Snapper closure - 15Feb to 31March

[Do$tylz]

Hey all,

Was doing some size checking and found this...

/>http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_19696.htm

Essentially they are closing all snapper catches over the period of 15Feb to 31 March next year... I've copied the wording below..

Rocky Reef Fin Fish Fishery review

Fisheries Queensland, based on the outcomes of recent stock assessments, has determined snapper as overfished. As a result, Fisheries Queensland is reviewing management arrangements for snapper and other fish in the Rocky Reef Fin Fish Fishery. A Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) has been released for public comment.

The RIS outlines options for managing this fishery in the future. As part of this RIS, all fishing rules for the Rocky Reef Fin Fish Fishery are under review to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state´s stock of snapper and other species. As such, a range of proposals affecting all fishing sectors are included in the RIS for public feedback.

Snapper closure

In addition to the review, an interim closure from 15 February to 31 March 2011 has been put in place until new fishing rules can be finalised.

The interim closure is an immediate action to reduce the fishing pressure on snapper.

The interim six-week closure will apply to all Queensland east coast waters. During this time, snapper will be off limits to all recreational, charter and commercial fishers and should not be targeted. To effectively reduce fishing pressure, the closure will also apply to the other main co-caught species of pearl perch and teraglin.

Background

Two stock assessments were carried out by Fisheries Queensland - one in 2006 and the other in 2009. Based on the outcomes of the stock assessments Fisheries Queensland has determined that the snapper stock is less than 35% of its unfished levels. It is internationally recognised that fish stocks at 40% (or less) of their ´unfished levels´ are classed as ´overfished´. This means snapper in Queensland is being harvested at unsustainable levels.

Independent reviews of these assessments including the most recent review conducted by ABARE-BRS have supported the finding that snapper are likely overfished in Queensland.

While it is unlikely that snapper will be fished to the point where the stock collapses, significant ecological, economic and social impacts are likely if overfishing continues.

The options in the RIS have been developed by Fisheries Queensland taking into consideration advice from a Stakeholder Network Working Group which included representatives from the commercial, recreational and charter fishing sectors; tackle industry; and the seafood marketing sector.

[Young_fella]

haha stylz. there was a post floating around about this a few weeks ago. :silly:

[rosstralia46]

yer your a bit late on it and everyone has already put there 2 cents worth in

[straddiebrad]

we new it was gunna happen but didnt know when i guess now we do,wonder how many snapper will be caught on the 1st of april?

[daveylad]

we new it was gunna happen but didnt know when i guess now we do,wonder how many snapper will be caught on the 1st of april?

Bag limit is 5 isn't it brad? come the 1st thats what I'll be aiming at, I reckon I'll be upping my size ,stop keeping the minimum size.

[Keen-as-fisho]

Yet the size limit/ bag limit remains the same, tools.

[dhess]

Doesn't really bother me. Usually get busy chasing pelagics that time of the year as it can be a slowish time for snapper and the current is usually ripping through to fast to fish the deeper pearl perch grounds. I don't think that as many people target those species that time of the year either.

[ellicat]

Doesn't really bother me. Usually get busy chasing pelagics that time of the year as it can be a slowish time for snapper and the current is usually ripping through to fast to fish the deeper pearl perch grounds. I don't think that as many people target those species that time of the year either.

The real closure will be for 2 or 4 months covering June - September.

This Feb/Mar 2011 closure is just a "test" closure.

Have a squiz at the original thread for more detail.

[slider65]

Here is a look at the 4 options that have been given to sunfish by the QLD government to pick from

RIS Option 1. This is highly undesirable: permit fee of $90 with no accountability for spending, mandatory logbooks,6week seasonal closure - THAT ONLY APPLIES TO REC FISHERS!!!!!.

RIS Option 2. This is also highly undersirable: permit fee of $70 (no accountability for spending), logbook voluntary, 6week closure that only applies to rec fishers!!!!

RIS Option 3. This is also highly undesirable: bag limit redued to 2, 2 month seasonal closure that only applies to rec fishers, but no permit fee or logbooks.

RIS Option 4. This is probably the least undesirable, and the option that Sunfish may be FORCED to go along with - NOT SUPPORT.

There is no permit fee or logbook, a four month seasonal closure applies to all sectors - rec, charter and commercial. The current bag and size limits would apply(5 Snapper at 35cm min size). Also we could make a suggestion for protecting the large fish eg. 2 snapper only over 60cm as a trade off for reducing the 4 month seasonal closure north of the Gold Coast, and argue that there is no need for the seasonal closure north of Double Island Point.

The first 3 option are only going to affect REC Fisherman and not the charter and commercial sectors

Here is the link for an E Petition for the Snapper Fisheries Changes

/>http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/EPetitions_QLD/CurrentEPetition.aspx?PetNum=1606&lIndex=-1

[dhess]

Geez didn't realise. Thanks for pointing that out.

I agree with slider that option 4 would be the best out of many poor options. Throwing money into the government consolidated revenue isn't going to be doing any species any favours even if they truly are under pressure.

A 4 month closure through the peak spawning time, closing the fishery to all sectors would be a great way of taking the pressure off the fishery. I am just not convinced that it is necessary.

[noname]

i havent read throught the new regulations yet as i dont think they know what to do yet either. but my thinking is thiswhen the size and bag limit was at 30 cm and 10 fish per person

then new laws were introduced, re, the 5 fish per person and 35 cm limit was introduced, anybody notice anything going on ??? as in a lot of fish bein upsized, and everybody has done it.so that was a waste of time introuucing that. as most of the offshore reefs now like deep tempest are littered with the just legal size fish. and it also gets flogged to death as any 1 who fishes the place will tell you. but no matter what new rules and regulations they introduce, they wont work. if they were serious about all this , they would look at the commercial sector a lil more seriously, but that aint gunna happen , we all know this dont we !so it seems we the rec fisho get told that we are the 1's to blame for depleating fish stocks, and it's not the x ammount of 100's of tonnes that get shipped overseas eash year, no no ! thats not it...

thats my 2 cents worth