Should Amateur Netting Be Banned

[seabug]

As most fish stocks around the country are declining(unless you use $5000 of electronics) is it possible that we can no longer afford the damage to the natural enviroment that drag, cast and hand nets used to gather bait are doing to the bottom end of the fisheries nursery/foodchain.

30-40 years ago it was common to see the banks of creeks lined with weed which was full of shrimp.

Today it seems that there is nowhere near as much cover for fish to hatch/develop due to all the netting with increasing pressure on this resource from the increasing fishing population and emphasis on live bait fishing.

Are we going to be looked on by the next generation as the greedy ones who destroyed it all.

Regards
seabug

[disorderly]

Maybe we should just ban pro's and then the only people to eat local fish,crabs and prawns would be the ones that actually go out and catch there own..... otherwise buy from farms or O/S.
I could live with that.

[Oh Gee]

Totaly dissagree with you on this one. The pressures put on by the few amiture people who do chase live bait would be minimal. The first half of one sentance did make some sence (Today it seems that there is nowhere near as much cover for fish to hatch/develop) but i remember a time when there was a place called Crib Island, now jumbo jets land on it. What about the place called Fishermans Island, bloody great gantry cranes on top of it now. How many mangrove swamps have dissapeared for canal estates? How many more will? What about the chemical runoff and other polutants in general from suberbia, this is your real reason fishstocks are dissapearing....Oops I'm starting to rant and rave so i better stop now, but I hope you catch my drift.

g

[fivefishes]

Evening,

Can someone pass the can opener please, the can of worms awaits!!

Maybe we should ban cars too and then we could walk to catch our own food, oh hang on ban the horrible polluting factories in asia that make our shoes too so we can walk barefeet to catch our own food, etc etc. Lets all eat farmed catfish and leave all the good fish in the ocean to predate themselves. Etc Etc Etc.

Thank you.

[tunaticer]

There is but one solution that will work globally and universally and is guaranteed to work. REDUCE the population. Less mouths to feed means less of everything needed in our lives to support those mouths. Every few centuries there is a new plague that brings the population back to sustainable levels and it occurs with very little help from mankind.
Maybe the sacrifices we talk about making to save the planet will be not of our choice but the world does survive a few more centuries, that does have some merit. The way we are devouring our resources for both food and our comfort and our enjoyment there will not be a few centuries ahead of this race. Something will give and hopefully future generations will have learned from our selfishness.
So in answer to your question of banning nets by amateurs and saving our prescious coastline, I say we should be more proactive at less disturbance so don't let your anchor rope touch the bottom.

Jack.

[FNQCairns]

But the premise is wrong, fish stocks are not declining, there are localised impacted areas (because of urban practices mostly) but overall and even with the current state of commercial fishing, most near all are fine with no threats from direct or indirect threat from recfishing by any stretch of the imagination.

But by all means plan to ban the cast net, it's not as if the majority of the laws/regulatons past onto us recfisherman represent anything more substantial than base ideology anyway.

cheers fnq

[Mac_Attack]

I am sorry i have to disagree the fish stock is actually go strong at the moment In Newy anyway. The day there is 100% hard evidence we are running out of fish i will still not be worried thats when you move to dams then to lakes then to rivers and then when they run out you move to fish farms as you see we will never run out of fish not in our life time anyway so enjoy it while you can And if your so paranoid that we will run out then why do you fish at all?
Cheers Nick

[Noelm]

at the risk of being stoned, I reckon this comes under the same heading as Marine Parks, WE all want everyone/everything banned untill it affects us, then it is an outrage, "ban all pros" is the common cry, but someone wants to make a "green zone" that excludes us, Jesus never, what a stupid idea, same thing goes here, ban all pro netters, holy crap, stop me using a net, buzz off!!!! all this is not to say I support any particular form of Fishing Pro or rec, but we must be open minded and not be tunnel visioned as most are!

[Jeremy]

As most fish stocks around the country are declining(unless you use $5000 of electronics) is it possible that we can no longer afford the damage to the natural enviroment that drag, cast and hand nets used to gather bait are doing to the bottom end of the fisheries nursery/foodchain.

