Fisheries Gone Mad

[supa29]

Just a regulation that i would like to share with all you offshore fishers thata i think is a load of shi*. If this is not the govt revenue raising i dont know what is.
A elderly friend returned from a days fishing offshore on saturday, and did what he always does, pilled up at the kawana boat ramp to clean his fish at the cleaning boards provided. He finished filleting his fish all of which were wellover legal, he then put them back on ice in his boat and preceeded to go to the mooloolaba ramp on the other side of the river to trailer his boat.All is as per every trip for the last 30 years until the fisheries pulled him over and checked his boat, upon finding the fillets he was fined 360 dollars for having fillets on board his boat. Now the first thing about
this story is that the mooloolaba boat ramp does not have cleaning boards and this is the lowest act of rev. raising from this government i have ever seen. A prick of a rule that is ment to stop taking under size fish but is abused by a half wit officer that loves the power rush of control over hard working and fishing folk, that at the moment, we are bent over the bench and gettin reemed in every aspect of our sport.

that is my bitch but the rule is no fillet can go back into a boat that is still on the water, your boat must be on land before filleting begins or dont put your fish in the boat until it is on the trailer. Cheers hope to hear your opinion out there
thanks. supa. http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/images/icons/icon6.gif

[Leighton]

Sounds pretty rough mate, I can understand why the rules are in place.
If its a genuine mistake on your mates behalf then a simple warning is all that was needed.

[supa29]

Sounds pretty rough mate, I can understand why the rules are in place.
If its a genuine mistake on your mates behalf then a simple warning is all that was needed.

mate hes been doing the same thing for years but they would not even under stand that there was no boards on that side of the river, bet the fines dont build cutting boards either.

[Dean1]

Yeah thats rediculious mate what the hell is that sh%#. Some people i know use to fillet there fish out at sea when things went quiet to save time. Whats the difference, he has been very hard done by. Time to move norh to more remote areas i think, worlds goin crazy ::)

[disorderly]

That's a sad situation,mate.
The funny thing is though it would be pretty easy to gauge the size of the fish by the fillets so they were obviously just setting an example by fining him......I personally think they should give warnings for first offenses such as this...now all they have done is to turn this bloke against them for life....

Scott

[tunaticer]

That officer probably will be watching traffic coming and going between the two ramps and making a killing with the fines.

Sometimes really stupid laws get unreal longevity and sound laws get replaced with stupid ones to raise more revenue.

Jack.

[supa29]

The thing is i have come back from fishing and while the ramp was full, i filleted my fish and put them staight back on ice in the boat, then put boat on the trailer. so according to the law i could get fined for this what a f..... joke.

[jtpython]

I see on our local beach in emu Park some halfwit has dropped all his skeltons of fishing trips onto the beach like an idiot even where bins are provided this is a accident waiting to happen.
like the old days you could fillet your fish on the water recycle the frames to the deep and no waste.
As for the officer who fined that guy where is his heart , Our oklder generation gets a hard enuff time
JOHN

[Local_Guy]

i thought you could have fillets of fish as long as they were longer than 40cm's and the skin remained on????

[jeffo]

your dead right local guy. A fish can be filletted at sea if the skin is left on (for ID) and the fillets exceed 40cm. We do it all the time with fish that wont fit in the esky whole (wahoo ect).
Its bad luck for your mate...but rules is rules and that one has been around for as long as i care to remember. It isnt a new rule that has just come in. Give the officers a break. They are just out there doing the best to protect the fishery we all enjoy- IMO we need more of them so they are at every ramp every calm day to keep people in line.

On a side note to this. A mate of mine is a DPI officer and every now and then he tells a story or 2. A few months back he did a random boat check and found the people on board had a heap of tiny fillets of reef fish. Most of which were clearly undersize. But being fillets the DPI couldnt prove they were under size so could only hit them with a fine for possessing fillets. There lies a good reason for this law to be in place.

[Apollo]

My suggestion would be for your mate to write a polite letter explainly exactly what happen to the DPI&F and copy it to your local member. Certainly complain about the lack of cleaning tables at the ramp. Explain that he has been fishing for X years and agrees with the reasoning behind the rule, but feel that the intent behind the making of the rule was not meant to catch honest fishermen like your mate. May or may not work, but similar action has many times for me. The officer who gave out the fine is just a bloke doing a job following a set of rules made by people well above him, so don't get personal with the letter.

If he has no luck, then a letter to the local paper. The DPI&F monitors most papers for articles that affect their field of responsibility.

Worth a go if it gets the fine revoked and/or cleaning tables at the ramp.

[Jono_SS]

I didn't think the "no fillets" law applied to all species - isn't it just for coral reef finfish?? this is from the rules and regs brochure...


In relation to coral reef fin fish, a recreational fisher:
• must not possess, on board a boat, a fish other
than in any of the following forms—whole,
gilled, gutted or filleted
• may possess, on board a boat, a fillet of a fish
other than a Chinese footballer (blue spot)
trout as long as the length of the fillet is at least
40 cm, and the skin and scales of the fillet are
attached to the fillet
• must not return fish that have been taken
ashore from a boat and fileted, and then
returned to a boat, unless the length of the
fillet is at least 40 cm and skin of the fillet are
attached to the fillet

can't find the equivalent words for other species....possibly not looking in the right spot.

[Shagga]

What about a situation where people fillet their catch of the day for consumption that same day on board their boat. There are plenty of houseboats and cruises with full galleys on board in SEQ what stops these people from filleting their catch on board and cooking it? What would the fisheries inspector say about that? What can they do about it? Would these people be fined if they were boarded?

What about mullet fillets used for bait are they illegal to have on board? I know the inspectors have a job to do and I support them 100%, however, like all proffessions in life some people are good at what they do and others have overstepped their level of competence.

[Lucky_Phill]

I suggest you give this person an email and get a definate answer and what can be done further to persuade the officers to see sense.

having said that, rules are rules.....

Katherine.boczynski@dpi.qld.gov.au

Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

Skin, fillet and pectoral fin removal

In relation to coral reef finfish, a recreational fisher:

must not possess, on board a boat, a fish other than in any of the following forms-whole, gilled, gutted or filleted
may possess, on board a boat, a fillet of a fish other than a Chinese footballer (blue spot) trout as long as the length of the fillet is at least 40 cm, and the skin and scales of the fillet are attached to the fillet
must not return fish that have been taken ashore from a boat and filleted, and then returned to a boat, unless the length of the fillet is at least 40 cm and skin of the fillet is attached to the fillet
must not possess a dead coral reef finfish unless a pectoral fin has been removed from the fish or

must not possess a live coral reef finfish unless the person or fisher intends to immediately return the fish to the sea. In relation to finfish (other than coral reef finfish) a recreational fisher must not:

remove the skin from a fish on a boat until the fish is brought to shore
bring a fish ashore and remove its skin and return the fish to the boat
divide a fish into portions other than in a way that allows an inspector to easily count the number of fish possessed by the fisher
possess a dead Spanish mackerel unless a pectoral fin has been removed from the fish. Note: for information that may apply to recreational fishers on a commercial fishing tour, please consult the Fisheries Regulation 1995 (http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/OQPChome.htm) and/or relevant management plan.

