Stop Trawlers In Brisbane River Petition.

[fishingnut]

http://chng.it/hWLVsbjYqT  
 

please sign and share far and wide  please 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi fishingnut

I think they should get banned, surely it could only be good for the river!

Cheers Hamish

[GregOug]

Done

[Old Scaley]

When I saw this topic, my first instinct was to jump onboard and sign the petition. Then I thought that I should have some evidence to back up that decision. So I went trawling (pardon the pun) through reports and other information online to see what I could find. These were mostly state government reports examining beam trawling, some specific to the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay. The consensus seems to be that they have insignificant impact on the environment and on recreational fishing, although there is not a lot of solid data on rec fishing to base this on. Having fished the mouth of the river for many years now, I haven’t noticed a decline in fish stocks - I used to catch not much and I still catch not much, but can’t say that there seem to be less fish around and there is no evidence to say that is the case. I have fished when the trawlers have been working the area and never seen piles of bycatch floating in their wake, but obviously there is a level of mortality among the bycatch.  There is some evidence of damage to the benthos (sea or river bottom) but this is deemed to be insignificant compared to natural and other man-made factors that have an impact.

I totally respect your opinion and your right to run a petition @fishingnut, and anyone else who wants to support the petition. After all, it can’t be a bad thing to reduce any pressure on the environment and the fishery, but I always like to know what I am signing and why I am signing it. 

[GregOug]

I used to go out on the trawlers on the weekend sometimes when I lived at Bribie many years ago. The amount of by catch which went down the ‘****’ chute (that’s what they called it) was terrible. Tonnes of dead fish and crabs. There was a particular small crab called a Ginna Crab which was caught and discarded by the thousands. All that was kept were the prawns and a few large edible fish that were caught in the net. Even all the squid went over the side. But not when I was on board. I used to keep a few two gallon buckets full each time we went out, for bait on my trips to Moreton.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi Old Scaley

Thanks for that write up and giving us a bit of information on them. the reason I signed it is because I am assuming that if the river goes net free, it may go of like the Fitzroy and the net free zone, etc, etc. 

GregOug, that is very interesting, especially considering Old Scaley's research  compared to what you are saying. 

Maybe the government didn't do as much observations on the trawlers?

Cheers Hamish  

[Old Scaley]

2 hours ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hi Old Scaley

Thanks for that write up and giving us a bit of information on them. the reason I signed it is because I am assuming that if the river goes net free, it may go of like the Fitzroy and the net free zone, etc, etc. 

GregOug, that is very interesting, especially considering Old Scaley's research  compared to what you are saying. 

Maybe the government didn't do as much observations on the trawlers?

Cheers Hamish  

Hi Hamish. It was good to get Greg’s first hand experience on the trawlers, and good to see a very young person taking an interest in things like this. One of the reasons for the discrepancy may be about the type of trawler Greg was on. The reading I did was clear that the toll on bycatch on the ocean going trawlers is much higher than the little beam trawlers used in the rivers and estuaries. This has to do with the length of the trawl and the crushing effect of the heavier catch in the offshore boats. It may also be that there has been a lot of effort gone into bycatch reduction in recent years. 

You can’t really compare the situation in the Fitzroy with the Brisbane river. The netting that was removed there was associated with professional fishers targeting barra, unlike the Brisbane river trawlers that are licensed for prawns and squid.

 I probably come across as an apologist for the trawling industry, but that is not the case at all. I would love to see super trawlers removed from the ocean and making sure the industry continues to be properly managed and regulated.  I am just not sure that the little beam trawlers in the river do too much harm. But that is only my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own views on these things.

[GregOug]

Old Scaley is correct. I went out on the larger trawlers in Moreton Bay. And I’m sure they don’t throw squid back anymore. Far too valuable. One other little tidbit about those days. One night we were trawling away and started bringing the nets in but it was obvious there was far more weight than normal. The skipper managed to get the net too the surface but we couldn't swing it into the boat because it was far too heavy. We discovered it was full of sea scallops! No matter what we did It wouldn’t budge and the trawler was in danger of capsizing so we had to release the entire lot. The skipper was a huge bloke but I can tell you even huge blokes cry, and he did that night! Lol

[rayke1938]

Big difference between the bay trawlers and the Brisbane River Beam trawlers. The river trawlers are very few compared to 60 years ago when there used to be probably 50 to 60 trawlers mainly targeting greasys. I doubt that there would till be half a dozen left. I would be interested in what species are affected by the trawlers. Fisheries would already have this data as all commercial fishers are heavily regulated even to the extent of fisheries staff going out and observing the commercial fishers at work. 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey GregOug

Wow, that must've been pretty bad! I feel a bit bad for the guy. They would've fetched a hefty price, especially considering how many they caught, wouldn't they?

