Draft Qld Fisheries strategy released for comment

[Feral]

Have a read (link on the page below) and get any comments in by the 10th of July. I'll be mentioning the need for saltwater stocking as being an urgent, dunno what else I'll be adding yet!

http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/hs.xsl/28_12808_ENA_HTML.htm

[rayke1938]

I wonder when this was released?

We have a very short time period to respond and there is so much "feel good" codswallop in it it is going to be hard to really get a grip on what they are trying to do.

Sounds to me like the bull that the Government puts out to nicely tell you that you are about to be screwed but then again I am a cynic.( Good example big announcement about new section of Gateway bridge approach has just improved by replacing an 80kph section with a 60kph section )

Cheers

Ray the cynic.

[Do$tylz]

Is it just me or is there a very big focus on the commercial fisheries, and minimal on the recreational end??

Didn't see a mention of focusing on the recreational facilities, businesses or stakeholders. Why wouldn't the recreational market be something worth heavily investing in? It keeps people employed in retail shops and ties in with local charters etc.

Maybe I'm just being selfish???

[Feral]

Make a submission!

I made one in regard to salt water stocking, and re establishing mangrove and estuarine breeding areas where there is barren mudflats.

[RooAvery]

Do$tylz, maybe I should be working more?

[Do$tylz]

^^ fixed for ya Paul

[Tiny Tin]

thanks for posting that report. from what i gather the idea is to protect fish here so we can sell them to the chinese for large amounts of money. here's what i submitted for what it's worth..very little i think..in response to 'is the strategy working :S

'take the pumicestone passage as an example. commercial fishing banned and an improvement in crabs/fish ect. then look at the green zone at tripcony bight. no apparent increase of fish in that area? fish will respond to their environment. there seems to be very little in the way of scientific evidence that any of the green zones will work yet it's full steam ahead regardless. there is very little being done for the recreational fishers. artificial reefs where it too dangerous for most fishers to get too! what about more reefs or a link of reefs to encourage fish to disperse throughout the bay rather than gather in one spot and breed accordingly? why not add finger lings to rivers? where are the regulations to stop canal developments, farming/building runoff or more wharfs etc.? reduce the fleets of charter boats who in one hit reduce a large number of a reefs population. fish farms need to be brought on quickly. not only can they be of direct commercial use but as a suppliers of fish for regenerating fish habitats. more importantly a strategy that doesn't go against the constitution and wipe out the rights of ordinary people across Australia'.

[RooAvery]

thats gotta be an abuse of privilige :woohoo:

[Do$tylz]

better than me hitting you in the head with a star-stressball

[Feral]

oh god nerd fights.......

[Do$tylz]

hahaha... yeah you know how it is Feral.

On a serious note... as my points valid or did I just not see the part about rec fishing?? didn't get to read it in depth, but yeah... didn't see too much about local rec investments.

Is that what QLD fisheries even look after??

[rayke1938]

Doesnt anyone care about fishing anymore?

I thought that there would be plenty of replies.

Have you put in a submission yet?

This is yet another Government ploy to suck up to the greenies and they will have the perfect answer " NO ONE CARES " due to lack of response.

You can bet your lefty that the greenies will have their proforma letters ready for all their members to cut and paste and submit the same as what happened with the introduction of the green zones.

You have one day to help make a difference its too late to start having a winge after its all happened.

Cheers

Ray

[tugger]

to add some balance to this debate i supported the introduction of the green zones and new size and bag limits. 2 other states have tuff fishing regulations and areas that get spelled ,being south australia and nth territory with there fish populations very healthy and large fish in abudance. to have a small percentage of our waters in national park green zones is a small price to pay for great fishing into the future. talk to anyone that has chased snapper in sth aussie the fish are huge with many over 10kilo and 13kilo snapper not rare. go to the territory and barra are easy to catch and again large fish caught regular something thats a bit more difficult in qld in the wild. it's just my opinion but we will see benefits from this and our children will still be able to have a chance of catching a feed when they're older. the population in stheast qld is never going to get smaller and to have millions of people living on moreton bays door step something had to be done. i'm glad a goverment had the guts to take the hard decisions and make it a reality but you will never please everyone and some people will be disavantaged. lets hope this works and fishing will have a future

mark

[rayke1938]

I have no problems with any type of regulation that will preserve and protect out fishery providing that it is based on genuine scientific evidence not on the result of a pin prick on a map or unsupported data which a lot of the green groups are very prone to use.