[Lucky_Phill]

You will note and as I understand the regulations provided in the above post,

CRFF are a no fillet fish ( less than 40cms ) and the " other than CRFF " are able to be filleted, but skin left on and NOT returned to boat.

The rules are clear and have been around for some time.

for all the species listed, follow the link attached.:-

Phill
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/hs.xsl/28_3042_ENA_HTML.htm

[samson]

Yeah have to agree bloody pricks they are, they have the power of descretion its one of their laws in the rules when they learn to become officers but they choose not to use it. I've had plenty of run ins with these idiots they don't care about the fishery none even fish, one time i had 400kg of fish on a commercial trip and every fish was pulled out in the sun for two hours and treated like footballs thrown all over the floor everywhere descaled,bruised and ice all melted the end result was i nearly could not sell my product and had to reduce the price and lost a lot of money.
But to rub salt into the wounds my mate put one moses perch in the esky that was right at the bottom that was caught during the night unnoticed but should have been fin clipped as my mate caught it he was fined $150 and i was also for being in charge of the vessel that made it $300 in total for one 200gram fish that if sold would have brought $1.
So i was down $300 on that fish plus $800 i lost on the other fish all for one moses which i have a leagle quota for anyway and can take 4 tonne a year leagly if the correct proceedures are followed.
The reason for these new coral fin fish laws are to prevent the illegal sale of fish by amatures but even if you do the right thing and have a massive quota if you don't dot your i's and cross your t's you get flogged also its beurocracy gone mad and its got nothing to do with government, fisheries make and break the rules their the ones responsible.

[Lucky_Phill]

supa29, I suggest you tell your mate to have his day in court.

A Magistrate can be compassionate towards these types of situations.

He must explain the fact that there is NO fish cleaning facilities at the southern ramp.

The Office done the right thing, the Angler will now be more aware and hopefully a good result will emerge.

The Officer, on the day must produce detailed evidence.

size and length of fillets, species of each fillet, number of fillets, exact time and date, exact location etc etc... he has to dot the ' i's ' and cross his 'T's ", unlike the old fella who will have to tell his story, truthfully.

Hope this helps

Phill

[Outsider1]

A couple of letters to local pollies (Council and State Government) about the "unfortunate" situation and lack of facilities, plus copies and perhaps a 'phone call to the local media won't hurt either. Watch them duck for cover!.

Cheers

Dave

[garman1]

Most elderly folk don't have 360 dollars spare .............especially for a fine. That money is probably spent on his day out for fun / petrol etc............... If you can organise it, I will throw in 20 bucks to help towards the fine, or even to let him know that there are some who want to look after elderly folk, god knows they live on a thread

Garry

[fly_1]

Jeffo (Phil) , I couldnt agree more !!!

Trent

[Pedro Jnr]

Guys the vast majority of us (99.9%) are law abiding citizens, but unfortunatley there are a minority of ar@# holes out there that wreak it for the rest of us, these rules are there to catch the minority (0.01%), the rest of us have to suffer in silence, such is life...........

[jimbo59]

Your mate should have rewarded the officer for pointing out his sins with a few fillets to take home(via the hub caps).

[jeffo]

samson- you know every DPI officer in QLd personally do you>? I take much offence to your post. I know quite a few blokes from the fisheries. All great blokes, and keener fishermen you will not meet.

The rules are there to be read and followed. Do the wrong thing...no matter if its by accident or on purpose, you risk being caught out.

[supa29]

supa29, I suggest you tell your mate to have his day in court.

A Magistrate can be compassionate towards these types of situations.

He must explain the fact that there is NO fish cleaning facilities at the southern ramp.

The Office done the right thing, the Angler will now be more aware and hopefully a good result will emerge.

The Officer, on the day must produce detailed evidence.

size and length of fillets, species of each fillet, number of fillets, exact time and date, exact location etc etc... he has to dot the ' i's ' and cross his 'T's ", unlike the old fella who will have to tell his story, truthfully.

Hope this helps

Phill

I understand the facts as i am a keen offshore fisherman, i regularly down load the latest limits and regs so to keep up with things. My beef is these officers are paid to enforce the law but what they dont realise that most if not all the old salties out there are pre internet, and have not ever seen a computer and have been fishing there little patch off water for years. Now with all of us internet experts always up to date when would a 70 yr old fisher get the latest info [that changes every time you look around], never see fisheries give out info at ramps to help these old boys and i know the fisheries officers have the option of a warning. if he had under size or over bag limit i would have not felt for him but to fine a guy for travelling 500 m to put his boat on is absolutely stupid.

[samson]

Jeffo if you take offence thats not my problem, i fish from gladstone to coffs region and everywhere in between and know plenty of officers and there is plenty of grey areas in the law from office to office where one things legle it isn't elsewhere, yeah a few may fish sure i know a few that spearfish myself but it doesn't matter whether police, dpi or what you have idiots that let powers go to their heads. The way i've been treated in the past is discraceful and if happened all the time would be driven out of busness what they have done to me before is no different to walking in to your place of work and destroying everything that you have worked hard for if you think thats fair and offends you stiff.
How would you like it if every time you went out and caught marlin after hours of trolling and a officer came up and killed or damaged your fish before you could release it that is no different than the way i get treated.

[supa29]

samson- you know every DPI officer in QLd personally do you>? I take much offence to your post. I know quite a few blokes from the fisheries. All great blokes, and keener fishermen you will not meet.

The rules are there to be read and followed. Do the wrong thing...no matter if its by accident or on purpose, you risk being caught out.

I have no problem with getting fined for doing the wrong thing but i dont see the fairness of fining for a thing like this when you can go to any jetty from tweed to cairns and there will be asians with a bucket of under size fish and never ever get fined. i would just like to see a little understanding on the side of the fisheries is stead of banging out the fine all the time. As to your comment about the fisheries officers, there is always good guys in every profession but as in life the few wankers wreck it for the good blokes.

[Jono_SS]

You will note and as I understand the regulations provided in the above post,

CRFF are a no fillet fish ( less than 40cms ) and the " other than CRFF " are able to be filleted, but skin left on and NOT returned to boat.

The rules are clear and have been around for some time.

for all the species listed, follow the link attached.:-

Phill
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/hs.xsl/28_3042_ENA_HTML.htm


Phill.

I take it form this and your previous post that the regs mean we can fillet non CRF fish and return them to the boat as long as we leave the skin on....

Katherine has left fisheries for Dep Transport, by the way...

regards.

Jono.

[Nobites]

OK guys let me give my input.
I have been fishing every year at Swains for the past 10 years on a charter for which they advise me the DPI are very reasonable, the skipper tells me if they see you put in an effort to abide by the law they will show discretion. Its all about intent, sometimes they get it right and sometimes they get it wrong, they are human.

My personal experience have been the last two trips out of Mooloobah, I have been pulled up twice and I have to say the second time the officer showed discretion due to a misunderstanding on one species of fish. I could have been fined however they understood my explanation and let me off with a warning.

