Paul says it's OK

[RayDeR]

G'day!

The Gold Coast Bulletin today (7th December, page 21), has an article which quotes the Bulletin and Chanel 9 fishing expert Paul Burt as saying the draft closures in Moreton Bay are okay.

The Gold Coast Bulletin letter to the editor's email address: viewpoint@gcb.newsltd.com.au

Ray De R


Coast fishing off hook
Broadwater and South Straddie ban not in final draft
by Bridie Jabour

A CONTROVERSIAL plan to ban fishing at MoretonIsland has made it to its first draft with little of the Gold Coast affected.

Some of the plans released before the draft had a large part ofthe Broadwater and South Stradbroke Island as banned fishing areas but they did not make the final cut.

The Moreton Bay Marine Park Plan draft, released by the Queensland Government, covers the Brisbane area, with 15 per cent of Moreton Bay banned from commercial fishing.
Gold Coast Bulletin fishing expert Paul Burt said he understood the need for 'protecting our own backyard' and banning fishing in 15 per cent of Moreton Bay was better than banning fishing in 50 per cent.

"We have to govern for our back yard and certain animals like the dugong need to be able to feed without boats interfering," he said.

"If any of the ban was detrimental to anglers I would be totally opposed as it would be ridiculous to ban fishing on the Gold Coast but the plan is fine."

Premier Anna Bligh launched the official draft, saying anglers would still be able to cast their lines out from any jetty in Moreton Bay.

However, Queensland Seafood Industry Association president Neil Green has labelled the plan 'appalling' and called it a 'con job by green bureaucrats on State Government ministers'.

"It will devastate the seafood industry and rob seafood consumers of fresh local product," he said.
"It is appalling."

Mr Green said Moreton Bay had been fished commercially for more than 150 years and retained healthy stocks of an enormous range of marine life, from whales and dugong, to fish and seabirds, to seagrass and coral.

[PinHead]

"We have to govern for our back yard and certain animals like the dugong need to be able to feed with­out boats interfering," he said."

Just goes to show how uninformed some people are...these are not no take zones not no go zones...therefore nothing changes in regards to dugong.

[webby]

Paul WHO, oh yes the star of tv, he wouldnt no what his left hand is doing compared to his right.
They should have slapped a 50% ban on Gold coast offshore waters, maybe then it would have given the fish a chance to restock, as its fairly well understocked now.
regards

[DR]

G'day!

The Gold Coast Bulletin today (7th December, page 21), has an article which quotes the Bulletin and Chanel 9 fishing expert Paul Burt as saying the draft closures in Moreton Bay are okay.

The Gold Coast Bulletin letter to the editor's email address: viewpoint@gcb.newsltd.com.au

Ray De R


Coast fishing off hook
Broadwater and South Straddie ban not in final draft
by Bridie Jabour

A CONTROVERSIAL plan to ban fishing at Moreton Island has made it to its first draft with little of the Gold Coast affected.




"If any of the ban was detrimental to anglers I would be totally opposed as it would be ridiculous to ban fishing on the Gold Coast but the plan is fine."



he mainly fishes the Gold Coast i'll bet...

[PWCDad]

There is a very interesting read in the latest F & B magazine by Ern Grant ... his view on SE Qld closures and gov knee-jerk legislators.

Well worth a read ...cant post it due to copyright but every person who has ever wet a line should read it ...

Regards
PWCDad

[Flattie Assassin]

Paul WHO, oh yes the star of tv, he wouldnt no what his left hand is doing compared to his right.



Muwahahahhahaha!!!

[Lucky_Phill]

It is statements like that, that make us average fishoes look daft. It's not in my backyard so I don't care.


Well Paul, it IS in your backyard, it will affect your viewers fishing habits, and it will impact on the Gold Coast fishery.... in some way.

I suggest you have a think about it,,, think about what the next water/ habitat grab the Greens will go for....

as a senior and wise member here says...

apathy IS the enemy......

All IMO....... Phill

[seatime]

Paul Burt must play golf with Ken Brown, wasn't 'Brownie' one of those other 'celebs' backing the EPA plans a short time ago.
They must see some money in it for themselves.

[Nugget]

This has never been about fishing – anglers are just the pawn in a political chess match. Look at the logic (read that as excuses) behind the closures.

