S.A. considers 3 year ban on snapper fishing.

[NAGG]

Im all for people making a buck, but when it comes to fisheries, the resource is everyone’s. Commercial fishing licences are given out so that Australians that don’t fish, can eat fish. Everyone is happy. When there is a sustainable excess of a species, by all means sell the extra overseas to make the extra bucks.

But if it’s determined that restrictions are needed to maintain the viability of a stock then the first thing that should be cut is the exports.

What like our GAS

I share your sentiments & we do need a commercial fishing industry to provide for as you say those that don't fish . As we know fish prices continue to sky rocket ……. but when a producer / wholesaler can send the best of it to Asian markets & command bigger bucks ….. they will. But yet I believe we are a net importer of seafood because once again it is about profit.

As for sustainable fisheries - I don't believe there is such a thing

Chris

[billfisher]

I hate to say it ...... BUT ! Commercial fishing is yet again the problem ! .

Each & every time that the Commercial fisheries are shut down ( or highly regulated) there is a corresponding improvement in fish stocks. NT Barramundi , NSW Kingfish , Tasmanian Orange Roughy , NSW & Vic Southern Bluefin Tuna immediately come to mind .

Chris

Well the grass will be longer if you don't mow it. Eg if you banned rec fishing then the pros would be catching more, at least for the popular species where the rec catch is comparable.

[NAGG]

Prolific no but Snapper fishing in SEQ is definitely better than 10 years ago. I think all the restrictions that led to 35cm MLS and a bag of 5 has had a big Impact.

You look at the issue too narrowly. Increased numbers and better tech but also consider we all operate on vastly stricter fishing regulations. Was it 25cm and a bag of 30 was the first restriction on Snapper way back in the day? 35cm and a bag of 5 is a vastly stronger restriction. No one will write it but since the decision to only allow one fish over 70cm (which I supported at one time). I’ve lost count of the times I’ve returned or had mates tell me they’ve had to return fish over 70cm back to the water because they already had their bag. At the depths most of those fish are found the mortality can’t be good even with a pierced swim bladder.

There is no doubt that in this day and age - we need restrictions …. the technology (electronics / boats ) today demands it .

I'll probably start a shit fight …… but fishoes are generally a pretty greedy bunch - there is some change in attitude particularly from the younger fishoes but in general we have issues. Too often I hear boat owners talk about reward for effort ( basically a cost analysis) So with that mindset alone we have issues .
Then we have those that want to keep everything …… catch your bag of snapper - ok lets now see if we can bag out on kingfish or sweet lip / pearlies etc ….. totally within the regulations - sure but .

I'm not a crusader as I've probably kept more fish for the table over the last couple of years than I had over the past decade …… but I see it on my own boat where deckies will want to keep a just legal snapper when they already have 3 or 4 50-60cm fish in the box . I've seen undersized fish slipped into the ice box …… sometimes through in experience but mostly through greed. I've now got a mark on my cutting board that makes it easier to see if a snapper is of legal size because I've seen horrid attempts at measuring fish ….. just so they can put it in the ice box . …… some of these people have been fishing for decades & even own their own boats - worst still it's not isolated .

So even with bag ,size & slot limits we still continue to play our part in diminishing fish stocks
As for deep water released fish & the mortality rate ….. that boils down to education as much as anything ….... let's not even talk about upgrading


anyhow - that's observations I've made

Chris

[bluefin59]

I recently spent 2 months in Cooktown and the locals are ropable with the live trout fishermen that have moved up from Cairns because they had to travel too far to get the catch they want to ship overseas , they now take massive amounts out of the local reefs in the Cooktown area then truck them down to cairns and ship them overseas . The pros are fussy with what they send and if your at the wharf on the day they come in they hand out what they consider damaged stock ,not that I complained when they where offered and the same for the cray fishermen they just move further north . Matt

[Noelm]

Totally agree with Nagg, we are greedy, we want it all our way, that hasn't changed for decades, ban everything that directly affects us or pisses us off, especially pros, but, only the pros that catch "our" target species. I said this way back, it's a very emotive issue, and it won't just go away, the problems are wide spread, over fishing on our part, the professionals, and the "intruders" from foreign countries, add to that urban development, technology, ridiculously high overseas prices for certain things makes it almost viable to fish for the last one alive, there will be no light bulb answer, it will be a forever battle that's slowly being lost.