Because I talked to them like human beings (fellow fishers) they understood my perspective. Lets face it there may be some bad apples in the bunch but dont tar them all with the same brush as I know for a fact at least some of them are very reasonable.

I think the DPI have hit the Mooloolabah ramp hard lately and I think a build of education prior to fining would of been a great idea (hand out fliers, talk to people etc) however you must remember the people doing the checks arent the ones who manage implementation at a shop floor level.

End of lecture:D

[Yolo2007]

Supa29....How big were the fillets he was fined for? How many did he have? What type of fish were they? This information may have a bearing on the fine that was given.

Yolo

[mangomick]

In general they are mostly good blokes doing a job. Generally pretty helpful with tips on where you might find a feed but with anybody who has to police rules you'll get the blokes who are fairly reasonable and you'll get the Pr#cks.
I came into the ramp the other day after pulling my pots in and I had one medium sized poddy mullet that I was going to drop over the side then remembered my big line was in the other boat.
Anyhow this young bloke, looked like he was straight out of school nabs me at the ramp and checks absolutely everything.
No problems , everything was in order, Then he spots the poddy mullet. Well he went over that poddy mullet for about 3 minutes(well it seemed that long:) )
So I said to him. Whats the problem mate, Dont tell me theres a size limit on old poddies these days. And he said I thought it may have been a sea mullet which does have a size limit
And I said to him ,Do you mean to tell me you'd book a bloke who happened to have one wrong sized mullet by mistake . Thats a bit rough isnt it ,seeing its just taken you a fair while to see if its a sea mullet or not and he said. Well it would still be undersize.
The little bugger doenst even realised that in 5 minutes he could have undone the respect his mates have earned in many years

[Bowser]

Your mate has had bad luck but the rules have been there for an age. He tels you he hasn't broken the laws but must have removed the skin and cut them up small to have gotten the fine though and if you are gpoing to go fishing you have to be aware of the rules and obey them. Everyone here has come across boats loaded with people who are taking undersized fish and need to be belted around the ears. These rules are there to protect the fish and our ability to catch some. Your mate just needs to take the slab of the fish as one piece, leave the skin and scales on and he won't have a problem.

The other option is that there is always the possibilty your mate is not telling the whole truth. He could be guilty of catching more then his bag limit or undersized fish and the fisheries guys have charged him with what they can prove as he has disguised his catch numbers by filleting. It is a bit like getting booked for speeding, everyone claims to have been under the speed limit or caught coasting down hill but most of us are actually speeding but will never admit it.

[Mrs Ronnie H]

Hi all
Is it true or has anyone else heard about the bloke who was fined for having is boat rego numbers 2 mil under size.??????

Ronnie

[supa29]

Your mate has had bad luck but the rules have been there for an age. He tels you he hasn't broken the laws but must have removed the skin and cut them up small to have gotten the fine though and if you are gpoing to go fishing you have to be aware of the rules and obey them. Everyone here has come across boats loaded with people who are taking undersized fish and need to be belted around the ears. These rules are there to protect the fish and our ability to catch some. Your mate just needs to take the slab of the fish as one piece, leave the skin and scales on and he won't have a problem.

The other option is that there is always the possibilty your mate is not telling the whole truth. He could be guilty of catching more then his bag limit or undersized fish and the fisheries guys have charged him with what they can prove as he has disguised his catch numbers by filleting. It is a bit like getting booked for speeding, everyone claims to have been under the speed limit or caught coasting down hill but most of us are actually speeding but will never admit it.

i totally agree with most of what you said but he is a pretty old dude and doesnt ussually catch little sh*t. The only thing i am dirty about with this whole situation is that they only fined him because he put the fillets back in his boat to travel 150m across the river to his trailer, he didnt leave the skin on because he was going home but to do this he had to travel across the river that was his mistake. Yes i agree but for a simple error in crossing the river he was slugged for every fillet in his boat and that is just stupid. it would have of been different if he had of done it at see but he used the filleting boards on one side of the river then cross that tough.
They told him he can't even fillet his fish while his boat is tied to the jetty waiting to load and then put his fillets back on ice then load his boat.
It is also a bit tough that these old guys dont have the access to the internet like we do and the fisheries very rarely ever do info days at the ramps giving info out, they are only there when they need to fill thier fine qouta.

[thargor]

Look at it from the Officers point of view.

He thinks........

The old guy just filleted the fish. Wonder if he was hiding any undersized. Hell this rule has been out for a while and he should know it so why did he go across to the other side where I cant get to and fillet them all before I could see if they were legal.

Yeh nice excuse that the filleting boards are on the other side to use. So you saw me and then thought "well I better go on the other side and fillet them there and use that story because Ive got some undersize here and dont want to be seen flicking them over the side or screaming off up the creek"

Yeh right he tells me they were legal but I cant prove that now. Some fillets might look alright but its hard to tell what the original size of the fish were by the fillets alone. I mean some even looked a little hacked up.

The only guys I have come across in the past couple of years with filleted CRFF have been hell bent on hiding the size of the fish so Im going to throw this guy in that suspicious lot.

Yeh hes an old fella but Ive seen plenty of the older generation trying to get away with illegal fishing. Some still think they can take what they like how they like. I dont want to be stereo typing but.......

Now if I let this guy go I wonder if he will tell all his mates and then it will be the well worn story of everytime I see someone with fillets it will be "Hey I just filleted them over there on that ramps boards. I heard it was OK because I was talking to a mate of mine and he said the Officers around here accept that its OK".

[Dean1]

Look at it from the Officers point of view.

He thinks........

The old guy just filleted the fish. Wonder if he was hiding any undersized. Hell this rule has been out for a while and he should know it so why did he go across to the other side where I cant get to and fillet them all before I could see if they were legal.

Yeh nice excuse that the filleting boards are on the other side to use. So you saw me and then thought "well I better go on the other side and fillet them there and use that story because Ive got some undersize here and dont want to be seen flicking them over the side or screaming off up the creek"

Yeh right he tells me they were legal but I cant prove that now. Some fillets might look alright but its hard to tell what the original size of the fish were by the fillets alone. I mean some even looked a little hacked up.

The only guys I have come across in the past couple of years with filleted CRFF have been hell bent on hiding the size of the fish so Im going to throw this guy in that suspicious lot.

Yeh hes an old fella but Ive seen plenty of the older generation trying to get away with illegal fishing. Some still think they can take what they like how they like. I dont want to be stereo typing but.......

Now if I let this guy go I wonder if he will tell all his mates and then it will be the well worn story of everytime I see someone with fillets it will be "Hey I just filleted them over there on that ramps boards. I heard it was OK because I was talking to a mate of mine and he said the Officers around here accept that its OK". A warning goes a long way... Not let him off just give him a good solid warning. Im sure he would tell his mates not to do it by all means, a warning can do alot more good than a straight up fine coz then we get angry >:( >:( And they wonder why they get a bad name ::)

[supa29]

Look at it from the Officers point of view.

He thinks........

The old guy just filleted the fish. Wonder if he was hiding any undersized. Hell this rule has been out for a while and he should know it so why did he go across to the other side where I cant get to and fillet them all before I could see if they were legal.

