revenue raising

[thirks]

got pinged a couple of weeks ago for planing in a go slow zone.ok fair enough, even though there seems to be some slight confusion of the zone boundrys ie;dont think that just because you are on the channel side of a go slow boundry marker sign that you can 'operate your vessel in a planing mode' but thats ok ignorance of the law is no excuse & so i have coughed up and paid the $300 fine.
so last time i was out(midweek) the marine park rubber ducky came alongside and the officer(different crew this time)pulled out his ticket book and informed me that i was going to be fined for "speeding" in a go slow zone.i politely asserted that i was not planing and my vessel was operating in displacement mode.the officer then said that i was still going to fast and would still get a ticket.&that over 20 dugongs and turtles had been killed by boat strike in the last week.I had a marine parks brochure onboard and i showed him where it states that a boat cant plane and i again told him that my boat wasnt on the plane and was travelling in displacment mode.the officer then told me that "ok"he would"give me the benifet of the doubt"regarding the planing issue but would be writing me a ticket for littering because i had some plastic bags stuffed between my battery box and transom(so they dont get blown overboard)& that over 20 dugongs and turtles had died from ingesting plastic in the last week,at this point i started to get a little narky.i asked him why they werent out on the long weekend when there where jet skis speeding every where.he told me that they werent interested in jet skis just fishos in boats like yours(12 foot tinny)he then said that we should just stay off the banks alltogther as we are going to be banned from them completly soon anyway.but thats enough of that-what really got me pissed off was the next morning when i saw a dugong being butchered for tucker

[blue_mako]

Where was the dugong being butchered for a feed?

[dnej]

http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/media/parks_and_forests/marine_parks/go_slow_map_Mar06.pdf
This is an aerial view of the zones,and the starboard matkers are the clue,not the go slow markers,as you said.
They cant book you if you are in displacement mode.you are correct.
How can he book you for littering,if you still have the stuff on board.
And until such times as they do kick us off,we should continue to fish there.It isnt aginst any law yet.
20 Duging,crap.it would be in all the media if that was the case.
David.

[Tetsuo]

No wonder people hate authorities

[nonibbles]

I had a similar thing happen. The water police pulled along side to check safety equipment etc. and I was all fine and then he asked me what size was my boat and I said 5m he said where is your fire extinguisher? and I told him I didn't need one because the boat is not "over 5m" as it states in the book. He said I was wrong and he was going to write me an official warning. So I asked him to see the written word. He then said quite curtly "sir I offered you a warning, I can fine you if you want." so I reply "I am simply asking for clarification of where my miss understanding is and would like to see where it is written." His partner then pulled out the booklet and showed him where it says "over 5m". He still wrote the official warning.
That meant that I either could not usemy boat again that weekend or go out and buy a fire extinguisher. I rang the chief at the station to have the warning removed from the computer and he said that he believed that the ruling is 5m and over and that if I believed otherwise I was to write a letter to him.

Just absolutely pig headed.

[dnej]

from their web site
Regards
David
Fire fighting equipment

All recreational ships over five metres in length must carry equipment capable of extinguishing a fire quickly and effectively. Fire blankets and extinguishers should be purchased from an authorised dealer who will be able to determine the best type for your needs. Fire extinguishers must be serviced by the manufacturer or an authorised agent before the expiry dates. If the equipment is inoperable it must be replaced.

[Mike Delisser]

Not sure who's having who on here::)

[nidrac]

This dosn't have to do with the fisheries but it is still revenue raising..
During the easter holidays we went to see how many boats were out at the ramp as it is normally chaos during this time.... we got there and saw a Police car there near the ramp who was watching people go up to there cars and reversing down and retrieving there boats (its only a 50m drive at most) and then pulling them up as they stoped to wash down there boat to give them a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt as they reversed the car down. Of course being the easter weekend it was double the points and double the fine for everone he pulled over...
Like you said Tetsuo "no wonder people hate authorities"

Nidrac..

[dazza]

someone correct me if i am wrong, but you don't have to wear a seatbelt when reversing?

[HIGH and DRY]

someone correct me if i am wrong, but you don't have to wear a seatbelt when reversing?


that is exactly right. also when the veichle is travelling less than 10km/h.

i would have my day in court for that one!>:(

[supa29]

guys i have been crusified on my thread about fisheries officers using commonsense by a few perfect law abiding fishos
commonsense goes a long way to help everyone
laws are there for everyone to follow but commonsense is a tool for the law makers to use in their day to day duties just like the fine book.
thanks supa.

[FNQCairns]

"no wonder people hate authorities"

No, more to the endpoint and real life it's closer to "authority hates the people"

cheers fnq

[ctwaddle]

Where abouts in Cairns was this as i also was pulled over and checked in cairns and he also tried to ping me for the plastic bag until i showed him it was my lunch and i was still eating it. I think they are bored shitless and just trying to pass time by annoying people and bullying people into paying fines. They seem to be just out to be a pain in the arse and all they are doin is making people stay at home then go fishing as you get alot of fillets for $360

[seamaid]

:o Hi Fellows
Fishing the Hervey Bay Artifical Reef on 19/06/08 in a 4.5m Quiny I was visited by the Marine Parks as they approached my vessel they identified who they were, asked us if we knew we were fishing in a yellow zone, as they handed me a map of the area, we thought we are ok, they were very polite to us, and informed us this was a 1 rod ,line & 1 hook zone, and hung around to answer our questions.
I am not sure if this zoning is cassetted,I will diffently find out, in future we will only use 1 rod. we were not given a ticket.
SO IT SEEMS THERE NOT ALL TARED WITH THE SAME BRUSH.
Cheers Ged.

[tigermullet]

What's this about having plastic bags on board the boat? I have never heard of it being an offence and would love to learn more.

I hope the world hasn't gone that stupid? Or has it?

[sparkyice]

sorry mate, i think the world has gone stupid.
change some place names and these threads sound just like life here in N.Y., USA.
the fish and boat cops must all go to the same acadamy somewhere in outer space.

[skipalong]

there all the same

[shaneoo]

hey guys,
we where pulled over by the water police, at mud island about 4 months ago. We are keen fisho's and we would fish as much as possible. we also make sure all our safety gear is up to date, from jackets, buckets etc. When the water police came over he gave us the normal speal. Before giving us a ticket for our life jackets that had 5% derogation(his words) , which meant that the writing was hard to read. The jackets where only 2 years old and never stored in the sun light.$150 dollar fine and get off the water. On returning home we then checked the life jackets in my mates boat, which where brand new. we could read my older ones better. When the copper came over to us we asked him how he was going and the first comment back from him was" how do u think im going, working on a long weekend" At that stage we new he would do us for something. He also gave us a warning about our capacity label which also turned out to be the same as a brand new one. I guess we are in for more fun when the green zones come in and everybody has to have a gps.

tight lines shaneoo