Hey rayke1938

That is incredible. The greasies must've really copped it then. I assume they were abundant enough for the trawlers to catch heaps though...

Hi Old Scaley

Yes, it was. That makes a lot of sense about the beam trawlers having less by-catch then the massive ones that go out in the ocean for prawns, and other fish. It's a very good thing. Now that I think about it, we can't compare the net free zones because, like you said, one were targeting fish and here in Brisbane they are targeting prawns, which are far more prolific. 

Cheers Hamish  

 

[rayke1938]

Think that there is a well advanced proposal to make Moreton Bay a net free zone but if it similar to the northern ones prawn trawling will still be allowed. The northern zones have made a significant improvement to the recreational fishery.

[Cottia]

After watching the documentary Seaspiracy on Netflix (which I highly recommend everyone to watch) it is evident that commercial fishing is not regulated as much as we expect and our oceans and waterways are being depleted at alarming rates. If it continues this way there will be no more fishing in less than 20 years. Huge amounts of dolphins, sharks, whales and other sea-life are caught and discarded as byproduct. Without these creatures our oceans and reefs will die. The fishing industry also contribute around 50% of all plastic waste into the oceans, killing further species with their fishing nets and gear that end up dumped at sea. I am deeply concerned about this issue. What can we do other than not buy fish and try to educate others about the multi billion dollar industry that our governments are covering up?

Cottia,

Brisbane

[rayke1938]

Just because it is on the internet does not mean that it is fact.

Pity that Aussie 123 is not around to debunk so much that Peta and their ilk promote as fact. ( is it the truth or did you read about it in the Courier Mail )

The commercial fishing industry is highly regulated in Australia with catch quotas closed seasons,green zones, marine parks etc.

In Qld all trawlers have tracking devices and are prosecuted if they are detected venturing into no go areas.

In Qld fisheries staff quite frequently go out on the trawlers as observers and monitor all of their catch and their procedures. Not only does this ensure that the individual trawlers are compliant it helps establish the health of the fishery and establish quotas and closed seasons.

Over the years their trawl gear has been heavily modified to automatically release bycatch such as turtles etc.

In Australia we are fortunate to have a great resource in our fishery and both the amateur and pro segments must work together to preserve it for future generations and not try to shut one particular segment to suit our own desires.

Cheers Ray 

[The Mad Hughesy]

57 minutes ago, rayke1938 said:

Just because it is on the internet does not mean that it is fact.

Pity that Aussie 123 is not around to debunk so much that Peta and their ilk promote as fact. ( is it the truth or did you read about it in the Courier Mail )

The commercial fishing industry is highly regulated in Australia with catch quotas closed seasons,green zones, marine parks etc.

In Qld all trawlers have tracking devices and are prosecuted if they are detected venturing into no go areas.

In Qld fisheries staff quite frequently go out on the trawlers as observers and monitor all of their catch and their procedures. Not only does this ensure that the individual trawlers are compliant it helps establish the health of the fishery and establish quotas and closed seasons.

Over the years their trawl gear has been heavily modified to automatically release bycatch such as turtles etc.

In Australia we are fortunate to have a great resource in our fishery and both the amateur and pro segments must work together to preserve it for future generations and not try to shut one particular segment to suit our own desires.

Cheers Ray 

tend to agree with your Ray. 

That documentary on Netflix is an interesting watch, but does not touch on the Australian industry at all. If our industry was as evil as others are, then rec fishos would be able to catch a feed every day of the year...which some do.

its no secret that overseas commercial fishing is a joke, we can all agree on that. 

what i do find funny is when rec fishos crack it and blame the commercial guys for not being able to catch anything. got nothing to do with their abilities at all 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

6 hours ago, christophagus said:

what i do find funny is when rec fishos crack it and blame the commercial guys for not being able to catch anything. got nothing to do with their abilities at all 

Same. But when you see pictures of them with heaps of fish, in one or two days work, that some would dream to catch then you can almost understand why lots of people get up them, etc. 