Yeh nice excuse that the filleting boards are on the other side to use. So you saw me and then thought "well I better go on the other side and fillet them there and use that story because Ive got some undersize here and dont want to be seen flicking them over the side or screaming off up the creek"

Yeh right he tells me they were legal but I cant prove that now. Some fillets might look alright but its hard to tell what the original size of the fish were by the fillets alone. I mean some even looked a little hacked up.

The only guys I have come across in the past couple of years with filleted CRFF have been hell bent on hiding the size of the fish so Im going to throw this guy in that suspicious lot.

Yeh hes an old fella but Ive seen plenty of the older generation trying to get away with illegal fishing. Some still think they can take what they like how they like. I dont want to be stereo typing but.......

Now if I let this guy go I wonder if he will tell all his mates and then it will be the well worn story of everytime I see someone with fillets it will be "Hey I just filleted them over there on that ramps boards. I heard it was OK because I was talking to a mate of mine and he said the Officers around here accept that its OK".

I sort of understand what your saying but hes as straight as an arrow and your point of veiw is somewhat a lame dick way of putting you think every old guy is out to rape and pillage the fish stocks. i personally dont think there are many real fishos out there that take under size fish, but i just dont understand why the officers are so unrealistic, if you get down to it their main job is to inform people out there on fishing regs and enviromental protection. If i thought this old boy had taken undersize fish i would not support him there is no excuse but it didnt matter he got charged for possession of fish fillets in his boat which was still in the water. I dont know if you know mooloolah river but you got to pass the 2 big stainless cleaning boards on the sth side of the river to get to the nth side boat ramp so logic says if there is no boards on your side clean them on sth side and motor 150 metres to nth side and put boat on trailer. that simple no conspirecy here just plain common sense on his behalf and power hungry and quota /money making on the other.8-)

[nufin_flash]

sunshine coast daily fishing section ran a piece on that law last yr sometime saying you can only clean your fish at the boat ramp that you launched from and used that exact situation as an example of what not to do, thats another reason why the kawana boat ramp is always packed and the mooloolaba boat ramp not as busy , it did state though that they were looking to upgrade the facilities at mooloolaba to include a place to clean fish (yet to happen and proly wont though) , personaly we just clean them back at home cause theres always a cold beer waiting and we dont live far from the ramp then go back and give the pelicans a feed

[nufin_flash]

i should point out that i have only been on the coast for 2 yrs and i know that what he did isnt allowed, i'm guessign every keen fisho does what i do and flick to the back page of the daily to see whats doing and read the big write up on fridays

[Sea-Dog]

The simple answer would be to fillet your fish on land wherever you find convenient. Then if you need to travel via boat anywhere, just lash your esky to the side of the boat (don't have it "onboard") and motor to where you want. The esky and fillets that it contains is therefore not on your boat.

must not possess, on board a boat, a fish other than in any of the following forms-whole, gilled, gutted or filleted
may possess, on board a boat, a fillet of a fish other than a Chinese footballer (blue spot) trout as long as the length of the fillet is at least 40 cm, and the skin and scales of the fillet are attached to the fillet
must not return fish that have been taken ashore from a boat and filleted, and then returned to a boat, unless the length of the fillet is at least 40 cm and skin of the fillet is attached to the fillet

Rules are rules aren't they?

[TCSunCoast]

A bit harsh and unavoidable for the sake a some cleaning boards at Mooloolaba. At least if there were some cleaning tables at Mooloolaba some people might piss off from Kawana an leave from Mooloolaba! (ha ha)

[Nobites]

Rules is rules macca, you cant even tie up along side of the pontoon fillet your fish then drive your boat onto your trailer from the pontoon with the fillets on board.

You have to take the fillets off the boat first.

No_bites

[RFARREN]

Look at it from the Officers point of view.

He thinks........

The old guy just filleted the fish. Wonder if he was hiding any undersized. Hell this rule has been out for a while and he should know it so why did he go across to the other side where I cant get to and fillet them all before I could see if they were legal.

Yeh nice excuse that the filleting boards are on the other side to use. So you saw me and then thought "well I better go on the other side and fillet them there and use that story because Ive got some undersize here and dont want to be seen flicking them over the side or screaming off up the creek"

Yeh right he tells me they were legal but I cant prove that now. Some fillets might look alright but its hard to tell what the original size of the fish were by the fillets alone. I mean some even looked a little hacked up.

The only guys I have come across in the past couple of years with filleted CRFF have been hell bent on hiding the size of the fish so Im going to throw this guy in that suspicious lot.

Yeh hes an old fella but Ive seen plenty of the older generation trying to get away with illegal fishing. Some still think they can take what they like how they like. I dont want to be stereo typing but.......

Now if I let this guy go I wonder if he will tell all his mates and then it will be the well worn story of everytime I see someone with fillets it will be "Hey I just filleted them over there on that ramps boards. I heard it was OK because I was talking to a mate of mine and he said the Officers around here accept that its OK".
in this country does the phrase "innocent until proven guilty " mean anything ?
just revenue raising
more like the officer thinks........................
man its been a slow day on the water,no one breaking any rules.
i better find some poor innocent person to leech some money out of or when i get back the boss will be pissed of and i will never get my promotion

[Angla]

I helped a couple of guys out yesterday when they pulled in and cleaned there 2 x fish at the Kawana ramp. They then put them back in the boat and started to shove off when I pulled them up. I regaled this story to them and then drove their fillets around to the other side of the river where I gave them back after they pulled the boat out next to the VMR.

Chris

[TimiBoy]

I helped a couple of guys out yesterday when they pulled in and cleaned there 2 x fish at the Kawana ramp. They then put them back in the boat and started to shove off when I pulled them up. I regaled this story to them and then drove their fillets around to the other side of the river where I gave them back after they pulled the boat out next to the VMR.

Chris

Mate,

That was a hell of a nice gesture. You're a damn fine example of a good fisho, and I hope everyone that reads this takes your example on board.

The human Race shines through again!8-)8-)8-)

Cheers,

Tim

[JRJR]

Isn't it just simpler to just take them home and scale, gut and fillet them?!

You would forever avoid all hassles like that.

[ifishcq1]

We are lucky to have top fisheries people in our area so very few people get harrased with out cause... If you look at it from their perspective how many people hit them with a story,.. true or false they read it as they see it... once in a while they get it wrong but that is human nature... they have a job to do and someone has to do it




SL

[PinHead]

a general question on this..at what point is it ok to break the rules and feel you have been hard done by if fined? a couple of fish a few cm undersize? a female crab? having fillets in the boat? one lifejacket short in the boat? the list could be endless.

[oldboot]

As any judge will tell you ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law.

Not having internet access nor age either.

If you go fishing you need to know the rules.

you can get a gloosy giude to fishing and boating for free and it has all the information in there.....it take about a hour to read from cover to cover.

It is a common view ( particularly among older blokes) that I've been doing this or that for ages, or this or that is stupid, or they wont zipp you for this or that, or its just this or just that.

We all have to come to terms that rules change, and the consiquences of breaking them get greater and greater, and dont expect any sympathy from those in authority.

