Is this legal?

[Freeeedom]

I was out at Mud this morning and observed some pro boats netting one of the main outfalls from the Mud Island lagoon. They had obviously moved in through the opening on the high tide during the night and allowed their boats to settle into the mud as the tide fell. They had used a series of stakes to string a net across the outfall to catch any fish trying to move out of the lagoon as it emptied on the low tide. I observed them wading along the net, picking up fish and throwing them into one of the dories. After low tide they transferred the fish to another boat anchored outside the lagoon which disappeared in the direction of Wellington Point. One guy stayed with the grounded boats until the tide rose and refloated them. I did not think that pros could string nets completely across any waterway. Anyone know the answer?
Cheers Freeeedom

[webby]

Seen them use tunnel nets out there quite regularly, plus string nets across the bottom lagoon and the top lagoon.
And this has happend for many years, so wether its legal or not they get away with it.

[martib]

that totally sucks bloody pros

[chris69]

Yes 100%legal ,if you lot were smart enough to work things out you would rellize that this is net shot or tunnel net spot there not there for nothing ..........learn something from it........in stead of complaining about it, like this must be a good place to fish the pros are fishing here and out of all the netting practices this is the best because the fish are trapped and sellected and the rest get let go,but i would not be there in summer on a still day catfish city, the pros dont spend over 8hours doing this for nothing there must have been fish there mullet probably,fish go onto a bank through gutters and channels and come off the same way funny thing that you would think they would bugger off over the banks and flee,and if you dont like them doing this well just stick your nose in and go and tell them that you think there doing the wrong thing if you all have the guts to lol.

[scarby]

I've caught some big bream in there using soldier crabs. That's what they'll be after.

[bondy99]

Yep, I agree its 100% legal.

If it's the same pros I had been out with and seen them in action few years ago for longtoms (research specimens) then it's all aboveboard and from memory they were involved in consultancy with Fisheries, I believe they had to forgo tunnel netting north straddie as a trade off, I might be wrong but that was the general jist at the time.

Chris69 you might have more knowledge on this. They have a larger vessel and about 6 or 7 dories. When not at work I think the guys anchor up off Vic Point.

Bondy

[NAGG]

It's a natural fish trap which makes it a logical place to target .
Shame that it's not illegal

Chris

[maimai]

Yes 100%legal ,if you lot were smart enough to work things out you would rellize that this is net shot or tunnel net spot there not there for nothing ..........learn something from it........in stead of complaining about it, like this must be a good place to fish the pros are fishing here and out of all the netting practices this is the best because the fish are trapped and sellected and the rest get let go,but i would not be there in summer on a still day catfish city, the pros dont spend over 8hours doing this for nothing there must have been fish there mullet probably,fish go onto a bank through gutters and channels and come off the same way funny thing that you would think they would bugger off over the banks and flee,and if you dont like them doing this well just stick your nose in and go and tell them that you think there doing the wrong thing if you all have the guts to lol.



So what your saying is Freeedom is a stupid POS and "others" that dont know stuff and come on ausfish asking Q;s .......Pull your head in mate >:(

[Shawn 66]

So what your saying is Freeedom is a stupid POS and "others" that dont know stuff and come on ausfish asking Q;s .......Pull your head in mate >:(
Have got to agree . Old mate comes on here and asks a question and gets strung up . Slight over reaction in my opinion.
Shawn

[kingcray]

i cant see where Freeeedom is accusing anybody, merely asking 1 or 2 questions ? as im sure majority of us would be just as curious if we saw it going on.

[maimai]

Thats right Kingcray and Shawn, God forbid asking a Q on something one knows little about

[MEG-A-BITE]

Makes you wonder why we have this forum if you can’t ask questions? And to get a response like that, not very professional IMO.

[Matthew Thompson]

Responses like that makes you wonder who the 'not so smart one is'. if all netting was banned how good would fishing be all over the country :) I can only dream

[fishfeeder]

Just because its Legal.... Doesn't mean its right !!

[Bronson]

Couldn't agree more with the above post by fishfeeder.

bron

[waterbouy]

They will fish untill there is none left. I rekon keep the bag and size limits and ban commercial fishing. They will have no work once they catch all the fish anyhow (but no fish for everyone else aswell). Just make people catch their own seafood! That why you have to froth when you have a fun fishing sesh.

[marto78]

They will fish untill there is none left. I rekon keep the bag and size limits and ban commercial fishing. They will have no work once they catch all the fish anyhow (but no fish for everyone else aswell). Just make people catch their own seafood! That why you have to froth when you have a fun fishing sesh.

So what your saying is that the elderly, disabled people and who ever else is not capable of catching it shouldn't be allowed to eat fresh fish?

We might as well ban all cattle farmers while we are at it and that way only the people who can catch and kill their own animals will be able to eat meat.