[NAGG]

Well the grass will be longer if you don't mow it. Eg if you banned rec fishing then the pros would be catching more, at least for the popular species where the rec catch is comparable.

But you don't mow your grass down to the roots either ……

Chris

[billfisher]

But you don't mow your grass down to the roots either ……

Chris

That's why they are talking about a ban.

PS snapper are doing will in Victoria and the parts of SA which share the same stock.

[Volvo]

Back in 2014 Missus and i Completed a Budapest to Amsterdam River Cruise we had on our Bucket list and to Add Desert to the trip i convinced the Missus to spend two weeks in Cyprus visisting her Brother she hadnt seen for yonks , I really wanted to do the trip as well due to my Passion for Photography and was really keen to visit what Monastries and Churches i could as there are some that date back a few years there .
One particular trip was to check out a Monastry / Church called " Apostolos Andreas" now held in the northern Turkish region of Cyprus.
Then it was in ruin after the Turkish invasion and let run down and quite sad to see in such a state , since then a lot of Money has been collected Worldwide and its been resurected with both Cypriot and Turkish labour.
Get to the chase , on the way back south we stopped at a nice little seaside Resturaunt by the sea owned by both Cypriot and Turkish Partners and ordered what we call a Seafood Basket .
Fish were the size of what are protected this side of the deep blue yonder but nevertheless it was eaten as THATS ALL they have available unless offcourse you happen to be by the seaside when a fishing boat comes in that happened to fluke a decent size fish by surprise !!! . Tuna or Cod in most cases .
Looked forward to comming home and go catch a decent fish but was on Holidays so patience prevailed.
Couple other Instances where we sat at a Seaside eatery and had Fish for lunch or supper and both times it was what we would term as undersized Trevally or what they call "Tchipoura" which are simmillar to our Bream and if you can get past the bones its a feed i guess .
Not nocking their way of living but over the years and overfishing its what its come to for their Seafood on the table i guess , hence i would hate to see it in years reach that state here ..
In my minds eye (lol) i sometimes think that the great sandy deserts of certain countries would have been nice , Green and lush in years gone by but due to weather or overworking the land for whatever reason tis now Tons of sand and heat!!??..
Nice Holiday though with some sadness from the 1974 Turkish Invasion which seen a lot of Cypriots lose their land and Homes and mostly you realise that we arent all that bad off here EY ..

[Volvo]

1500 Million China alone or is it more at present and India ?? , two countries here alone which need a hell of a lot of Fish to satisfy the pallette so i am all for letting them restock , rectify or whatever it takes to get their Seafood back on track .
Not being Nasty just realistic!!..

[Lovey80]

As for sustainable fisheries - I don't believe there is such a thing

Chris

Why not?

So even with bag ,size & slot limits we still continue to play our part in diminishing fish stocks
As for deep water released fish & the mortality rate ….. that boils down to education as much as anything ….... let's not even talk about upgrading


anyhow - that's observations I've made

Chris

What makes you such a pessimist that fishing regulations can’t make these fisheries sustainable? More so what makes you even think (as a whole) fish stocks are even diminishing?

At two species I can think of right away are more than sustainable. Since the regulations protecting the larger female flat head came in I’ve noticed a lot more flat head around. They’ve never been a hard fish to target, just drifting something past them usually gets them to bite. Snapper are also around in good numbers. Sure you are going to struggle in places like Moreton/Port Phillip/Botany bays, the Gold Coast and Sydney harbour for obvious reasons but the overall biomass has every reason to be rebuilding.