We have to consider covering our backsides as the primary priority in almost everything we do.
No only do we need to know the rules and abide by them, we ned to be able to easily show that is the case.
I know some people will think this is a pain, but thats how life is.


There are plenty of " evil doers" out there who are quite prepared to try it on at every oportunity......Most of the various official will here..... this sort of stuff every day.........I recon they would get very low on tolerance to it.
The attitude from most regulators these days is.....try it on & we'll fry your ar$@.

Get used to it, it wont get any softer.

Regardless of your views of fairness or justice, its just simpler to know the rules and " do the right thing".


As for towing the esky.......I'm sure they would declare the esky an improvised marine craft, & therefore a boat, you would be declared in charge of it and your ar$@ would be fried.


cheers

[stevea]

.<snip>.In relation to finfish (other than coral reef finfish) a recreational fisher must not:

..divide a fish into portions other than in a way that allows an inspector to easily count the number of fish possessed by the fisher

Does this mean that if I take my esky in the car down to the boat ramp after a nights fishing (boat & fishing gear already at home) to clean and fillet my fish I still can't cut & bag the fillets up into smaller table/bite sized pieces?:-/

[oldboot]

the issues here relate to having the stuff aboard the boat and transfering to & from the boat.

so cleaning fish at the boat ramp on land is no different than cleaning fish anywhere elso on land.....

until

you try to put them back on a boat.


another regulation that needs to be read carefully is regarding crabs.

it is illegal to have crab meat or crabs without the shell in your posession unless it is for immediate consumption.

so if you catch a heap of crabs........don't clean em until you wanty to eat em.

lots of people like to clean the crabs on the boat or the ramp before stuffing them in the esky, because they take up less space & they dont have to get rid of the waste at home

sorry not allowed

cheers

[samson]

One of the issues i have with fisheries is the fact there is no phone number to ring for imformation on rules during the weekend but there is a number to report people who don't know the rules, they seem more concerned with booking people than teaching or helping them.
Even if you can get a hold of them for imformation in the field or in the office they don't know half the rules and some don't even know the rule changes also and its their job to know yet they won't get reprimanded for not knowing they will just take your imformation and either charge you later or give you the imformation when they find it as much as a year later in my experience.
Just another way for the goverment to get their hands in your pockets and stick it to you.

[jayvee]

just curious, " i buy some snapper fillets from wooly's,jump on my luxury cruiser with the family with plans of a day o the water in the mooloolaba bay and some bbq snap fillets for lunch but am board'd by fisheries while out on the water and they find the fillets before lunch is cooked" what happens next??????

[Fishbait]

Hope you kept your receipt? :o

[supa29]

[quote=oldboot;837745]As any judge will tell you ignorance is no excuse in the eyes of the law.

Not having internet access nor age either.

If you go fishing you need to know the rules.

you can get a gloosy giude to fishing and boating for free and it has all the information in there.....it take about a hour to read from cover to cover.

It is a common view ( particularly among older blokes) that I've been doing this or that for ages, or this or that is stupid, or they wont zipp you for this or that, or its just this or just that.

We all have to come to terms that rules change, and the consiquences of breaking them get greater and greater, and dont expect any sympathy from those in authority.







mate i agree with you i know he does abide by the law in all respects but this is not a court it is a boat ramp and it is all about honesty and respect. if fisheries would take every situation on its merits instead of automatically thinking the worst then they would find that they would be more respected and this would make their job a hell of a lot easier. since this story i have heard msny more stupid situations at kawana and mooloolaba ramps that just puzzle me that they dont even listen to fishos. one guys was charged with an undersized snapper which he cut out of a 30 kg ambo at the kawana cutting boards. he tried to explain it must have been eaten but the very well educated officer didnt even understand what he was on about this alone proves that they dont want to educate people just penalise them. it is a lot easer to fine then to inform.

people out here are not dumb fisho's if you keep standing on peoples throats tehy will kick back i know the officers have a job and most of the time they are spot on but they got to be understanding i am in my job so they can be to i think.

[oldboot]

Now here we go......you still havnt grasped the implications of my previous post

honesty and respect have absolutely nothing to do with it.

because the deliberate law breakers have none of that and there are plenty of them.

and because the boat ramp isn't a court room the inspectors can only act on evidence, not the probable made up ( and premeditated ) excuses that they would hear every day of the week.


you also draw another example of ignorance.

we have a suposed undersized fillet.
3 points...

if there is any posibility of a amberjack being mistaken for snapper, it obviously didn't have the skin still in it.

if you are going to portion a fish into smaller parts, you are obliged to present it in a manner such that it can be clearly seen to belong together and are correct size.

or alternativly
if a fish is choped in the water by a shark for instance...... you cant keep it because it is incomplete and can not be measured... and...it is an incomplete fish & therefore not a sporting catch.

we are only alowed to take complete fish.

Oh add a fourth point
was this fillet over 40cm long.

In all areas, not just fishing, we need to know what we are suposed to do and be able to show that we are doing it.......i don;t necessarily like it.... but thats the way it is.

If you think government inspectors are a bit rough....... just hope you dont get on the wrong side of an insurance company or other private litigant and cant prove you've been doing the right thing.

cheers

[supa29]

yeah but this was a whole squire and it had rake marks down the side of it where it was eaten by the ambo if that is not a clear indication of honesty then they dont know their fish and this is the problem they use guys that have not had fishing experience[ not all] i am just stating that they must use common sense not the book. this is only a way to raise money pure and simple. i hate people that flaunt the law it is just wrong but most true fishos i hope do the right thing and i am not perfect but i hope the day i forget to cut a fin off or find a squire in a big ambo that the officer has the experience in fishing to understand we all make a mistake or are telling the truth just not trying to break the law on purpose.

mate i support the laws just think they are aim at the wrong people guys that spend 1000s on boats and gear but not the asians with buckets of small bream and under size fish on most public jetties just my observations cheers for your veiw.

[supa29]

just curious, " i buy some snapper fillets from wooly's,jump on my luxury cruiser with the family with plans of a day o the water in the mooloolaba bay and some bbq snap fillets for lunch but am board'd by fisheries while out on the water and they find the fillets before lunch is cooked" what happens next??????

Mate ask your question toa fisheries today and the reply was unbelievable he said that it didnt matter about a reciept you would still be charged if the fillets were under 40cm. and even if you did take them on the boat you are in the same situation as my old mate , you took fiilets on to the water after they have been filleted and taken ashore so you would get fined under that way, this is getting out of hand and going way to far from common sense he told me there is no way under the present laws that you can take fillets from shore to your boat on the water that is legal. UNF......NG BELIEVABLE.:-/

[oldboot]

its simple.... we can not take fish that arent whole.
the reason for this is that in the past, people have tail clippe or head choped undersized fish (often creativly) and claimed that they were legal size.

likewise, some smart ar$@$ will go to wollies and buy some fillets & put em in the freezer at home and take the recipt with them when they want to take undersize and fillet.

