mackeral netter in yeppoon

[supa29]

on the way home from work in rocky i followed a big fat arse centre consul into yeppoon, i took notice because it looked a bit like my own until i saw a huge net roller on the front deck of this tinnie and io new straight away it was a mackeral netter.

I have seen the same boat when i lived on the sunny coast and i have seen the result of the netters chasing the mackeral, we would get mackeral one day and come out next and they were gone. its a shame and i thought they were all brought out by government.

Anyway just thought the locals on here should know that a mackeral netter will be working out of yeppoon for the next while and trust me the local fishery will suffer.

supa...

[Smithy]

It is probably the same fellow. I know he works out of there for a few months when nothing is going on here. Used to put in and pull out at the same time as him and his dad at Mooloolaba and they are good guys. They only target school mackerel and sharks. They are only allowed a small number of spotties as incidental catch. One of the other netters here got caught out about two years ago for having too many and fisheries pounced on him. This father/son team only work certain areas and avoid other areas to avoid conflict with rec guys. For instance here at the coast they only work Alexander Headland, Pt Cartwright, Raper Shoal etc. but leave the Gneerings, Murphys, the peg reef and Caloundra 5mile etc. alone even though they know the fish are there.

Pretty soon the new government is buying out a lot of the inshore netters. The only thing is they cut funding to the commercial fishing organisation, QSIA like they did to Sunfish so I think the process is stalled a bit.

[Shelby35]

Was fishing at Port Alma on wednesday and the was some pro's with a net across a part of a creek it had floats on either end and the were on the bigger boat are the allowed to net like this>
Byron

[Bros]

a mackeral netter.

I thought they banned that a few years ago

[warti]

Sounds like the same boat that smashed the boyne when it flooded.

[Lucky_Phill]

I thought they banned that a few years ago

NO,

High speed ring netting of Spotties in Hervey Bay was banned.

The guys in this thread have set nets... drift nets, I am unsure of the exact term.

LP

[bigjudge]

If its a big Rip Tide tinny he is from boyne island i think and i thought he only worked stanage bay area.Looks like i could be wrong
CHEERS AND BEERS

[carnster]

NO,

High speed ring netting of Spotties in Hervey Bay was banned.

The guys in this thread have set nets... drift nets, I am unsure of the exact term.

LP

High speed ring netting for mackerel of all types still exists further north, under the loophole of netting schoolies and greys. This is in addition to set nets. It is a very efficient way of catching very large numbers of all types of spawning schools of mackerel and would have to be quite damaging. I don't believe that the quotas are enforced very well in some areas for various reasons imho.

[supa29]

yeah its a big rip tide ally tinnie and shame that its still allowed to be done. iam not against blokes making a living but nets are shit and they can wipe out large amounts of fish in short period of time, i wonder if the new government will finally ban this type of fishing, if the charter boys cna catch fish nearly every trip, i think the pros should be made do the same. I know mackeral pros on sunny coast who use lines and i have no problems with them catching them as they do it our way.

i have been told of nets across fitzroy river so bad you have to snake fromside to side to get alone the river, poor old barra havent got a chance.

supa.

i hope you right smithy, i have seen them smash the schools on the sunny coast and hoep they dont do it here.

[leonp88]

Sounds like the same boat that smashed the boyne when it flooded.

Sounds like any given pro boat. There are a couple down at Boyne...

[flatzie]

Interesting discussion, I amazed at some of the Rec fishos who just want all the fish to themselves. What about the rest of the population, who like to buy and eat fish? From fishing outlets, supermarkets and the good old fish and chip shop, an Aussie weekend and holiday icon.
Whereas some on this thread have a balanced approach, some of the statements here just seek to vilify the concept of any kind of fishing etc recreational fishing.
I am all for regulation. conservation of fish stocks, its no easy goal with increases in population and over fishing in the past. Pro licences have been reduced, and there may need to be more of that.
But I am also for families and people without boats being able to go down town and buy a feed of fish and chips, and that is exactly what a lot of pro fishos work for. Step back and have a good think I say, we are all told we should eat plenty of fish by health experts, so lets be all working towards a healthy fishery for all concerned.
If you want to catch fish, there are still plenty there, yes they may be less than 20-30 years ago, but right here in the middle of a large population like Brisbane, a lot of people I know are coming home with really good feeds of fish, because they learn, research, swap notes and spend time fine tuning the skills required. Conversely, I know blokes who often come home empty, and they whinge about the lack of fish, but when you try to help fine tune their approach, they arent listening!
Tight lines blokes
Cheers
Flatzie

[Owen]

Well said Flatzie.
If we have properly researched and enforced fishing regulations aimed at sustainability in both the commercial and rec fishing sectors then there is no issue.
If we don't then our issue is with the government!

I too have heard stories of pros acting outside the spirit of the law by laying nets alternately across the river.
But the fact is, it is the letter of the law that matters, so if the current law allows that, then it must be amended so that for example no two nets can be closer than say 1klm from another.

If the guy in question is a mackerel netter then he's working offshore anyway, so tarring him with that particular brush based simply on him sharing the same profession is pretty poor form.

[bigjudge]

I am not against anybody making a living, as long as it done within the government regulations,rec fishos have also got to abide by the rules,this way we will have a sustainable fishery for everyone.
CHEERS AND BEERS

[Owen]

I might just add that I flat refuse to buy fish from the market unless it's a "product of Australia"
I've seen dozens of people on here complaining of all the imports.
So it's pretty hypocrytical to then slam every pro for trying to make a legal living.
How much do you reckon a piece of fish would cost at woolies if every single piece had to be line caught?

[johncar]

Netting of wild fish is past it's use by date, fish stocks are getting so thin from this efficient form of fishing and I know that many of the pro's rort the system, surely we are not that naive to think they don't. I don't give a rats if the public or I can't get fish and chips at the expense of the marine life, that's not a good reason to keep doing this vandalistic method of fishing.
If it happened on land where all could see what goes on it would have been totally banned many years ago.
And for anyone who fishes with nets, I am not attacking you personally, I am sure you are good hard working people, just the method of fishing.