Its been a great two months

[baldyhead]

Well that's according to a pro fisherman mate of mine. He was telling me about his pro mate who for the last two months at High Isl / Frankland Isl /Jones Patch area NETTED 4600 Grey Mackerel with an average weight of 4 kg. This is log book figures. This pro cannot (legally) take Spanish in his nets so his brother (another pro) rafts up alongside and processes all of these excess by catch macks. (71 Spanish is his best to date)
This same pro has also flogged Snapper Isl and all the off shore wrecks between Innisfail and Snapper.
Sorta leaves a sour taste in ones mouth when we have severe in possession limits set against us and in a very short time one pro can decimate an entire species in a small given area.
There's obviously NO THOUGHT FOR THE FUTURE HERE.....when the fish are gone ...they just move on to something else.

[bigmack]

Hi Baldy - yes.........thats exactly the same sentiment in the commercial vs recreational thread in here. Somehow I think its even worse because a lot of the pro's stay tight lipped. I know that they go out to the big reefs, way offshore and absolutely rip sh&t out of the big spaniards and stuff.

Its pretty sad - these people are extremely selfish. Its either put themselves out of business by overfishing or severe quota restrictions like New Zealand - if you catch your quota on the first couple of trips of open season - then its finished season for you.

[Daintreeboy]

I heard a story a pro has also netted Fingermark around Snapper. It'll be interesting to see if there's any left for us next new moon..........

[FOOCKCHUCKER]

here you there baldy ask the locals @ urunga in n.s.w @ the beach there that was a hot jew spot closed down to us rec lads only to have three jet boat pros turn up 3 weeks later and net every spawning jew that made its way out of the river. world __ legeslation gone mad!!!!!

[dfox]

If the people in question are as you say opperating that way ,tell the authorities. There's been more fisheries officers put on in that area.
Ive worked pro fishing at innisfail and ive seen punch ups between pros over netting of mackeral, all be it spotties. Now that netting of spotties has been banned this issue no longer exsists. But it was good to see that a group of local fisherman were prepared to come to blows to keep a destructive form of fishing out of there area.
As for pro sticking up for other pros ,dont make me laugh. If someones exploiting a shared resource theyll dob them...foxy

[once_bitten]

i visited keppell island about 12 yrs ago(before the kids came along)
when we arrived with rods in hand we were informed not to bother fishing the western side of the island (summer whiting) as the pros had snuck in over night a week before and RAIPED the whole beach
this not only ruins the fishing but also the holiday
we had to pay for the fish we ate on our first trip to qld
to date we have never been back there
now we visit gladstone and motor out to herron isl (i think thats it , so ive been told)
ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh please no-one tell the pro'es


Nino

[RedEmporess]

the pros are currentlly raping the sarina area for greys and spottie mackeral and you wonder why they don't get good numbers further south any more

[banshee]

It annoys me no end that people refer to these people as "Pro's",they are commercial fishermen and there is absolutely nothing professional about the way these people conduct their bussiness........well in my area anyway,Sydney papers ran a story a few weeks back about shark finning in my area to date nothing has come of it.I know a couple of commercial fishers and preservation of the fish stocks is an alien thought to them,they want as much as they can get and they wanted it yesterday.

[Reidy]

Dead right Banshee , I agree, its takes a pro fisherman to find and catch a fish with one hook/lure , not a square or 1000 hooks, > > >

As i suggest in the rec v com in genral chat they need to act now on the commies before its all gone. Bring in closed season!!!!

Cheers Tropical Trout

[isaac]

Baldyhead, The DPI has been contacted a number of times this year about the pro in question regarding the taking of spanish and other unsavourable activities in the area and according to them is all above baord > The ironic thing about it is that he has been one of the biggest contributors of mackeral frames to them for the latest rounds of studies. It does my head in. [smiley=wut.gif]

[baldyhead]

I and other people I know have contacted the DPI&F on numerous occasions as this bloke also nets @ nite places like Kings Point and takes Mackerel, Jew, Grunter and Fingermark etc and Big Mouth, Mackerel and fingermark on the adjacent wrecks. I was recently told x an Officer for the Dept that they have taken this bloke to court and have LOST the case on more than 1 occasion so are very hesitant to take ANY action against him. I offered to take the Officer in my vessel on a fishing trip to where this bloke was fishing illegally (netting in a yellow zone @ jones patch) but the officer declined stating that it would then be classed as entrapment and that he was not interested. He also suggested that I was trying to deny this bloke from making a living.
I know other commercial fisherman who have also logged complaints with the DPI&F and NO action was taken. Only a few weeks ago I was on the way home from Pixie and said to my pro mate who was on board (fishing for fun), that we should stop at the DI wreck for a few Big mouth and he said "don't waste your time, *****y was here the other nite and cleaned em out with his sunken net." He did over all the wrecks. He is netting mackerel @ nite also.
Yes Daintreeboy you are right about snapper...same bloke I'm talking about. He upset the Wonga beach fishers who complained to DPI&F I was told too.
It was suggested x the Officer that this bloke is logging HISTORY so that when THEY buy him out with the buy back scheme he will have the figures that THEY cannot argue with as has happened before with other Commercial Fishermen who were paid SFA because of having no history of catches.
UNFORTUNATELY this bloke BREAKS every rule in the book and then some.....

[slacky]

I have seen the pros net kings point off cairns.They said they were after sharks but all I saw were lots of very large fingermark.They were there for about 4 days.now cant catch a thing.

[megafish71]

Baldy, if you can't get any satisfaction from fisheries, I suggest you try taking some photos of these blokes, or beter still some video footage of these blokes. Try and get some evidence of the location being fished ( gps waypoints in the shot) and give these to fisheries. Suggest to them that if these are not acted on, you will forward a copy of the evidence to the media, or onto the fishing party to use as a press release on the inactions of the government body that is supposed to be managing this resource. I suggest you will see some action from these jerks then. I have done this in the past while living in the NT. Some of my photo were used by AFANT in thier fight to close the McArthur river to pro barra fishing. I suggest that all rec fishos collect as much evidence of profishers doing the wrong thing as these guys don't care about the resource and need to be kick out of the industry. I sure even the good pro fishers would like to see these idiots out of the industry as they give the entire profishing fleet a bad rap.

Ron