There are lots of parts of the law that seem silly untill you think what a low life would try on.

cheers

[TimiBoy]

its simple.... we can not take fish that arent whole.
the reason for this is that in the past, people have tail clippe or head choped undersized fish (often creativly) and claimed that they were legal size.

likewise, some smart ar$@$ will go to wollies and buy some fillets & put em in the freezer at home and take the recipt with them when they want to take undersize and fillet.

There are lots of parts of the law that seem silly untill you think what a low life would try on.

cheers

It IS simple. Why? Read all the posts! The poor bastards have heard every damn story there is, and from lots of blokes and ladies who look honest, like us Ausfishers!

Fact is, if they do apply the law "within reason", armchair lawyers will come out of the woodwork.

"Why did you let him get away with that squire? Did you SEE it get cut from the Amberjack's guts? Is there any (ANY) possibility he scarred the fish with some sort of tool?" (I do believe this one, but that IS NOT THE POINT!!!!)

Or

"Hey, everyone carries a few fish receipts, because they let you get away with that - you just cut every fillet to size, easy, they won't nab you..."

See? It's crap. they are fed to the back teeth with all the garbage coming from people who either don't know the Law, or can't be bothered obeying it. The Law is there for good reason, to protect the Fishery. It is quite simple. Obey it! Otherwise, if everyone keeps coming up with every Goddamn excuse under the Sun why they should be let off the hook, Fisheries will be so busy reasoning with everyone, that nothing will get done, the Govt. will get pissed with the whole thing, and let the bloody Greenies have their way, by closing the whole thing down.

Just obey the flippin' Law!!! How damned hard can it be?????????

[supa29]

TIMIBOY matei agree that the law is there for all fishos to obey and i do but why should a guy get fined for a fish that he didnt catch just because the officers dont take the situation into account that is being fined for no reason to me thats shit which ever way you look at it .most officers are great guys and do an excellent job but these laws are not life threating or endangering anyone else,
1. taking 16 fillets 200 m across a river to your car because of no cutting boards. all of which were over forty cm and skin on.
2. being fined for a undersized squire that come out of a large ambo.
3. being fined for your rego numbers on your boat being 5mm to small.
4. being fined for not having a capacity sticker in clear view

all of these and more such unusual fines have been handed out over the last 3 months at sunny coast but the rule of not fishing on jetty while boats are waiting to trailer are not because they have no way of fining them so dont tell me that they can not use discresion bull s..t.
i know laws are laws and i do obey them but with boat owners get slugged more rego and the simple fact that mooloolaba is no sillted up, boat ramp parking is to small, and no cutting boards on one side these simple rules are being used to raise money and that is as simple as it gets.
mate i am just a normal boaty i update myself all the time with the rules and anyone who brakes the laws knowingly should be punished but there has to be commonsense used that all i ask not just no exceptions.

[oldboot]

supa mate you still don't get it do ya.

all 4 of those ofences are bang to rights.

all four of those offences are simply and plainly illegal acts

there is nothing unusual or special about any of them

there is no valid excuse for any of them

more importantly they are prime trageted offences.

If you are finding difficulty comming to terms with fisheries legeslation you will be in for a rude shock when you get on the wrong side of some of the more complex laws.......might I sugest you have a look at the "transportation road use" act...... then think about where you stand on the road... there are some surprises in there..........oh what about the electrical safety act.......they didn't muck around when they wrote that one......

cheers

[supa29]

mate firstly dont asume you know me and that i dont know construction or electricity safety just because i think it is stupid that someone gets fined for a fish that come from the stomach of a larger fish at the boat ramp. in both those industries if you break the law it can kill someone but having 5mm to small rego numbers is just a joke. they are a paid employment, we are talking about a hobby or pastime were we all do it for fun. none of those laws i have mentioned have very little bearing on safety or depleation of fish stocks or causing any damage or pain to any other fisho. if i break the rules i will accept it but i just cant understand some of the minor infringements that are being targeted in stead of the major ones. cheers mate

[oldboot]

Who said any thing about construction.....& I have met plenty of electricians that dont grasp the full implications of the electrical safety act.......

The point I am making is that le laws ( in the 4 mentioned cases )clearly prescribe what is and isnt legal.

The watch word these days is attention to detail, something that so many people have dificulty with on even the simplest scale.

Near enough simply won't be accepted as good enough... you'll get zipped.

There is a line at the traffic lights. why is it so difficult to stop before it, particularly when it could cost 3 points and $225 not to.



so why would you put rego numbers on your boat that were 5 mm too small?

its not hard to measure 100mm.......and the wording is " at least".



cheers

[jeffo]

all were over 40cm with the skin left on?

[oldboot]

all were returned to the boat after being taken ashore.

[work2fish]

Very ordanary havent they got the common sence
to understand he has done nothing wrong and has been doing it
for years

Crazy

W2F


My mistake replying to wrong item/section

oops
W2F

[johnlikes2fish]

situation sucks but rules are rules and it is easier to prosecute one honest bloke than it is to weed dishonest ones out and thats how fishereies work,

[darylive]

Soop,

Not all Teachers are smart, Not all Coppers are kind and
not all Fisheries Inspectors are fair.:undecided:

We are all presuming your old mate passed the attitude test of course, :huh2:other wise if he was a smart arse giving the fisheries bloke some lip he was doomed from the start.:argue:

Apollo is on the ball: If your mate made an honest mistake take it to the next level and appeal. The rules clearly serve a good purpose but as with most laws rely on the enforcement officer to have a bit of sense which unfortunately is not a prerequisite to be a fisheries inspector.:dunce:

Now riddle me this learned friends what is the go with cutting of fins :-/.

[supa29]

thanks guys the old mate that got pinged was understanding with the officer and took it like a champ but is seeking legal action because of the lack off cutting boards at nth bank ramp and the fact that [which i only learnt today] a fisheries officer watched him load the fillets back into his esky at the cutting boards and carry them to his boat that was tied to the pontoon. now i agree with all the facts about you break the law and you get fined but this just adds to the arguement that it was money making that this officer didnt even warn him about the law.

I would like the fisheries to see how most fishos are prepared to except all laws blindly and are probably the most understanding people to deal with. i just cant swallow the fact that boaties are being used to raise money for govt.

thanks

[Braddles]

I didn't think the "no fillets" law applied to all species - isn't it just for coral reef finfish?? this is from the rules and regs brochure...


In relation to coral reef fin fish, a recreational fisher:
• must not possess, on board a boat, a fish other
than in any of the following forms—whole,
gilled, gutted or filleted
• may possess, on board a boat, a fillet of a fish
other than a Chinese footballer (blue spot)
trout as long as the length of the fillet is at least
40 cm, and the skin and scales of the fillet are
attached to the fillet
• must not return fish that have been taken
ashore from a boat and fileted, and then
returned to a boat, unless the length of the
fillet is at least 40 cm and skin of the fillet are
attached to the fillet


can't find the equivalent words for other species....possibly not looking in the right spot.


So this means I cant take a 35cm bream to shore, fillet it so I dont make a mess in my boat, and return to cook it and eat it on my boat?

Bloody beaurocracy gone mad!

