Netting Mullet

[Confused]

Hey guys its been a while since my last post, However i was on moreton island last weekend for a fish with a few mates, We arrived sat morning drove main beach to collect some bait then up to yellowpatch to fish the northern part of the island. As viewed many times the netters were at it again hauling in thousands of mullet again or so i thought... I really would like to know more information about what it is they are actually take, keep ect... does anyone know?

I have been beach fishing Stradbroke,Moreton,Fraser, Double island since i was 8 yo and could hold a rod, As always i have the same (Old man stories) as everyone else when i was growing up we could easily get a feed of fish anytime of the year at any of these places but it just seems now like it's getting less and less. Because of netters? maybe?

We struggled to land 5 fish over the weekend due mainly to the netters just swiping everything they can get, I at first thought it was only mullet they were targeting but today i did alot of reading on the fisheries website and CUT.PASTE

The southern areas of the East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery harvests mainly subtropical fin fish species, such as:

â– mullet

â– tailor

â– whiting

â– flathead

â– bream

â– mulloway

â– school mackerel.

So does this mean these blokes can actually take everything they get in the nets? Surely this practise has to stop, I mean i'm in total support of the green zone at yellow patch/ heath island to help protect the spawning and groth development of such species but what is the bloody point of a green zone when as soon as the buggers get big enough to leave the protected zone they swim straight into a net?? seems like a total waste of time.

So what can be done?

I'm asking for support from fellow rec fishers and seriously open the floor for comment of any netters that may read this!

[rayke1938]

This time of the year they are targeting the annual mullet run.

Just remember if it was not for the pros all you would be able to purchase is imported fish.

Cheers

Ray

[Malcolm]

I have seen these guys at Straddie in action a few times and I think they are amazing.

From what I have seen there is hardly any by catch when they net Mullet.

There is also lots of Mullet schooling when the netters are done.

[Confused]

havent noticed mullet on the menu at my local fish and chip shop, and if i did would be about my 10th pick in a list of fish to buy! Also i dont think people even know this is going on, as for pro's do we really need to sweep the beaches clean of fish for the sake of some crab bait/pet food!

I do understand there is a market for prety much anything, But what concerns me is and ive personally seen it all the by-catch from netting just die in the nets whilr they pick out the mullet then just throw back tons of dead whiting,dart,bream,and so on..

[ellicat]

The netters run a sustainable operation. That's how and why they keep returning.

Bad luck you turned up after they'd been through though

[waldo]

Mate do yourself a favor next time you see them shoot mullet on the beach and ask if you can buy a few. Skin em prepare em and fry em like you would any good fish on the same day and you won't believe how good they are. Make good bait by the time they get to most fish and chip shops though :dry:

The pros can keep anything that we can if there are no restrictions. Mainly mullet and tailor but bream, whiting, dart, parrot, snapper, flathead and jew plus a number of bait species as well. Yes you can catch parrot and snapper off the beach and on line at times as well.

Have a look at the DPI stats and the future projections, the fish run almost like clockwork. The east coast mullet fishery is sustainable and probably the best managed fishery in Australia by a long way. Roed mullet has the roe removed and sent oversees, the left becomes bait of various kinds, cheap fillets and crab bait. Hard gut mullet is pretty much bait only and comes most times from down south.

Nets catch a lot of fish which seems like a lot more because you are seeing them in one spot all at once. The reason it can be hard to catch fish when the nets are shot is because not only do they catch a good number of fish but they can also spook others in the area.

Take tailor for example if there is nothing to keep them in the area and a net is shot anywhere near they just leave. I have had nets shot near me and thought this will shut them down but no, had a good session because there was bait in the area to keep them there.

There is a lot of BS about pros that come from the clueless most times. Have heard people going off about trawlers working at Mud Island in close :woohoo: They were at anchor :woohoo: Another one that gets me giggling is someone starts pulling in a fish and the pros rock up and shoot there nets hence they sumise the pro saw them catch a fish and shot because of that :woohoo: What happens is the pro often follow fish they can see out wide and may shadow them for a few days till they come in close enough to the beach, when they do

I often follow fish along the beach work out which way they are moving and go ahead to work out which gutter they are likely to move into. Set up and have a ball when they come in.

By catch is pretty light on imho. Most undersize fish just swim through the big mesh, its only the side nets that might catch the odd smaller fish. I kill the odd fish that I didnt mean to and I am very careful with any fish I dont intend eating. I see guys drop kick fish back into the water and catch and release fish where they really have little chance of survival. Multiply that by a big number of people that dont really know any better and the bycatch comparison might be interesting.

Take a look at the catch numbers for recs and pros. Many of the most popular species recs outcatch pros by some big multiples for some. A lot more demand with the huge population growth, less fish for everyone as the pie gets divided more and more.

[Confused]

thanks for the detailed explanation waldo much appreciated

thanks for taking the time to answer it properly

[Manni79]

havent noticed mullet on the menu at my local fish and chip shop, and if i did would be about my 10th pick in a list of fish to buy! Also i dont think people even know this is going on, as for pro's do we really need to sweep the beaches clean of fish for the sake of some crab bait/pet food!

I do understand there is a market for prety much anything, But what concerns me is and ive personally seen it all the by-catch from netting just die in the nets whilr they pick out the mullet then just throw back tons of dead whiting,dart,bream,and so on..

Fresh ocean mullet surprisingly tastes pretty good, last year at Straddie we caught a heap of the beach and then cooked em up and was pretty good, thick fillets and tasty

[elops]

Interesting comments, though all have overlooked the main reason that Sea Mullet M. cephalus are targeted by netters on the beaches during their spawning run. This to harvest the roe and milt worth considerably more than the rest of the fish.