Makes a lot of sense to me :-?

[netmaker]

people want to eat fish. pros have a job to do. they are generally efficient and more aware of sustainability than rec fishos. they are more expert at handling fish. after all, their livelihoods depend on sustainability and only fools knowingly destroy their own future.

[marto78]

There was a video put up a few months ago about the Moreton Bay tunnel netters and after watching it I respect the way these guys fish and could think of no other form of netting that is more sustainable then this.
As for netting the lagoons on Mud I am sure it is not illegal as there is way to many rec fishos out there on any given day to dob them in for breaking the law :-*
I couldn't find the original link but here is the you tube one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf8KpVEuHAc

[netmaker]

thats a good vid mate. thanks.

[Tailorfisho78]

Hey Chris69
might pay to use your head before your mouth next time as freedom is asking a perfectly suitable question. By your response I'm taking it you might be pro yourself and if so you need to pull your head in mate! For someone to ask a question as freedom has and then to get a response like that i don't think thats very PRO, DO YOU. Go on Chris be the better man and say your Sorry??? Bet you can't

[robersl]

yep they are there every year one bloke comes over from scarby seen him there quite often only 2-4 feet deep in there at high tide so watch your prop if you fish it some big bream in there as well as mullet

[fisher28]

the commercial fisheries get a pretty hard time on here so its easy to get your back up quickly.i did at the first post but then when i read it again,yeah its a perfectly fine question.nothing wrong with the post what so ever.im pretty sure its legal but an email to the fishos or a phone call might answer the question as well.as a side note,we are commercial fishers,our licences do not say professional fisher.

[sharkymark2]

I worked with a pro in the Lazaret one night 35 years ago with a tunnel net. He netted the whole area behind the shore. Spread the net out so wide that it dryed off before we could work the net off.
Now that is illegal. They have to pull the net back before it drys.
We had bream caught in melon holes mudcrabs that we stomped on to get them out of the net and dead fish floating everywhere.
We netted in the morning around the north east of the wreck for bream and cleaned up big time.
I had to wade out at night into the Lazaret gutter to bring the net dinghy in to put the fish in. Was up to my chin before I saw the boat. I swear that the last 3 metres I walked on water and went over the side of the boat like a navy seal. There was huge phospherecence in the water with big streaks going past me.
In the morning we cruised over the top of a 14' Tiger sharker going for a stroll in the gutter itself. He wasn't even disturbed.
I often visit a local fishshop at Sunnybank and see undersized fish which I know they are allowed to keep a certain % but the number of fish that goes off and is not fit for human consumption grieves my heart. So much waste from these fish shops. I wonder if the Government has done any research on what is wasted by the fish shops as against how much is wasted by us rec fishers? If they did this they would realise how much respect we have for our enviroment. If you see how much fish goes out through the shit tubes on the prawn trawlers you would be very upset. All the juvenile fish that feed on the bottom get caught damaged killed shocked before they get shot over the side for the porpoises and sharks to eat. Lots of babay Squire etc.
I have photos from the Gulf with 34 pair trawlers raping top to bottom 68 square klm in 4 hours. Pulling in scallops as well as mackerel and tuna.There is a need to do some real science on what is happening in the bay.

[MICHAELG]

Yep seen them over the years. Probably is legal but I do question when does a commercial net become a navigational hazard? Are they allow to block a channel/entrance/waterway which is used for navigational purposes?

michael

[GBC]

I worked with a pro in the Lazaret one night 35 years ago with a tunnel net. He netted the whole area behind the shore. Spread the net out so wide that it dryed off before we could work the net off.
Now that is illegal. They have to pull the net back before it drys.
We had bream caught in melon holes mudcrabs that we stomped on to get them out of the net and dead fish floating everywhere.
We netted in the morning around the north east of the wreck for bream and cleaned up big time.
I had to wade out at night into the Lazaret gutter to bring the net dinghy in to put the fish in. Was up to my chin before I saw the boat. I swear that the last 3 metres I walked on water and went over the side of the boat like a navy seal. There was huge phospherecence in the water with big streaks going past me.
In the morning we cruised over the top of a 14' Tiger sharker going for a stroll in the gutter itself. He wasn't even disturbed.
I often visit a local fishshop at Sunnybank and see undersized fish which I know they are allowed to keep a certain % but the number of fish that goes off and is not fit for human consumption grieves my heart. So much waste from these fish shops. I wonder if the Government has done any research on what is wasted by the fish shops as against how much is wasted by us rec fishers? If they did this they would realise how much respect we have for our enviroment. If you see how much fish goes out through the shit tubes on the prawn trawlers you would be very upset. All the juvenile fish that feed on the bottom get caught damaged killed shocked before they get shot over the side for the porpoises and sharks to eat. Lots of babay Squire etc.
I have photos from the Gulf with 34 pair trawlers raping top to bottom 68 square klm in 4 hours. Pulling in scallops as well as mackerel and tuna.There is a need to do some real science on what is happening in the bay.

