Fisheries Gone Mad

[supa29]

Just a regulation that i would like to share with all you offshore fishers thata i think is a load of shi*. If this is not the govt revenue raising i dont know what is.
A elderly friend returned from a days fishing offshore on saturday, and did what he always does, pilled up at the kawana boat ramp to clean his fish at the cleaning boards provided. He finished filleting his fish all of which were wellover legal, he then put them back on ice in his boat and preceeded to go to the mooloolaba ramp on the other side of the river to trailer his boat.All is as per every trip for the last 30 years until the fisheries pulled him over and checked his boat, upon finding the fillets he was fined 360 dollars for having fillets on board his boat. Now the first thing about
this story is that the mooloolaba boat ramp does not have cleaning boards and this is the lowest act of rev. raising from this government i have ever seen. A prick of a rule that is ment to stop taking under size fish but is abused by a half wit officer that loves the power rush of control over hard working and fishing folk, that at the moment, we are bent over the bench and gettin reemed in every aspect of our sport.

that is my bitch but the rule is no fillet can go back into a boat that is still on the water, your boat must be on land before filleting begins or dont put your fish in the boat until it is on the trailer. Cheers hope to hear your opinion out there
thanks. supa.

[Leighton]

Sounds pretty rough mate, I can understand why the rules are in place.
If its a genuine mistake on your mates behalf then a simple warning is all that was needed.

[supa29]

Sounds pretty rough mate, I can understand why the rules are in place.
If its a genuine mistake on your mates behalf then a simple warning is all that was needed.

mate hes been doing the same thing for years but they would not even under stand that there was no boards on that side of the river, bet the fines dont build cutting boards either.

[Dean1]

Yeah thats rediculious mate what the hell is that sh%#. Some people i know use to fillet there fish out at sea when things went quiet to save time. Whats the difference, he has been very hard done by. Time to move norh to more remote areas i think, worlds goin crazy

[disorderly]

That's a sad situation,mate.
The funny thing is though it would be pretty easy to gauge the size of the fish by the fillets so they were obviously just setting an example by fining him......I personally think they should give warnings for first offenses such as this...now all they have done is to turn this bloke against them for life....

Scott

[tunaticer]

That officer probably will be watching traffic coming and going between the two ramps and making a killing with the fines.

Sometimes really stupid laws get unreal longevity and sound laws get replaced with stupid ones to raise more revenue.

Jack.

[supa29]

The thing is i have come back from fishing and while the ramp was full, i filleted my fish and put them staight back on ice in the boat, then put boat on the trailer. so according to the law i could get fined for this what a f..... joke.

[jtpython]

I see on our local beach in emu Park some halfwit has dropped all his skeltons of fishing trips onto the beach like an idiot even where bins are provided this is a accident waiting to happen.
like the old days you could fillet your fish on the water recycle the frames to the deep and no waste.
As for the officer who fined that guy where is his heart , Our oklder generation gets a hard enuff time
JOHN

[Local_Guy]

i thought you could have fillets of fish as long as they were longer than 40cm's and the skin remained on????

[jeffo]

your dead right local guy. A fish can be filletted at sea if the skin is left on (for ID) and the fillets exceed 40cm. We do it all the time with fish that wont fit in the esky whole (wahoo ect).
Its bad luck for your mate...but rules is rules and that one has been around for as long as i care to remember. It isnt a new rule that has just come in. Give the officers a break. They are just out there doing the best to protect the fishery we all enjoy- IMO we need more of them so they are at every ramp every calm day to keep people in line.

On a side note to this. A mate of mine is a DPI officer and every now and then he tells a story or 2. A few months back he did a random boat check and found the people on board had a heap of tiny fillets of reef fish. Most of which were clearly undersize. But being fillets the DPI couldnt prove they were under size so could only hit them with a fine for possessing fillets. There lies a good reason for this law to be in place.

[Apollo]

My suggestion would be for your mate to write a polite letter explainly exactly what happen to the DPI&F and copy it to your local member. Certainly complain about the lack of cleaning tables at the ramp. Explain that he has been fishing for X years and agrees with the reasoning behind the rule, but feel that the intent behind the making of the rule was not meant to catch honest fishermen like your mate. May or may not work, but similar action has many times for me. The officer who gave out the fine is just a bloke doing a job following a set of rules made by people well above him, so don't get personal with the letter.

If he has no luck, then a letter to the local paper. The DPI&F monitors most papers for articles that affect their field of responsibility.

Worth a go if it gets the fine revoked and/or cleaning tables at the ramp.

[Jono_SS]

I didn't think the "no fillets" law applied to all species - isn't it just for coral reef finfish?? this is from the rules and regs brochure...

In relation to coral reef fin fish, a recreational fisher:
• must not possess, on board a boat, a fish other
than in any of the following forms—whole,
gilled, gutted or filleted
• may possess, on board a boat, a fillet of a fish
other than a Chinese footballer (blue spot)
trout as long as the length of the fillet is at least
40 cm, and the skin and scales of the fillet are
attached to the fillet
• must not return fish that have been taken
ashore from a boat and fileted, and then
returned to a boat, unless the length of the
fillet is at least 40 cm and skin of the fillet are
attached to the fillet

can't find the equivalent words for other species....possibly not looking in the right spot.

[Shagga]

What about a situation where people fillet their catch of the day for consumption that same day on board their boat. There are plenty of houseboats and cruises with full galleys on board in SEQ what stops these people from filleting their catch on board and cooking it? What would the fisheries inspector say about that? What can they do about it? Would these people be fined if they were boarded?

What about mullet fillets used for bait are they illegal to have on board? I know the inspectors have a job to do and I support them 100%, however, like all proffessions in life some people are good at what they do and others have overstepped their level of competence.

[Lucky_Phill]

I suggest you give this person an email and get a definate answer and what can be done further to persuade the officers to see sense.

having said that, rules are rules.....

Katherine.boczynski@dpi.qld.gov.au

Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

Skin, fillet and pectoral fin removal

In relation to coral reef finfish, a recreational fisher:

• must not possess, on board a boat, a fish other than in any of the following forms-whole, gilled, gutted or filleted
• may possess, on board a boat, a fillet of a fish other than a Chinese footballer (blue spot) trout as long as the length of the fillet is at least 40 cm, and the skin and scales of the fillet are attached to the fillet
• must not return fish that have been taken ashore from a boat and filleted, and then returned to a boat, unless the length of the fillet is at least 40 cm and skin of the fillet is attached to the fillet
• must not possess a dead coral reef finfish unless a pectoral fin has been removed from the fish

or

• must not possess a live coral reef finfish unless the person or fisher intends to immediately return the fish to the sea.

In relation to finfish (other than coral reef finfish) a recreational fisher must not:

• remove the skin from a fish on a boat until the fish is brought to shore
• bring a fish ashore and remove its skin and return the fish to the boat
• divide a fish into portions other than in a way that allows an inspector to easily count the number of fish possessed by the fisher
• possess a dead Spanish mackerel unless a pectoral fin has been removed from the fish.

Note: for information that may apply to recreational fishers on a commercial fishing tour, please consult the Fisheries Regulation 1995 and/or relevant management plan.