The Bay is over fished:
Moreton Bay’s fish stocks are not in any danger – professional catch records clearly show no decline in the past 10 years. Yes there was a problem prior to that – just too many pro fishos but that problem was rectified.
If they were seriously concerned about overfishing we would have seen bag and possession limits on inshore finfish introduced when they were fist suggested by Tom Burns in the early 1990s. We (the fishos) have been pushing for these bag and size limits for a long time – it is the authorities that have been holding back on their introduction – if they were seriously concerned they would have done something long ago.

The dugong and turtles need protecting:
There’s not one proposed closure in the draft plan that is aimed at turtle or dugong protection. Preventing fishing in areas does not prevent ‘boat strike’ which EPA claims is their claimed worst enemy.

Protecting the environment:
This is laughable. The EPA’s web site states one of the biggest environmental threats to Moreton Bay is pollution.
Last year submissions were called for and grants were awarded for projects that would improve Moreton Bay and its foreshores.
One of the few submissions rejected was a simple plan (costing a pittance, not tens of thousands) to pick up rubbish around the Bayside foreshores.
EPA’s web site also states that silt from urban run off and dredging is another problem for the Bay.
It was the EPA that approved dredging millions of tonnes of sand from Middle Bank for the Airport parallel runway extension. It is the EPA that approved the mining of one of the last rainforest habitats in the Bay district at Mt Cotton – millions of tonnes of gravel extracted that will decimate the environment.

No this has never been about protecting fish, the environment or anything else.
The reason we are presented with these closures is because a small minority group funded by extremist anti fishing association lobbied the Greens who in turn did a deal for preferential votes at the last election.
“We (the Greens) will give you (Labor) our preference votes if you bring in these closures.”

This is the most important part of this post…
The only thing politicians care about is bad publicity, mass disagreement from voters.
Mr Rudd does not want unrest, bad publicity, strikes, parades, and end up on the front page of newspapers and Tv seen in a negative light.
Anna Bligh does not want bad publicity, strikes, parades, and end up on the front page of newspapers and Tv.
If you do not agree with these closures then yell your loudest, attend every rally you can, write to your local member – make as much noise as you can.
This is only the tip of the iceburg. They have now moved the goal posts stating the next review will be in five years, not 10. Read that as the next round of closures.
It should be interesting on air this weekend - have your say 5 - 7am 1116am or www.4bc.com.au (http://www.4bc.com.au)

Dave ><>

[Franco]

just a note guys before you all throw the first stone and nail him to the cross .......

I live on the GC, and work in the public hospital system and therefore see a lot of news-worthy stuff come through our Dept ....

As such I have personally seen countless, totally inaccurate misquotations appear in the GC Bulletin, which is a never-ending source of out-of-context and totally astray statements that often have no similarities to factual events or what actually transpired during an interview.

Question the integrity of the paper and exercise healthy scepticism as well before you assume it to be gospel ........

It should really be called "The Gold Coast Bull-shitten" ....... ::) ;D

Dont believe everything you read

I have no idea what actually was said by Paul Burt but just thought everyone should be aware of the papers history of inaccurate reporting performance before casting judgement.[/SIZE]

[Franco]

PS just to add I am not a personal friend of Paul's and had no ulterior motive for my post other than to provide a balanced opinion.

[webby]

This might not be the right post to put this under,

[Blueroo]

Good on you Webby, that hit the nail on the head.
Cohesion is the magic word.
Lets all work together as one massive group.

Stue

[seatime]

I don't doubt you at all Franco.

But, this fellow is a media pro, he's worked for the Bull-shitten before, he's worked for each of the networks and worked with 'brownie' (who has been a spokesperson for the EPA).
It's not unheard of for a media celeb to be mis-quoted, but this one rings true.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/general.aspx?id=270191

Perhaps there's been some "tall poppy syndrome" displayed here in posts, or perhaps it's just healthy cynicism/criticism.

regards
Steve

[RayDeR]

G'day Franco!

I know what you are saying about being mis-quoted but this guy is a professional media person. I worked as a professional public relations person for a large organisation on the Gold Coast and I assure you there are ways not to be misquoted.

Ray De R

[marty_z]

agree or disagree, he is right in one sense - the gold coast has gotten off lightly in regard to proposed closures. that is my backyard and when I scanned the map there were very little changes to my fishing areas. now don't take this the wrong way, I am still against the proposal and know it is due to a backdoor preference deal, and is based on poor science. got me thinking though, did they do that to create apathy among the gc fisho's??