I watched that documentary last night. It was supposed to be awesome from what I've read.

Not much too it really. There was a few stories which were better than what are on the news most nights, but other than that, it was just some greenie sobbing over how certain countries can't patrol their fishing fleet. Honestly, it makes me sad to see all those fish taken out of the ocean, but the thing that gets to me the most is littering. Many days after school I come home with my pockets full of rubbish that otherwise would've came into the river. Sure, sometimes rubbish bins fall over and a bit flies out, but when people intentionally litter (i.e. cannot move their bottom 3 metres to go to a bin) it seriously annoys me! Solutions need to be implemented, like certain government departments in wealthier countries helping out the poorer countries illegal fishing schemes, but in Australia our fishing scheme is good with many enforced laws, so I don't think our fish will be all gone within 20 years!

And the other thing I found was that it addressed lots of issues, like whaling for instance, but none particularly deep, and what I mean by that is they just gave some context, and maybe chatted to some 'organisations' who didn't even give a statement! I don't mind if it's some Norwegian (I think that was it) village hunting a few once every now and then, because the type they were getting, which was some species that wasn't endangered, was the equivalent of 2 000 chickens, but the Japanese one where they were killing Dolphins for no reason to benefit fishing was a bit weird!

Cheers Hamish

[Gad]

18 hours ago, Cottia said:

What can we do other than not buy fish and try to educate others about the multi billion dollar industry that our governments are covering up?

Cottia,

Brisbane

I find it sad that you signed on, only to post your flawed offering of illogical greenie want, and just as sadly can not offer any real solutions. 
One can only hope that, in this already unsustainable, over populated world you do not have a breeding program in place 

[Phil712z]

Beam trawlers whatever their size cause significant environmental damage to the seabed due to heavy chains on the bottom of the net being dragged across it, resulting in reduced biodiversity and productivity in the habitat.  Areas that have been subject to beam trawling will see a substantial reduction in the abundance of animals living on the seabed. Even if a particular area is only trawled once the effects can be long lasting if the fishing occurs in areas which are inhabited by long-lived seabed dwelling species such as oysters and sponges.

[Bretto77]

On 08/06/2020 at 6:44 AM, rayke1938 said:

Think that there is a well advanced proposal to make Moreton Bay a net free zone but if it similar to the northern ones prawn trawling will still be allowed. The northern zones have made a significant improvement to the recreational fishery.

I was told that the trade off for net free zone in the Fitzroy was more pro crab pressure. That's what I heard from some of the locals up there anyway. 

The fin fishing definitely improved in the net free zones but I have heard some people report on it being harder to catch crabs due to increased pro pressure there. 

Not sure if there is data available on this???

[Rebel]

You people up North think you have problems.

The NSW Government are talking about building a wharf in Botany Bay for cruise ships.

[Phil712z]

38 minutes ago, Rebel said:

You people up North think you have problems.

The NSW Government are talking about building a wharf in Botany Bay for cruise ships.

The Botany Bay cruise ship terminal was proposed by the previous NSW government which was voted out of power a week ago. Both Bayside Council and Randwick Council are opposed to the proposal as is the state Labor MP for Maroubra, Michael Daley. Hopefully the incoming state Labor government will dump the proposal as it would cause a huge amount of environmental damage to the bay just as the development of Port Botany shipping terminal has done.

 

[mangajack]

I did a few days on a river beam trawler when i was about 13/14 back in the 70's.

It was the height of the prawn season and Alf (the trawlerman) kept his 4 crates of prawns and a flathead, I got to take home two flat head per day.

Bycatch on the beam trawler was not huge, maybe 5% by weight max of the catch and the runs each time were short...200m max. About 8 runs we did each day to reach his required amount. 

All the prawns he used to catch went to tweed bait, none of it went to the coop or the shops. Maybe a handful of the largest ones might go home each day for a feed.

As far as I know all the river beam trawlers run on quotas and supply bait markets predominantly.

What happens when trawlers are kicked out everywhere?

Do we rely on imported prawns and fish from there on?

[Angry51]

If the population was controlled more we'd see less rape of our forests/seas/land

and less pollution.

You can only put so many cows in a paddock. full stop!!!!!!!

