Theives at Pumicestone Passage

[castlemaine]

Dropped some crab pots off Sunday night near the Bribe bridge, opposite the units we staying, and thought we'd pick them up Monday morning before heading home.
Monday morning we'd noticed a boat around one of our crab pots, from our unit. Through binoculars we could see them working something in the back of the boat. We raced down the boat ramp, put our boat in and approached the other boat. The other boat raced off when we approached it. We looked around amongst the other pots and one of ours was cetainly missing. We raced back to the boat ramp to confront the other boat driver and his lady friend. By the time we'd got back they were just loading up their boat on the trailer. My two mates jumped out and ran up the ramp (Spinnaker Sound). On my mates approach, the lady jumped off the boat and into the car and took off real fast.
We figure there was crabs in the pot and they couldn't get them out in time so they took the whole pot and float. We got the boat rego number though.
Rang fisheries today and reported it. Interesting conversation with the fisheries officer. Because they took the pot it now becomes a police matter ... theft. He also said that unless we had visually seen the pot and float in the boat it would be hard to prove. He recommended that next time to make sure I take a note of the make of boat and type of motor as well.
So I may have to leave it there but the boat has now been registered by fisheries as a 'vessel of interest'. So next time they see it on the water they may do a routine check on it.
Anyway a check on the rest of the pots revealed 3 sandies (keepers) and lots of undersized sandies and muddies and 2 monster (jenny) mudcrabs.

[Dezzer]

All to common unfortunately.

[talbots]

Your not the only one that had pots stolen over the weekend...myself and a mate had put 8 out in the Bribie Passage on Sunday and ended up 5 short when we went back to pick them up..Theiven B*#!**ds..

[Vitamin Sea]

Swines!!!!!!!!!!!

I to had 3 x $50 pots knocked off near red beach at Bribie 2 Christmass' ago

Bloody dogs


Bill

[SgBFish]

Crabpot theft seems to be rampant at the moment. Well done Castlemaine for reporting them.

[bradhorny28]

how about putting the boats rego number on here so everybody can keep an eye out for the low life scum

[dogsbody]

Mate c'mon now you didn't think all of them were still going to be there if you left them overnight. That is the way it is these days and there is nothing you can do to stop it. If you can't see your pots you run the risk of having them nicked, sit on them that is the only way to be sure they'll still be there.


Dave.

[hungry6]

Guess I was lucky, i left my 4 pot out overnight next to the moored boat there, got 2 sandie, but gt my pots back, I guess i wont be leaving them out there overnight again. I was under the impression that pots theft was rampant in the creek areas of the passage and not out infront of bellara or skirmish point.

[Kleyny]

Yes all to common in the passage and at a guess everywere else.

Sometimes in the southern part of the passage the current runs at a great rate of knots so now i put half a brick in my pots. Before this they were never in the spot i left them even after two hours.

neil

[aussie_true_blue]

Firstly I,m not after an arguement but ,and article in the local times by David Siddal of Bribie Island where he said he watches crab pots almost every day escorting themselves on a self guided tour of the passage courtesy of the tide.

He also advised he has lost count of the number of fisherpersons who have told him their post have been stolen.

He also advised the following advice:- If using light dillies try using a piece of 50kg line as the rope float as this produces a very little drag in the tide compared to rope and a smaller float will help. For the bigger pots he suggested tying half a brick on to the ring of the pot on about 1/2m line.

As I have given up crabbing these suggestions are not mine and are only what I read in the paper, and yes, I did have pots/dillies stolen and it isnt nice and its costly.

Cheers Bob

[castlemaine]

I purposely did not post the rego as I didn't want a vigilante type situation, leave it to the Fisheries. My mates are so mad that they want to go back this weekend and look out for him. I needed to calm them down with a few XXXXs.
Our pots had sinkers crimped to the line to add some weight and hold the line down to stop boats running over them. Much better than putting bricks in them. They were in water 1m at low tide in a bay type area well away from the main channel.
One thing worries me though if it did go further and this bloke was chased up by the police, all my details ie home address, name, phone no. are all on the float and pot. Easy target for a reprisal ... but then again ten fold back.
Forgot to mention that while fishing at the bridge 2 longtail tuna zoomed past the boat a great rate of knots on the surface. Could have put my hand out and patted them on the head. But did they take our floating pillie ... NO !!!!!

[Dazzamcgee]

Been plenty of times fishing from the Bongeree Jetty that I've seen crab traps float on out to sea with the big run out tides so this may account for a few lost traps.....

[Nowhere Bob]

Ahh the old crab pot theft.
In my usual boderline obsessive way I looked into this recently.
It is an offence under fish regs to 'interfere with commercial operation / apparatus' but not rec. So it is a police matter, unless you can accurately describe what was stolen [how many crabs, what size] you can't really lodge a stolen goods report.
So what can you do to stop your gear being stolen?
A Keep your eye on them. Prefferebly through the telescopic sight of a High powered rifle. So you are ready when the thieves arrive.
B Read the regs very closely...

Fisheries Regulation 1995. Schedule 8 Part 1 Section 5 Marking of fishing apparatus

(1) A crab pot, collapsible trap, dilly or inverted dilly (crab apparatus) used to take crabs must have a tag with the owner’s surname and address written on it.

(2) Also, if the crab apparatus is not fixed to something while it is in use, the apparatus must have a light coloured float attached to it.

(3) The float must be at least 15 cm in any dimension and have the owner’s name written on it.

Very broad word that "something" I querried it and apparantly a meter of rope and a snapper lead counts as something. So:

A: If you have a GPS and can ping the location.
B: You can throw a grapple.
You will never have another pot stolen.

Couple of issues tho.
A crap pot is a very efficient killing machine, and the all-synthetic materials mean that it just goes on killing for years. Down the pin once a mate and I were sitting peacefully fishing when a crap pot float bobs past. I pulled it in and in the pot was three good sized cod skeletons & two muddie carapaces. Obviously it had been lost some months earlier and the cod had gone in after the bait, the crabs after the dead cod on & on & on. I reckon it should be a requirement that one panel in the wall of the pot should be made of a natural fibre so if the gear is lost eventually it will stop killing.
Also Floats are the Number one way a fisho can check how many pots are being used, a line of 10 floats all with 'Smith' on them will probably lead to Mr. Smith beeing asked how many people are on his boat. No floats mean that the fishos can't tell, unless they fluke upon mr Smith with all ten on his boat.
So keep this to us good guys.