No bloody scallops in the Gulf, it's all prawns - bananas and tigers. You can't rape top to bottom, just the bottom - thats how the nets fish. It would be the world's stupidest tuna/dolphin that got caught by an otter trawler - I NEVER saw one. I've seen dolphins who've worked out how to untie codend knots for a free feed though.

I'd love to see the photos of the boats working - can you see the boils of prawns in the shots?

I'm somewhere between being a fence sitter and seing less pros, so probably I'd be called a greeny by those with whom I once worked, but leave the bullshit out of the arguments - it does no one any favours.

[sharkymark2]

Hey GBC I wished you were right but I have fished more of the Gulf than most other persons up there. We had to steam for 4 hours and shoot a trawl for 4 hours over the entire gulf. All in the name of scientific survey. Yes there are scallops up there and the pair trawlers took everything from the bottom to mid water. Plenty of big dying pelagic fish floating behind the trawlers. It broke our hearts to see it. Rapes a strong word but if you saw my photos of 17 pairs of huge trawlers towing a net about1/4 to 1/2 klm apart you'd probably change your mind. If you fished up there you know that the dolphins and sharks mix together as you pull the nets up. You can speak what you know and I will speak what I have seen and know. We chased a netter out of the 12 mile limit and went back and cut up and collected his net and all the beacons that were attached to it. I was in the engine room leaning on the governer with a hammer.
We seem to be attracting alot of angry people around Ausfish. Maybe they are not catching enough fish ;) or sex :).

[netmaker]

i am quite surprised. in my time prawn trawling i only remember catching fish of any note on 2 occasions. 1 was a catch of about a dozen small barra in princess charlotte bay and the other was a catch of good red snapper (saddleback sea perch) off bowen. the latter was the result of trawling too close to the reef and cost me a day mending net as a result. never caught dolphins or sharks in the nets (except for shovels) and never saw a pelagic on the sorting tray either. i do remember we got a few scallops up north but very small variety that dont grow to more than a couple of inches across the shell. moreton bay bycatch was usually diver whiting and sandies. never saw a squire on the tray in 3 years nor any other fish that appears in seafood outlets. most of what went down the shit chutes was dollar fish, snotties, trawl crabs and sponges. it is good to know that practices have improved in the last 2 decades tho. tunnel netting is much more eco friendly as are the trawl nets these days with bycatch escapes fitted.

[GBC]

Are you talking netters, trawlers or seiners?

A netter leaving a net behind and fishing illegally is fair game and needs a bullet.

17 pairs of boats dragging a net between 2 boats has nothing to do with otter prawn trawlers. Sounds like demersal finfish? Most aren't even Australian based or owned - I also have a dim view of them. I'd not argue if that's where you saw dead pelagics, sharks and dolphins, but your terminology is off and that spreads confusion.They are not trawlers as we know them on the East Coast, and most Aussies won't have a clue that they exist and are different to otter trawlers that they see in every other port. Trawlers simply don't catch dolphins and pelagics. The odd noah gets dragged in, but not often. Yes, the dolphins and bronzies school at the back of the boat, but that isn't in the net is it?

What nets were you towing? Scallop or prawn? Why would you tow a scallop rig up the gulf? Why would you set a foot line to trip scallops off the bottom? My point is scallops aren't commercially targetted up there in the main. Pros spend a lot of time 'tuning' twin rigs to fly right for clean prawn catches up the Gulf.
If you were on a survey trawler trying to get representative samples of an area then no doubt you would not have nets tuned the same way as a pro's gear. It'd be tuned more like our try gear. Otherwise all you'd do is catch mainly prawns and goat fish up the gulf, and your survey would have been moot.
I did three full seasons (bananas and tigers each season - barring mechanical breakdown we didn't touch land for 8 months) up the Gulf and Straits (before they were closed) and more on the East coast.
Not trying to be smart, but blaming 'trawlers' for everything simply isn't accurate.

EDIT < I'm thinking you weren't otter trawling for prawns - you were fish trawling?>

I'm still keen to see some photos.

[netmaker]

that makes more sense. otter boards wont have the net mouth spread any higher than 6 foot off the bottom.

[Matt_Campbell]

that makes more sense. otter boards wont have the net mouth spread any higher than 6 foot off the bottom.

Apart from banana nets, of course.

[fisher28]

The bigger nets like banana nets are harder to pull,making the boats travel slower therefore allowing more by catch to escape from the brd ,Ted or mouth of the net.anyways what's it got to do with net fishing,nothing.

[netmaker]

Apart from banana nets, of course.

my apologies. totally unfamiliar with banana nets.