old Unused Pots...

[ubar]

Hey everyone ..just wanted to no everyones opinion on something...

Other morning i went to check my pots at dead low tide and was blown away bye how many empty pots that are abandoned along this stretch of mangoes as its a popular spot...there were old wrecked pots in amongst the mangroves....round ones siting there unused with no float, boy or name tags...I pulled up one with the gaff to see if it had phone number on it but nothing...it hasnt been used in a fairwhile...i put it back as im not a theife but it got me thinking...

How long is it till u consider a old pot abondened?..ones that are wrecked i pull them out and take them to the tip as i hate seeing rubbish and stuff..seems alot of holiday makers thro pots and and csnt be bothered coming back for them.......interested in peoples thoughts....my main thinking is getting the rubbish out of the water and stopping peoples propellers hitiing them at dead low tide.....as they are ummarked and just beloww the water line...

[Triple]

Has been asked before -

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?174207-Abandoned-crab-pots

And -

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?79270-Crab-Pots-no-name-or-appear-abandoned-DPI-View&

My opinion - I will run the risk and disregard the "law", If I believe it is clearly an abandoned unused pot with no i.d tags or ropes attaching it to a float or the bank (lots of blokes don't tag them ::) so if it is still tied to a float or bank then I won't touch it) and I think it will be a ghost pot that will continue to catch and kill then I will remove it. I know calling the fisheries is the correct method but doubt they have the man power now to rush out to retreive one old pot unless it was a danger to boaties.

[theoldlegend]

Another downside to this is that it could give the greenies an excuse to get the media to blow it up, which they would do with glee.......... >:(


TOL

[ubar]

Hey thanks Tripple ..interesting read and in the end u cant touch them...but if i come across real shit ones then there gone..straight to the tip..

[mortyb]

I've lost crab pots over the years for whatever reason - rope run over, dragged etc and hope that someone picked them up so it is not a ghost pot and becomes rubbish.

[split-shot]

If they appear to be "Ghost pots", then I collapse them and place them either in a mangrove tree, where they are visible or well above the high water mark. Many a time I have come across birds trapped in the pots after the bait, some have drowned others I have been able to rescue.