I don't doubt once they get 15% closures of the bay, the next target will be 50%.

marty

[PinHead]

I don't doubt you at all Franco.

But, this fellow is a media pro, he's worked for the Bull-shitten before, he's worked for each of the networks and worked with 'brownie' (who has been a spokesperson for the EPA).
It's not unheard of for a media celeb to be mis-quoted, but this one rings true.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/general.aspx?id=270191

Perhaps there's been some "tall poppy syndrome" displayed here in posts, or perhaps it's just healthy cynicism/criticism.

regards
Steve

surely you jest Steve...Paul Burt hardly rates dandelion status let alone tall poppy.

[Rod Fishing]

What they need to do is not let any vessel from overseas dump their balast water in to our waters if they do they get fined......tat will stop most of the polution

[seatime]

What they need to do is not let any vessel from overseas dump their balast water in to our waters if they do they get fined......tat will stop most of the polution

There's a system in place for a change-over of ballast water at sea before vessels enter Aus ports. In certain cases it can be a complicated exercise that can exert stresses on the hull.
Ballast water from some overseas ports, particularly river ports, can contain pollutants, though nasty organisms are more of a threat.


{Australia signed the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, subject to ratification, on 29 May 2005.
The Convention will enter in force 12 months after 30 States with combined merchant fleets constituting 35% of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant shipping have signed the Convention.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has primary responsibility for implementation of this Convention in Australia. AMSA is providing advice and assistance to DAFF in working towards Australian ratification of the Convention. It is likely that AMSA will play a role in implementing the Convention, primarily through port State control. On 22 June, an AMSA officer attended a Joint Standing Committee on Treaties hearing, which is expected to approve Australian ratification of the Convention}

[castlemaine]

When you buy a new Alvey reel, Paul Burt does the attached Alvey video. Wonder how Bruce Alvey or Peter Pakula would view his comment? Cheers.

[the gecko]

Paul was not misquoted. I saw him say exactly that, when he did last fridays fishing report on local GC television.

He said 'it was good, the GC got off lightly, and he was in favour of the MB closures to protect the dugong and our fishing futures'. First thing I thuoght of, was he must be a mate of brownies...

I was stunned that he would say that, but then again he is heavily sponsored in a lot of areas. perhaps the greenies have taken to getting some more sponsorship to ease thru their plans?

[PinHead]

Paul was not misquoted. I saw him say exactly that, when he did last fridays fishing report on local GC television.

He said 'it was good, the GC got off lightly, and he was in favour of the MB closures to protect the dugong and our fishing futures'. First thing I thuoght of, was he must be a mate of brownies...

I was stunned that he would say that, but then again he is heavily sponsored in a lot of areas. perhaps the greenies have taken to getting some more sponsorship to ease thru their plans?

those few words alone really do show the intelligence level of the bloke.

[Horse]

those few words alone really do show the intelligence level of the bloke.

Thats the line the Green machine is pushing. Shows this d#$% head could not come up with an original thought to push his position.

I think we will see a lot of people who rely on Gov funding promoting the EPA's point of view. The other source of influence will be the Labor Party who owe favours for preferance deals in the recent election

[Fafnir]

Paul is a nice enough bloke to talk to, decent and has never seemed up himself. But that's not to say he is the sharpest knife in the rack.

I get the feeling that he wants to grow into a tv personality, beyond simply doing fishing reports. I also believe that most media outlets, be it tv, radio or press, have a lean towards green. I would not have thought Pauls supportive comments would have hurt his career aspirations. This highlights the challenge faced with getting an identity onboard to fight against the green zones. You need to find one with balls and integrity. Fortunately Paul is pretty much an unknown even among many anglers, but other higher profile people would perhaps think twice before speaking out against this review.



agree or disagree, he is right in one sense - the gold coast has gotten off lightly in regard to proposed closures. that is my backyard and when I scanned the map there were very little changes to my fishing areas. now don't take this the wrong way, I am still against the proposal and know it is due to a backdoor preference deal, and is based on poor science. got me thinking though, did they do that to create apathy among the gc fisho's??

I don't doubt once they get 15% closures of the bay, the next target will be 50%.

marty


Interesting thought Marty, it would make sense to let the GC off lightly this time around in the hope that they sit back and fail to support Brisbane based anglers, and then hit them harder in 5 years time. Hopefully their plan will fail and GC anglers will be up in arms with the rest of us.