[thirks]

its just typical revenue raising -same thing happens here, we have 3 different regulatory bodies(water police,marine parks&dpi/fisheries)that are all too willing to penalise and fine people who have made an honest mistake or are innocently unaware of the latest change in the archaic legislation.these people just happen to be the ones who can least afford a fine(or a computer&internet to keep up with the seemingly daily changes to the rules)ie folk from the lower socio-economic classes,the battlers &pensioners trying to string out a meager income by putting a couple of meals of seafood on the table.
meanwhile, if you can afford a jet ski(worth more than many cars)and the fuel to run them you can speed unchecked through the bay,for the sole purpose of speeding through the bay .
if you can afford a large'white boat'(worth more than many houses)you can speed unchecked through the bay,leaving swamped dinghys wallowing in your wake.
if you are a pensioner youd better follow the fisheries regulations to the letter, while in the meantime a blind eye is turned to the 'shamateur' fishos who finance their large boats by selling fish on the black market.The pubs clubs & caterers who buy this"black"product are so open and brazen about it that it makes one assume that either a blind eye is being turned(why?)or that palms are being greased.
although there is a mass of legislation governing all these matters(fisheries,marine safety & conservation) it seems that once again the authorities take the easy option & pick on the soft targets.
yes there is one law for us and one for them

[PinHead]

So this means I cant take a 35cm bream to shore, fillet it so I dont make a mess in my boat, and return to cook it and eat it on my boat?

Bloody beaurocracy gone mad!

comprehension says to me in the first line: "coral reef fin fish".
Hardly put bream in that category.

Fact is: the bloke breached the regulations, he got fined. Ignorance is no excuse from the law. Lack of cutting boards has nothing to do with the offence. Take them home and clean and fillet them.

If you do not agree with the current regulations then put pen to paper and contact your local MP..they are the ones that make the laws.

[el_carpo]

Could they set up a deal where there would be an attendant at the cleaning station that could issue "tags" for your fish? For example, you catch a fish and bring it into the cleaning station. The attendant measures it and makes sure it is of legal size. Then he would give you a "receipt" that states that your fillets were from a legal catch. When the officers check your fillets at sea, you just show them the receipt and you're good.

They could charge you "x" amount of dollars for each tag you get so the attendant's salary is paid for and some revenue is raised.

Probably a goofy idea but it would have saved this guy from getting a big fine and allowed him to fillet his fish when he wanted them to be filleted.

Just a thought. Don't know if it was a good one.

[oldboot]

I think you are dreaming carpo.......our population density isn't what it is where you live an our minimum wage is higher.

would be nothing like viable.


cheers

[darylive]

How hard would it be to have a sign at the filleting bench?

"Filleted fish are not to be returned to the Boat" by law...


::)

[TheRealAndy]

I wonder if towing the fish in a bag or an esky is considered part of your boat?

[oldboot]

Having an informative sign would be entirely reasonable.

What I recon there should be, is informative advertising in the fishing press and on fishing shows...... not just this but other issues

cheers

[scrotty]

This has nothing to do with revenue rasing. Being old and ignorant is no excuse for not following the rules, commercial or recreational. Its amusing to read that "its an honest mistake", it always is. The fisheries officers have heard it all !! The rules are there for a reason and the only people that winge and bitch about them are the few idiots that choose not to follow them. I have seen the fisheries officer use their discretion many times. If you are going to have a sh*t attitude torward them doing their job then its no surprise that a fine will be issued instead of a warning. We ALL have access to current legislation so we have no excuse to be ignorant. To say the guy has been doing the same thing for thirty years is one of the reasons our fisheries are in the state that its in. Its too easy to say "but why arn't they out getting the other guy, or the bigger guy". Thats exactly what they are doing when their not having to police SOME stupid ignorant recreational fishos. They cant be everywhere all of the time so instead of bitching and whinging about the stuff their not doing why not contact them and let them know whats going on so they CAN do somthing about the problem. You dont play any sport without first knowing the rules, I dont see how fishing seems to be different? By the way I have never been fined, it simply means I follow the rules they are there for a reason.

[slyman]

We ALL have access to current legislation...

If any one is interested, I made a post in the NEWS forum call fisheries act and regulations, in it I've provided a link to where you can download the current legislation for free as a pdf file.

heres the link again.

http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/Acts_SLs/Acts_SL.htm

select the letter F and scroll down to find the fisheries stuff.

[oldboot]

I saw a bloke in a shopping centre today wearing a "t" shirt that said

"It's only illegal if you get caught"

What an absolute crock.........you see what we are up against.

cheers

[supa29]

This has nothing to do with revenue rasing. Being old and ignorant is no excuse for not following the rules, commercial or recreational. Its amusing to read that "its an honest mistake", it always is. The fisheries officers have heard it all !! The rules are there for a reason and the only people that winge and bitch about them are the few idiots that choose not to follow them. I have seen the fisheries officer use their discretion many times. If you are going to have a sh*t attitude torward them doing their job then its no surprise that a fine will be issued instead of a warning. We ALL have access to current legislation so we have no excuse to be ignorant. To say the guy has been doing the same thing for thirty years is one of the reasons our fisheries are in the state that its in. Its too easy to say "but why arn't they out getting the other guy, or the bigger guy". Thats exactly what they are doing when their not having to police SOME stupid ignorant recreational fishos. They cant be everywhere all of the time so instead of bitching and whinging about the stuff their not doing why not contact them and let them know whats going on so they CAN do somthing about the problem. You dont play any sport without first knowing the rules, I dont see how fishing seems to be different? By the way I have never been fined, it simply means I follow the rules they are there for a reason.

good for you mate, never been fined, must be so satisfying to be perfect but for the average bloke out there that make a honest mistake lets just say he was a smartarse and ignorant or rich or poor or blind. the thing is yes that is the law but i just think that commonsense could have been applied here as a way of informing a unaware fisho of the law. this elderly mate is as straight as they come and would not even have raised his voice at the officers he took it on the chin but cant understand why one officer let him load the fish fillets back into his boat and cross the river. i would like to know where all you perfect law followers stand on this fact . guys i am just after fairness across the board example DEAN1 was warned for 2 or 3 fions not been cut off, now that is commonsense at it best and i congratulate the officer for his understanding of the situation cheers supa.

[oldboot]

You still dont get it do you.............there is no allowance for common sence in law or legeslation........there is so little of it these days the government assumes it doesnt exist.

If you don't get zipped when you have done the wrong thing, that isnt fair... thats good luck.

none of us are claiming to be perfect, but many of us make it our business to know our obligations instead of busking it, or risking it.

common sence is knowing the rules and that is cheap & easy.



cheers

[TimiBoy]

You still dont get it do you.............there is no allowance for common sence in law or legeslation........
cheers

And, quite frankly, NEITHER SHOULD THERE BE!!!!

Knowing and obeying the Law is OUR RESPONSIBILITY, not theirs. ^%&$*!!!! Damn some people just have no clue about surviving in the jungle. IT IS WHAT IT IS!!!! Stop whining about it!!!!

