars, the government is putting in 3 million a year for the next three years. Lets say half goes into slush funds you still end up with 10 million dollars. It will not take long for this to make a difference.

On your point about user pays being a furphy, I agree about schools hospitals ect. But this is a past time, if you want an improvement in your past time you need to contribute.

Again don't expect all Queenslanders to cough up to support the amateur fishing industry.

I for one would be more than happy to pay a license fee for a number of reasons.

Again Tight lines to all.

Cheers

[rando]

Hi Pinhead

You need to start somewhere. On your figures this equates to around 21 million dollars, the government is putting in 3 million a year for the next three years. Lets say half goes into slush funds you still end up with 10 million dollars. It will not take long for this to make a difference.

On your point about user pays being a furphy, I agree about schools hospitals ect. But this is a past time, if you want an improvement in your past time you need to contribute.

Again don't expect all Queenslanders to cough up to support the amateur fishing industry.

I for one would be more than happy to pay a license fee for a number of reasons.

Again Tight lines to all.

Cheers

Mate we already pay 10c in every dollar we spend on our pastime.
Last long weekend I went fishing at 1770 with 3 mates we were on a 8mt cat, Fuel alone was more than $1200 for the weekend, dont even count the bait ice beer and food.
so we each put $40 minimum gst into the state coffers and that is just one fishing trip. I WILL NEVER ACCEPT THAT WE PAY ANOTHER TAX TO GO FISHING.

[Matthias]

I remeber a while back there were a crapload of barramundi netting licences- to get rid of all the sleepers the gov implemented a quota system that basically mean't if you don't catch x amount of fish in x amount of time then your licence will automatically expire. I think this would work with other types of licences...

[Matthias]

And if you have time have a geez at these-


http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/documents..._ASR_Final.pdf
http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/documents...s-handbook.pdf

[Slider]

I'm told another 15 tonne from the lagoon and 40 tonne 'near' D.I. Very little coming from the southern end of the beach and the mouth of the Noosa.

Not so sure that the dead cormorant can be attributed directly to the hauling of the net. There have been quite a lot of dead cormorants and juvenile gannets on the beach over the last month or so and this one could have already been dead before the shot. I can't recall seeing seabirds caught up beach seine, not to say it doesn't happen.

However, I firmly believe that the dead juvenile gannets in particular, are as a result of long term beach hauling, avoidance of the area by predator species and the reduction in predator species numbers to herd baitfish to the surface for the seabirds to feed on.

[aussie_stu]

Yeah there was 20T taken Saturday night outta the lagoon and they shot again Sunday morning in the lagoon, they were at 3rd cutting checking out a school this morning when we hit the beach. Thought you woulda seen em linds as you came off.

[Fallen angel]

Hi Matthias

Just a correction, no such thing in the Barra fishery as a quota system. The government made some changes a few years back to the licenses so that each endorsement is an entitlement, this was to provide some security in the industry.

The only way that licenses are removed are if they are forfeited, voluntary canceled or if there is a investment warning and a new management plan comes in for that particular fishery.

There was a number of net licenses taken out of the fishery when there was the dugong buy back. Unfortunately when the buy out of the trawlers happened a lot of latent effort in the net, line and crab fisheries was taken up.

At the end of the day this is a very complex issue with a lot of high emotions and peoples livelihoods mixed in there.

[bondy99]

Hello people, yes you too Apollo, I migth have annoyed a few people to which I apologise as there was no intent to discredit or otherwise.

I have however found a link about what PEW has done to Australia an it's double standard to its home country .
i.e. USA.

From what I understand it did not protest or put up a challenge against USA as it might upset America's economy and its recreational anglers...they a free to enjoy. Whereas Australia they want us Rec anglers locked out. Has Australia lost its " balls" to tell PEW to POQ.

Here is the info below...Moderators please remove this post to correct area as this may or may not be related to this topic but is of interest and concern to all Rec Anglers Australia Wide...Bondy

Here it is


http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/pew-admits-it-targeted-australia-for-lockouts-left-us-alone

Pew admits ittargeted Australia for lockouts, left US alone

29 Jun 2012

By staff writers

THE US-based anti-fishing organisation Pew has admitted it pressured the Australian Government to lock anglers out of vast areas of the Coral Sea but would nottake the same action in American waters because it would harm the US economy and disadvantage local fishermen.

The Pew comments have outraged Australian anglers, who stand to be seriously disadvantaged byfederal Environment Minister Tony Burke's decision to support the American organisation's sustained anti-fishing campaign.

In a letter published in the August edition of the US-based Sport Fishing magazine, Pew director of federal fisheries policy Lee Crockett saidclosing American waters to fishing "wouldn't make sense – for fishing enthusiasts or the environment".

Crockett was responding to an editorial by Sport Fishing editor-in-chief Doug Olander predicting that Pew's no-fishing campaign inAustralia's Coral Sea would result in similar moves to lock American anglersout of the Gulf of Mexico.

Crockett said Olander's assertion was "misleading and incorrect". He claimed the push to close the Coral Sea to all angling was supported by "hundreds of thousands of people throughout Australia and around the world– including recreational anglers".

Crockett went on to say that closing the Gulf of Mexico to fishing wouldn'tmake sense because these waters are a "major US economic driver".

"The Gulf offers excellent angling opportunities, and sport and commercialfishing generates billions of dollars and fresh seafood to much of the(American) nation," Crockett said.