Its over population that raising the global temp

The greenies will tell you its the cows /sheep farting but fail to say we need to breed 

more animals to feed ourselves, Reduce the population.

Problem solved.

[mangajack]

15 minutes ago, Angry51 said:

If the population was controlled more we'd see less rape of our forests/seas/land

and less pollution.

You can only put so many cows in a paddock. full stop!!!!!!!

Its over population that raising the global temp

The greenies will tell you its the cows /sheep farting but fail to say we need to breed 

more animals to feed ourselves, Reduce the population.

Problem solved.

Covid didn't scratch the surface in the population explosion. How would the world react to mass reduction?

I made a decision never to have kids before I became a teenager....nearly 50 years on and I still think being a parent was the right thing for me to avoid.

China's enforced population control is really starting to cause havoc there with the ageing population and less workers to do the work.....another 20 years and the world will see how that can cripple a country. 

We complain about the skills shortage here currently....it is far worse in China.

 

[Angry51]

I dont mean a reduction, I mean birth control.

Look at Africa, they've been crying about starving kids since I was a boy,

surely they need to not breed so many, you still have equal old/young just not so many.

I don't mean knocking the oldies on the head, when they die off we just have a few less

coming on. Or if we keep breeding at this rate what do we do for food when the world

population is 200/300 billion.

[Old Scaley]

1 hour ago, Angry51 said:

I dont mean a reduction, I mean birth control.

Look at Africa, they've been crying about starving kids since I was a boy,

surely they need to not breed so many, you still have equal old/young just not so many.

I don't mean knocking the oldies on the head, when they die off we just have a few less

coming on. Or if we keep breeding at this rate what do we do for food when the world

population is 200/300 billion.

The good news for you @Angry51 is that we won’t keep breeding at this rate. Just to maintain a population every female of child bearing age needs to produce 2.1 children. None of the developed countries achieve anywhere near that and the big population countries of the world like China, India and Indonesia are also below that target. I read recently that the population of China declined for the first time ever last year, losing 300,000 people. Predictions are that the Chinese population will drop to about 600,000 by the end of the century. 

You are right about Africa, with most of the poorer countries still well above the 2.1 fertility rate, but in all likelihood they will follow the world trend and we might have a different problem- will the species survive? Anyway, you and I certainly won’t be around to see that question answered.

[Angry51]

Well, another question Steve, who'd want to live in a world such

as we have created. I'm pretty disapointed in the way we've " progressed "

[mangajack]

It is frightening looking at the population growth...currently so far this year the growth rate is over twice the death rate.

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

Also the corona virus tab on that same page is interesting.

[mangajack]

1 hour ago, Angry51 said:

Well, another question Steve, who'd want to live in a world such

as we have created. I'm pretty disappointed in the way we've " progressed "

I'm sad for my wife's grandkids....they will never know the freedom of growing up in an environment where the sun goes down and you come home from where ever you spent the day almost with whoever you wanted to and are at the table for dinner....or camping without chaperones down the river.....or even walking without a parent to school.

They will likely not be able to break into the housing market without some large assistance from parents or inheritance. They will likely live in houses that almost or do share walls....no back yard and no room to park your car.

That's not life, that is prison without bars.

 

[Old Scaley]

1 hour ago, Angry51 said:

Well, another question Steve, who'd want to live in a world such

as we have created. I'm pretty disapointed in the way we've " progressed "

Geez @Angry51. Sounds like someone needs a hug. The world is still a pretty good place. Now if we could only stop the war in Ukraine, get the US and China to kiss and make up, get inflation down, house the homeless, end poverty, slow climate change, ban “reality” TV, stop celebrity worship and cure cancer! How good would it be then? 

[Angry51]

Yeah, look at that list of problems.

And that's a start.

I just wish we could turn back the clock to the 70's, wasn't so

much sh*t going on. I'm glad I 've lived in the period that I did.

I don't want that hug, I'm not like that.

[Rebel]

Ausralia is still the best place in the World to live.

[Angry51]

Yeah mate, and it could be a lot better if we didn't have 

so many self serving, money hungry, thieving , lying, backbiting,

polititians ( who call themselves men ).

And women  ( Lidia Thorpe ) and many more, corrupt police, council officals,

you can just go on and on. I'm getting sick of writing about them.

End of rant.

[Rebel]

Well. Stop voting them into power.

[Angry51]

Not me but someone is.