There is no provision for spelling areas in this state.

There is no saltwater fishstocking in this State.

Unless there are demonstrated commercial implications government agencies are not interested in any of the above and stuff the recreational fishers as they are not organized and are not a substantial lobby group.

Look at how they rolled over to the commercial lobby and failed to raise the legal limit of bream to a respectable size.

Cheers

Ray

[nadders]

heres what i have written in outlook, havent sent it off...opinions?

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am providing some feedback on the way things are currently going from my own perspective as a recreational angler. I read through the draft quickly, and I wasn’t too convinced (to myself it seemed to lack substance compared to how things are at the moment). What I think needs improving the most is the actual enforcement of size and possession limits, as well as the reduction of by-catch by commercial trawlers.

Now I haven’t done any studies on this, but have there been significant studies conducted on trawler by-catch? Honestly I think if it can’t be shown that trawlers avoid significant by-catch of any kind, the technologies should be revised and reworked until by-catch can be avoided. Until then, I strongly believe that the commercial fishery should be steered in the direction of aquaculture. Trawling is non-selective and let’s face it, things that end up in those nets are most likely not coming out.

On the enforcement side of things, I believe this is a very weak link. I have fished the Brisbane river and Moreton Bay both from the land and from my boat every week for over a year. I have not once been asked by Fisheries to inspect my catch, and I have witnessed many people taking undersized fish and female crabs etc. When these people are approached it is very rare for them to return their undersized fish. There are many places throughout the river systems that fisheries officers I’m sure have never set foot, and I have witnessed many occasions where the fisheries dpt. was contacted regarding illegal fishing activity and nobody showed up, nothing was done. I don’t think education is the problem here as most of the offending types I am sure are well aware of the illegality and effect on the ecosystem their actions have. I also don’t believe responsible recreational anglers should be made to suffer due to the behaviour of a few bad eggs, and I implore you that any measure taken should target those doing the wrong thing without placing undue restrictions on those doing the right thing.

There are thousands of responsible recreational anglers with a very keen interest in sustainability and ecological responsibility but the few bad eggs always seem to get away with it. I believe that size and possession limits need to be enforced more strongly, and that commercial trawler by-catch needs to be reviewed and fixed asap, and until that can be done commercial fishing should be steered strongly in the direction of aquaculture.

If these measures were taken there would be no need for restrictions like “green zones†etc, and the QLD fishery would flourish once more.

Thanks,

Dan Watters

[nadders]

good ideas about saltwater stocking and habitat revival i will add those to my submission before going ahead

and thanks ray for bringing this to our attention, i had no idea until i read your post :S

[rayke1938]

Dan

You have made some very good points there particularly about regulation.

There has been a move towards self regulation in so many industries lately despite it being largely a resounding failure.

I personally would even support a fishing license in both fresh and salt waters providing the fees raised would be used for stocking and enforcement of regulations of recreational fishing.

It doesnt matter if you plagiarise someones ideas just jot down a few thoughts and send it in. Even if you think it is off topic still send it in as it gives them an indication of what you expect and desire. Even more fishing access points to Brisbane river.

Cheers

Ray

[nadders]

i would support licenses too like you said if it can be shown that the fee's will go toward helping the fish stocks..

which brings up another issue, maybe some more transparency into where boat rego/licensing fee's go, etc?

[nadders]

giving this another bump, comments on the draft strategy close on 31st of july so there is still time

cheers

dan

[Tiny Tin]

tugger wrote:

i'm glad a goverment had the guts to take the hard decisions and make it a reality but you will never please everyone and some people will be disavantaged. lets hope this works and fishing will have a future

mark