[samson]

There's such a thing in police and fisheries legislation as discrection which means they have the right to pick and choose who they fine and the legislation is comprehended differently between departments e.g whats legle for one officer is not for another.
I will give you one example i was sent a commercial log book by fisheries log book section and on the front it said log book does not need to be carried on any commercial trips 24 hours or less, but the legislation states it must be carried at all times on commercial trips as i do, one trip recently i was asked to produce my logbook and i did but said i'm not required to do so, the officers reply was like hell you don't if you don't have it you get fined.
So after explaining the situation that the log book section in charge of logbook policing had put this notification on the book he could not understand it and had no explanation or recourse he could have taken but he sure was quick to jump down my throat with his fine book handy.
That was not my only time i found grey area's in the law if some of you guy's jumping down peoples throats with your badges waving think your preaching gospel think again the law is not cut and dry and is interprited differently between officers and departments.Then when you think you have it really figured out they will change it again,one day your a top bloke for catching something the next your a criminal go figure.

[scrotty]

Supa29, you have totaly taken out of context what I said. Did I say that I am perfect, I DONT THINK I DID. You are obviously a person that can not have a conversation or debate without making it personal and adding a smart arse comment. I simply said if you follow the rules you wont get fined. Were you in the boat at the time of the incident or are you just guessing or generalising? Samson you are totaly correct in saying that the legislation is open to interpretation. The fisheries legislation is the second largest piece of legislation in Australia. This indicates just how poorly it is written. There are many grey areas that can be taken in different ways. The FACT is the guy had fillets in his boat and that is against the legislation. I am not saying that I agree that he should have been booked or not, I was not there and that is up to the officer to assess. Like many other people we are all quick to generalise and say that the particular officer was a Bastard so that means they all are. Any form of authority be it fisheries/ Police whoever has to deal with this same amount of crap about people thinking its unfair. If the guy would have just taken his fish home and cleaned them which is an option a lot of people prefer there would have not have been a problem in the first place. We all have decisions to make its just a shame that some people make the wrong ones and seem to think that the repercussions are always someone elses fault.

[TimiBoy]

the oil's hot, the fridge is cold.

Popcorn & a coldie anyone?

[supa29]

Supa29, you have totaly taken out of context what I said. Did I say that I am perfect, I DONT THINK I DID. You are obviously a person that can not have a conversation or debate without making it personal and adding a smart arse comment. I simply said if you follow the rules you wont get fined. Were you in the boat at the time of the incident or are you just guessing or generalising? Samson you are totaly correct in saying that the legislation is open to interpretation. The fisheries legislation is the second largest piece of legislation in Australia. This indicates just how poorly it is written. There are many grey areas that can be taken in different ways. The FACT is the guy had fillets in his boat and that is against the legislation. I am not saying that I agree that he should have been booked or not, I was not there and that is up to the officer to assess. Like many other people we are all quick to generalise and say that the particular officer was a Bastard so that means they all are. Any form of authority be it fisheries/ Police whoever has to deal with this same amount of crap about people thinking its unfair. If the guy would have just taken his fish home and cleaned them which is an option a lot of people prefer there would have not have been a problem in the first place. We all have decisions to make its just a shame that some people make the wrong ones and seem to think that the repercussions are always someone elses fault.

mate i dont disagree with the law or the officer for doing his job correctly but they do have the ability to excise a judgement on commonsense. i as most follow the law as best i can but it is no use sitting there bagging people that get fined until you know the whole story. i just dont understand how yourself and other people on here automatically say that the officer is without fault and the bloke fined is a agruementive old ######, if your going to give the officer the benifit of doubt so you must give the bloke a fair hearing not just say he was wrong. mate i like a good disagreement debate but i am willing to see both sides and can also see there is commonsense given elsewhere but not here. and one officer watched him load them into his boat and drive off across the river. the law was broken but i just cant see any thing gained by fining people for this rule or some others that i have listed, it just adds to the confusion out there.

just one question should the guy with the undersized squire in the ambojacks gut be fined? by the law he didnt catch the fish be interested in your veiw.

thanks supa.

[TimiBoy]

just one question should the guy with the undersized squire in the ambojacks gut be fined? by the law he didnt catch the fish be interested in your veiw.



Well, that all boils down to whether the Copper believes him, doesn't it?

And I want to know who sets the boundary in a situation as to what is common sense and what is not? Seems that boundary will be impossible to set so everyone agrees.

No wait - it is set. It is called THE LAW. Break it at your peril. If I was a Cop I'd be busting anyone I thought was an armchair lawyer. They'd be my first target!

You all should just agree that the Law is the boundary, because you have two tenths of stuff all chance of changing it. Part of my mantra is "if you don't like it, change it. If you can't change it, shut the hell up about it!!!"

Please?

Tim

[Mike Delisser]

What I can't believe is that there are guy's out there who fish offshore and didn't know this rule existed, and in the case of Supa's old mate, a very experienced offshore fisherman. When the rule came in a few years ago (along with other changes) it was in the papers, booklets were at all bait & tackle stores, it was talked about at the time and mentioned many times since by nugget on the 4bc fishing show, Bushn'Beach & QFM, I've even seen it on Creek to Coast or Great weekender or whatever it's called. How could anyone even be around other offshore fishermen and talk about fishing and catches ect (like we all do) and not hear about this rule.

And Supa you said of Scrotty

"i just dont understand how yourself and other people on here automatically say that the officer is without fault and the bloke fined is a agruementive old ######, if your going to give the officer the benifit of doubt so you must give the bloke a fair hearing not just say he was wrong."

Yet you started this post with

"half wit officer that loves the power rush of control over hard working and fishing folk"

You can't have it both ways mate.

[Nobites]

Well, I am blown away by these responses, firstly these guys are doing a job.
20 years ago effects of over fishing our resources werent the issue they are today with population growth, I think it is fair to say that protecting these resources is paramount for future generations.

We might think fining people for these small offences now is unfair but a hardlined approach now will improve our chances of catching a feed in another 20 years.

We call traffic police revenue raises for giving people speeding tickets and yet this is how we save a future generations lives and this has been an issue for a while.

Now we are talking about the survival of our fish stocks, do we let the old fella go because he didnt see the speed limit sign on the highway?

You might see this as a different circumstance but our fisheries guys are protecting our fish stocks with the same vigour our police are protecting our lives.

It might hurt our hip pocket when we make the wrong decision so make sure you are educated and then make the right decision.

Please dont take protection of our fish stocks too lightly.

I would like to applaud the fisheries for the job they are doing, its not a job I would like to do

No_bites

[supa29]

nobites i agree that protecting stocks is important and i have coped a floging over this but my opinion is my opinion and i do agree with all those against me on this but these fines i have listed previously in this thread are not stock threating as the fillerts were over 40cm with skin on so they were legal and in bag limit. he didnt take undersized fish to threaten the stocks and the other rules broken a ramp were not either.i follow the law and agree with it but with one officer watching him load fillets into his boat i cant explain why there is a difference in 2 officers except 1 has commonsense and the other is a fine book

save our fish but save our sport or we will lose it.

m69 realistically it is revenue raising because it doesnt save the fish or save the fish stocks but i said it and now have to stand by it even if i get flak over it. thanks for point that out mate...:-X