The Pew campaign to lock-up the Coral Sea has resulted in Minister Burke proposing to ban all fishing in about 1.3 million square kilometres of water. Other closuresproposed by Mr Burke include large areas off the southwest of WA and in South Australia.

The admission from Pew that it preferred to focus its lockout campaigns in non-American waters has confirmed suspicions held by local angling organisations that extremist environment groups like Pew sees Australia as an"easy target".

"These revelations back up what many Aussie anglers have been saying for along time," a spokesman from Keep Australia Fishing, the peak activist group representing Australia's 5 million anglers, told Fisho.

"These people working for Pew in America don't want to disadvantage their own economy – but they don't mind that happening over here. They don't want to lock American anglers out of prime fishing areas – but they are happy to have exactly that happen to Aussie fishos. Why did our Government listen to these guys?"

Pew's Lee Crockett describes himself in his letter to Sport Fishing as an "avid angler" and provides details of the outstanding sportfishing he has enjoyed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Australian anglers will no doubt be pleased to know that Crockett will be able to continue to enjoy his fishing exploits in his home waters while anglers over here endure the lockouts he and his Pew cohorts have seemingly convinced our Government we need to have!

[therapy]

On topic,
I was camping up at Double Island a couple of weeks ago and fished that lagoon and thought at the time, "What a magic spot". We caught some nice whiting (1 @ 34cm's), bream and even had squid follow my mates fly in all in about an hour. Flathead lays everywhere, kids fishing, kayaks and canoes. Paradise I thought. Aparently it is legal to net there so legally fine but morally it doesn't seem right.

Regards...Terry....

[malby]

Thanks for the updates Aussie Stu and Slider.
This is so sad to hear about. If the fishing in the lagoon was had it after the other week it is finished for months now.
Did you guys get any photo's of the lagoon post netting?
I wonder if the clean up was better this time?
I'm so glad that this is getting plenty of exposure and I'm glad to see that people are so passionate about the issues here.
Its been a real education reading all of your posts and its obviously far more complicated than I or many others would have realised but I'm really hoping that the State Government will do something soon.
Before its too late for our kids, and right now it sounds like it is too late for the kids I work with in terms of fishing the lagoon.
Keep the pressure up guys,

Cheers,
Malby

[Matthias]

Hey Fallen Angel- yep what you say makes sense, the info I had was third hand at best- but sounded cool. So do you know if they used past catches etc to determine the entitlements? It sounds like a very similar process for water licences. Same old story- Over allocation of licences by the gov in the past = alot of crap salad in the future.

Cheers

[aussie_stu]

Looks like they're done in the lagoon, saw the trucks, boats all loaded with swags and gear heading back down the beach today. On the up side, saw them drive past 2 gutters full of mullet before shooting the nets in another and not getting a thing

[PinHead]

Hi Pinhead

You need to start somewhere. On your figures this equates to around 21 million dollars, the government is putting in 3 million a year for the next three years. Lets say half goes into slush funds you still end up with 10 million dollars. It will not take long for this to make a difference.

On your point about user pays being a furphy, I agree about schools hospitals ect. But this is a past time, if you want an improvement in your past time you need to contribute.

Again don't expect all Queenslanders to cough up to support the amateur fishing industry.

I for one would be more than happy to pay a license fee for a number of reasons.

Again Tight lines to all.

Cheers

and what about the levy already being paid? Do you think they would drop that ?

we already cough up for other sports so why not fishing?

[bondy99]

Therapy (Terry)

Seems like you had a good time out there and managed to catch a feed. Some places like that seem to become more distant or less available for one reason or another.

Bondy

[Slider]

Passed them on the bitumen Stu. Rumour had it that you were worming again - I asked Col on the ferry on Monday if he'd seen you and he said you were in the lux with John - holding up my shopping mission (bloody chatterboxes).
So I can assume that if the pros were camping up the top in swags, they camped in the camping area and paid a camping fee hey. Not likely. Prob had a net strung across the entry to the lagoon overnight to stop the mullet getting out.

There is a push from Noosa Parks Assn and others for the Noosa North Shore and particularly Double Island Point to be declared a marine park. While I don't believe any politician in this state government would be inclined to accede to their wishes, it is important that it is demonstrated that a marine park for conservation of surf species is unnecessary and contrary to the interests of the state of Qld, Australia or the local community. This is the area that I am working hard - providing evidence that nets are the problem and that a recreational fishing haven would allow recovery of species, be a boost for tourism and sustain local businesses dependent on the recreational fishing, camping, 4wd and ecotourism markets.

As to who should pay for the buy back of commercial licences - a buy back of all licences would be a conservation measure for fish species, seabirds, dolphins, sharks and turtles and is in the interests of all, not just recreational fishers. Recreational fishers will more than fill the void of commercial as far as dollars into the economy and this should be viewed as a win for all, whether they fish or not. It's a 'best of both worlds' scenario. Funding should ideally come from both the state and federal governments.

Unfortunately Malby, the pros will be hitting the lagoon again and again over the rest of the season. It's an easy one for them and especially if they've driven to the top and not found anything on the way to net. Better to take a few dishes of whiting from the lagoon than go home empty handed.
You can rest assurred though that there are a number of individuals and organisations as well as the Sunshine Coast Regional Council that are working hard at having the netting in Cooloola stopped. Publicity such as this can only help. Lots of letters to the Minister from concerned anglers would be of assistance also.

"Proposal for the Creation of Recreational Fishing Havens - Cooloola and Fraser Island" can be viewed on the Sunfish Fraser Coast website.