[flick]

This is how the greenies succeed world wide. Just bight off a little at a time. Therefor their huge amount of funding can be used against small interest groups individually. 99% of action they take has nothing to do with us taking to much from the ecosystem. They are against us being their full stop.

I wonder how doug burt feels about his brothers point of view.

[the gecko]

I agree fafnir, paul is a nice enough bloke and usually (?) knows his stuff. Im wondering WHY he thinks the closures are good for fishing. If he has a point of view, then I wanna know if he can substantiate it or not...

I also agree with martys point. The GC is now a lib stronghold, and Anna doesnt seem to wanna give them an excuse to bash her, yet. She will pick her time to repay the greenie debt. As Sun Tzu says, choose your battles wisely.

Andrew

[Timmy94]

He wouldnt no shit from clay.

[castlemaine]

He wouldnt no shit from clay.;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

But seriously when they close the Bay off lets all go fishing on the Goldie.::)

Cheers

[Franco]

Guys no point in turning this into a Brissie Vs Goldie battle

We're all in it together and regardless of what has been said, I'd say most fisho's on the Goldy are strongly in favour of creating a balanced sustainable fishery for all regardless of location, with scientific rationale behind any changes.

If we allow ourselves to get sucked into in-fighting and bickering then the Dark-Side has already won the battle.:-[

you'll probably find there's a lot of guys on the Goldy that make an effort to also fish the lower end of the bay ........ its a beautiful area to be in.

So lets keep united on this one regardless of whatever was said on tv.

Lets stand together and May the Force Be With You 8-) ....... :laola:

[Ben D]

I hear you Franco,

But as a scientist I would be very remiss if I didn't point out there is bugger all good science behind the rationales given for most if not all of the proposed no take zones. A little pseudo science maybe, but its almost entirely a political process. These green zones are only being put there to honour some agreement Aussie pollies signed up to decades ago, you'd have to be a fool to actually believe that excluding recreational fishing from these areas will make any difference to the sustainability of the entire fishery - the main problems facing the fishery (habitat destruction/ eutrophication/siltation and other forms of human induced pollution) will remain after they are closed to fishing. Exclusion of trawling from a wider area will certainly do some good for the bottom and juvenile fish populations, but the rec fishers are getting a very large object inserted up the nether regions on this one because green factions such as the AMCS believe there is no place for fishing period and the real truth is these people would love to see all fishing banned.

[Franco]

I totally agree with you Ben

When I was mentioning "with rationale" I was alluding to the obvious truth that these closures are loosely (if at all) / minimally associated with good science and research.

Within medicine, If we implemented new treatment / surgery / medications based on the quality of the research these closures are based on, every doctor would be struck off the Registry and sued for downright criminal negligence!!

ALAS! Unfortunately even wrt patient care, there is often a huge gap between what is scientifically well proven to be beneficial and what "improvements" in health care gets more votes!!

Better stop now before I get knocked off my podium with a sticky cream pie!

[castlemaine]

If we allow ourselves to get sucked into in-fighting and bickering then the Dark-Side has already won the battle.:-[




Hi Franco
Comment on moving my fishing to the Goldie, was made with tongue-in-cheek.;)
It has already been said that if closures are to affect ones fishing spot then one will move to another, putting pressure on the limited number of spots available (gives EPA an excuse to close them down too).>:(

PS - have fished the Tweed but have been promising myself a fish on the Broadwater for ages, maybe in the New Year.

Cheers

[Franco]

No probs mate all groovy castlemaine! Good luck on the broadwater!

[Nugget]

From what I can see on the EPA mud maps - Changes to the Gold Coast are minimal:
The closures in Coombabah Creek have been extended by a few hundred metres before the lake and aprox one third of South Stradbroke Island beach will be a green zone.

Dave ><>

[Matt_Campbell]

Exclusion of trawling from a wider area will certainly do some good for the bottom and juvenile fish populations

So once you join with the commercial fishers to "fight" the EPA, you will then turn against them??

[craftycarp]

You are pretty funny Mat, let me guess you are a pro or aligned with them in some way? You need to read this thread especially the first post.

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=121030

Quite frankly I dont care if the pros are banned from the Bay or any Bay or inlet or River. Pros do the damage of 100's of rec fishos with 1boat and 3 man crew.