Crabbing

[Vicki]

Regarding crabbing regulations ... we have to have our crab pots and floats tagged with the details of the person using the pots/floats. My query relates to changing the details on the pots and floats as they have to relate to the person who is using the pots/floats. Is there an easy way to change the details on the float (considering they are polystyrene) so that whoever uses my pots and floats is able to change the details? I own the pots however my son-in-law and various other members of my family often visit and want to go crabbing using my gear so of course the details need to be changed quite often. The pots are not a worry, easy to change the tags however I emailed Fisheries to inquire if I could put a removable tag on my floats and they advised this is not possible because the rule does not specify this - "No reference is made to using removable tags on the floats to identify the person using the pots.  Therefore removable tags would not be permitted." 

So ... can anyone advise what would easily remove marker pen from the floats without damaging the floats? I was concerned re using turps or something similar that they would deteriorate. 

Ta

[Angry51]

Welcome to the forum Vicki.

Done a lot of crabbing and all I ever did was  give the relation or 

who ever had borrowed the pots a letter saying I gave them permission to check my pots.

Never ever got checked so wasn't a problem. Check with fisheries down there to see

if that is OK with them.

Don't use turps or petrol on styrene floats, they will just evaporate.

Hope that helps.

[The Mad Hughesy]

as said above. as long as permission is granted i dont see it as an issue, i doubt fisheries would either. no a whole lot different to you driving the boat while the son and law actually grabs the pots on your behalf

[Vicki]

Thanks Angry51 ... apparently this is a new requirement in Qld. Thanks for the headsup re the turps/petrol, that was what I was concerned about ... maybe a normal old nicko will do the trick if it is only overnight in the water  so can be rubbed off when I need to change details. I will email them again and see if a letter giving permission to use the pots/floats on my behalf would work. 

[Angry51]

I've always found the fishies good as long as they can see you're trying to do the right thing.

Where are you crabbing, area. I remember when I was about 13 and those styrene water bottles came out,

remembering we lived in the Gulf country from the early 60's, I bought one, filled it up with water and

put it in the back of the landcruiser and time we got to the dog fence( first gate ) there was no styrene left on it.

The oily floor boards melted it off.Lesson learned, they didn't have plastic cover on them

was just the styrene.

[Vicki]

Thankyou! We crab around the Cannonvale area (near Airlie Beach) and have never had a problem but I was advised there were new rules whereby the person named on the pots/floats had to actually be in the tinny so I thought I should try and sort it before the rellies use my pots/floats. I can imagine your floats just dissolving away! What a pain! I sprayed a styrene foam box once with black paint to make it look nice ... big mistake, it just filled it with holes. 

[GregN70]

I have plastic tags cut from old ice cream containers and lids (etc) with a hole punched that I keep with a few zip ties and a nikko, and just sippy them on to the rope near the foat, so who ever i take crabbing just writes up 4 tags and away we go.

Hows the crabbing around cannonvale? I hope its better than that around Rocky and Yeppoon. I managed just one keeper last summer from 13 trips

[Vicki]

Thanks Greg ... that is a great idea and I think that will be the way for us to go as well. I will have to start eating icecream! We havnt put the pots in the water since April and we only got 3 over a 3 day period ... better than none! We did catch plenty of fish though so all was not lost.