We we have to show a great degree of skepticism on fisheries research after what we’ve seen already and what we are seeing now but I think overall a lot of the measures make the fisheries sustainable.

[Ducksnutz]

...........

[banshee]

Sad fact is we are fighting over the crumbs of what was once a vast plentiful resource.It's probably got a bit left in it yet but ultimately we will all hand the greens the power to send us water skiing,

[scottar]

Sad fact is we are fighting over the crumbs of what was once a vast plentiful resource.It's probably got a bit left in it yet but ultimately we will all hand the greens the power to send us water skiing,

Not even unless electric motors get a hell of a lot better.

[NAGG]

Why not?



What makes you such a pessimist that fishing regulations can’t make these fisheries sustainable? More so what makes you even think (as a whole) fish stocks are even diminishing?

At two species I can think of right away are more than sustainable. Since the regulations protecting the larger female flat head came in I’ve noticed a lot more flat head around. They’ve never been a hard fish to target, just drifting something past them usually gets them to bite. Snapper are also around in good numbers. Sure you are going to struggle in places like Moreton/Port Phillip/Botany bays, the Gold Coast and Sydney harbour for obvious reasons but the overall biomass has every reason to be rebuilding.

We we have to show a great degree of skepticism on fisheries research after what we’ve seen already and what we are seeing now but I think overall a lot of the measures make the fisheries sustainable.

What might be sustainable today probably wont be at some point in the future ……. Fish stocks are under ever increasing pressure , More bigger boats , better technology , reliability , techniques etc etc etc …. that's undisputable . today we fish in conditions that would have kept most boats on the trailers back in the 1960's - we travel further & wider . So with this in our favour sustainability is just a byword .

When I was growing up - I used to see 20lb Snapper caught regularly off Sydney , The Central coast , Nowra …… My largest snapper to date were caught off the rocks during the 1980's - Today a 20lber is a absolute trophy & a 12lber is newsworthy ( I listen to HiTide)

But it's not only Snapper - It's Jewfish & Kingfish that immediately come to mind. Yes you can catch them but not in the same size & numbers that were available . I have a good mate who was a pro line fisherman & a highly accomplished state championship fishoe …… The Jew he used to catch within 100km of Sydney were something to behold .. ….. these days a 40lber is a rarity - yet they were commonly caught in the 60lb range .
Even a few years ago when I went to Lord Howe Island - A place that was revered for it's kingfish numbers & size …… I noticed that the size of fish landed mimicked what we are seeing throughout NSW ….. lot's of smaller & just legal fish - What I witnessed appalled me (I wont go into details) . My very first trip in 1991 a whole different picture existed ….. a lot of big fish & my second trip a few years later saw a decline in size & numbers. …….. This is a place with limited fishing pressure but the pressure is increasing and the take is also increasing.
All of this is not just anecdotal - but talking to industry types they do confirm what the scientists are saying ……. Eg Jewfish in NSW in decline.
I know I can go out and catch snapper & I probably haven't missed out that often when I've targeted them …… just in the last month we've boated several decent fish up at Port Stephens - but I find it fascinating to hear the comments around the cleaning table where a 3 or 4 kg fish becomes a point of discussion.

Yeh sure - flathead are a good example of an improvement - but as you said , they were always available in decent numbers & reach legal length in a relatively short period (18months) …… thankfully it was recognised that the big female breeders should be off the target list …….. but hey a 75cm flathead is still a relatively a uncommon catch.
My pessimism exists from what I see & hear … …. & yeh , I do have some scepticism with what the scientists are saying as well - it's the other sources that I'm taking notice of . Yeh sure we can see stocks improve with good management but it doesn't necessarily make it sustainable without drastic measures ( very limited take).
Right now we are seeing good numbers of SBTs taken by the commercial & amateur anglers …….. & this improvement has occurred only through significant regulation - Write this in your diary …… We will see another collapse

Chris

[lethal]

Interesting debate

Here are some stats on QLD fishers
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-...ishing-surveys