30-40 years ago it was common to see the banks of creeks lined with weed which was full of shrimp.

Today it seems that there is nowhere near as much cover for fish to hatch/develop due to all the netting with increasing pressure on this resource from the increasing fishing population and emphasis on live bait fishing.

Are we going to be looked on by the next generation as the greedy ones who destroyed it all.

Regards
seabug

Don't agree with any of this.
1. which fish stocks are in decline? what evidence is there? The 2006 Annual Stock Report by the Qld DPI&F reports most species at stable and sustainable levels.
2. what damage do drag, cast and hand nets do to the environment? You can only use drag and cast nets in open sandy areas. Otherwise you rip the net on rocks or fill it with weed. What damage are you going to do to sand? Even if there is some minor damage, it would be inconsequential compared to the damage done by over development of foreshores, mangrove habilat destruction and marine pollution in its many forms
3. The East Coast Fin Fish review in Qld was has just completed submissions. Your chance to comment on the use of cast and bait nets was then. Why bring this up now?

Jeremy

[Noelm]

some minor damage is done? OK then, just how many people own a bait net, cast net in QLD? if each only does a minor bit if damage, then I would reckon that in the end, it will amount to major damage when everyone does their little bit, this does not mean I disagree with you by the way, but it is a fairly simple truth, kind of like throwing something out the car window, it is only one thing, but if we all did it, the Roads would be choked with rubbish, we all need to do our little bit to prevent our Minor damage and stop it becoming Major!

[Jeremy]

Even if there is some minor damage, it would be inconsequential compared to the damage done by over development of foreshores, mangrove habilat destruction and marine pollution in its many forms

read the post FFS. I am sick of anglers being blamed for habitat destruction and loss of 'biodiversity', when there are far greater forces out there having a much greater effect. Like being given a fine for picking a leaf off a tree when there is widespread tree felling going on up the road.

Jeremy

[seamaid]

Totaly dissagree with you on this one. The pressures put on by the few amiture people who do chase live bait would be minimal. The first half of one sentance did make some sence (Today it seems that there is nowhere near as much cover for fish to hatch/develop) but i remember a time when there was a place called Crib Island, now jumbo jets land on it. What about the place called Fishermans Island, bloody great gantry cranes on top of it now. How many mangrove swamps have dissapeared for canal estates? How many more will? What about the chemical runoff and other polutants in general from suberbia, this is your real reason fishstocks are dissapearing....Oops I'm starting to rant and rave so i better stop now, but I hope you catch my drift.

g

Hi OhGee
Arrived at Cribb Island in 1950 kick out of our homes for that word ( progress )
it was a paradise for Fishing & Crabing.
The amount of sacrifice of fish & crab breeding is absolutely criminal,i better not go on i am getting up set .
Seamaid goes along with this post.
Cheers Ged

[bennykenny]

There is but one solution that will work globally and universally and is guaranteed to work. REDUCE the population. Less mouths to feed means less of everything needed in our lives to support those mouths. Every few centuries there is a new plague that brings the population back to sustainable levels and it occurs with very little help from mankind.
Maybe the sacrifices we talk about making to save the planet will be not of our choice but the world does survive a few more centuries, that does have some merit. The way we are devouring our resources for both food and our comfort and our enjoyment there will not be a few centuries ahead of this race. Something will give and hopefully future generations will have learned from our selfishness.
So in answer to your question of banning nets by amateurs and saving our prescious coastline, I say we should be more proactive at less disturbance so don't let your anchor rope touch the bottom.

Jack.

or maybe we just have another world war, maybe hitler was a conservationist???

[seabug]

":-x :-x :-x :-x :-x :-x :-x :-x :-x :-x

[seabug]

And Jeremy
I do agree with one part of your post

apathy is the enemy


When is enough enough?

30-40 years ago we would walk along the rocks and they would be covered in all types of shell-fish
Go to the same places now and the rocks are nearly bare.

So where is your limit for netting .
When Australia gets to 25 million population?
Or 30 Million
Or 40 Million
Or when people no longer use nets as all the breeding grounds are gone?

Regards
seabug