Stolen Crab Pots - Part 3

[robsue]

what if father and son WITH THE SAME NAMES and address leaves 8 pots out overnight properly marked and tagged, if they are removed by the fisheries, that should amount to an illegal act by the fisheries.............
i know that the above would only be the rare occurence where having the same name and address, but i am just making the point, is the fisheries responsible for confiscating your legal pots etc going to reimburse you for time and costs involved in getting them returned to you?

[hodges4]

The following is a response from DPI&F when I asked them about marking of crab pots last December.


Thank you for contacting the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.


In response to your email, I advise you will find crabbing gear information and naming requirements on our website at http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dp...5_ENA_HTML.htm The information provided states - "In tidal waters, when fishing for blue swimmer crabs, mud crabs and spanner crabs, no more than four crab pots or dillies (or a combination of pots and dillies) may be used per person". Providing you have the correct number of people in the boat, you can have all crab pots marked with one person's details. As you say in your email, 3 people in the boat represents 12 pots.

[oldboot]

what if father and son WITH THE SAME NAMES and address leaves 8 pots out overnight properly marked and tagged, if they are removed by the fisheries, that should amount to an illegal act by the fisheries.............
i know that the above would only be the rare occurence where having the same name and address, but i am just making the point, is the fisheries responsible for confiscating your legal pots etc going to reimburse you for time and costs involved in getting them returned to you?

I dont think that would be uncommon at all....and this is a goo reason that you should have a phone number on the float so thay can ring and ask.

[oldboot]

The following is a response from DPI&F when I asked them about marking of crab pots last December.


Thank you for contacting the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.


In response to your email, I advise you will find crabbing gear information and naming requirements on our website at http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dp...5_ENA_HTML.htm The information provided states - "In tidal waters, when fishing for blue swimmer crabs, mud crabs and spanner crabs, no more than four crab pots or dillies (or a combination of pots and dillies) may be used per person". Providing you have the correct number of people in the boat, you can have all crab pots marked with one person's details. As you say in your email, 3 people in the boat represents 12 pots.

If that is the case, I would be carrying that email arround with me.

I wonder though....so many times you ring a government department for advice and they will tell you whatever and then follow it with some sort of disclaimer and advise you to seek your own legal advice.

Like so much of fisheries legeslation it is nt as clear and straight forward as it seems.... and then what is written and what is practiced and enforced are two different things.

cheers

[itsmango]

I really believe that half of the "stolen pots " belong to people who cannot tie a decent knot of know how strong the currents are and the pots simply float away or are lost on the bottom.

[oldboot]

It has been mentioned before but getting some decent rope and splicing onto the float and to the pot would solve lots of problems.

I've tried to tie knots in that cheap, thin, spindly, synthetic rope and it realy takes some doing to tie a knot that holds properly.

I know this happens... I've found the floats washed up.

cheers

[chewy01]

Another thing to consider is not to use too thick of rope,i use good quality green 4 mm rope as i only use light pots,as it reduces drag considerably in the run. i also only crab an hour either side of low and high tide

[gagstopher]

is there anything illigil about having a pot tied to a tree on the bank and having the label on the trap itself ?

[TheRealAndy]

is there anything illigil about having a pot tied to a tree on the bank and having the label on the trap itself ?

The new regs say "All apparatus will have to have a surface float attached, even if the apparatus is attached to something (e.g. a tree)."

All your pots still need to be marked. That is, both the float and the pot itself.

[Jungle Jim]

Just been reading through this thread with some interest.

Every time someone points out a regulation i think well that’s fair enough -a bit of a hassle but fair enough- it’s in everyone’s best interests.

Then another regulation then another regulation....then seemingly another loophole that the man can sting you with...

I can see it now pretty soon we’ll all have to have our name and details engraved onto our lead sinkers so when they end up at the bottom of the pond - the man knows who’s to blame, charge, invoice and prosecute for the destruction of the habit.

Yep the reasoning is fine we want everyone doing the right thing -sustainability and all that- but there comes a point when one must decide can i really be bothered.

And the funny/sad thing is -you go to all this trouble to do the right thing and some pr1ck pinches them from you anyway.

It all seems like just too much hassle for this little black duck.


JIM

[mattooty]

what if father and son WITH THE SAME NAMES and address leaves 8 pots out overnight properly marked and tagged, if they are removed by the fisheries, that should amount to an illegal act by the fisheries.............
i know that the above would only be the rare occurence where having the same name and address, but i am just making the point, is the fisheries responsible for confiscating your legal pots etc going to reimburse you for time and costs involved in getting them returned to you?

I think in this case that fisheries would tell you to put 'junior' and 'senior' after the names.

[oldboot]

Jim lad get used to it, we live in an increasingly regulated society.

I have to aggree that we as recreational angles need to make a concerted effort to influence government and let them know how impractical many things they do are.

However
I can see that most of what they are doing with crab pots is for very good reasons.

When I was a kid you could go down the creek and drop a line of 20 pots with no requirement for lables and no restrictions on size shape or construction.

Those days are gone for ever and in truth, I don't think that situation was ever reasonable........ consider a pro crabber is restricted to 50 pots.

It is imposible to enforce a maximum number of pots in use unless they are properly labled.
Just be thankfull we do not have to licence and register our crabpots.

I think it is reasonable to need some sort of positive identification on the pot its self, for a variety of reasons.

I thnk it is also reasonable to have some sort of identification on the float, so that the pot does not have to be pulled to get some idea of what is going on.

I seriously do not think the fisheries are concerned with identifying which brother or spouse one of 8 pots belongs to.
and
I do not think fisheries are going to start confiscating post just because they have the same surname on them.

after all it will be very common for people with the same surname who reside at the same place to go crabbing together.

I do think the DPI should clarify inlegeslation, the use of guest pots and their marking, because mates go crabbing with mates.
Perhaps some choices, but definitely some written guidance.

Unfortunately soo much of fisheries legeslation reviolves arround the word "possess", which to legeslators my seem to be a very clear cut word, but it creates as many problems it solves.

cheers

cheers

[oldboot]

Just a couple of other side thaughts.

Adding an initial ( in addition to the surname) wont do much because there are plenty of families who have or deliberately name their childeren with the same first initial...... My brother an I have the same first initial.

There are a great many people out there with the same surname.....smith, jones.

I don't have this problem I have a very uncommon surname.....if there is someone out there with a crab pot of the same name I want to meet them.

So a creek with lots of pots of the same surname isnt going to immediately ring allarm bell with fisheries.

that is appart from the posibility of a family gathering all of the same surname.

What I realy think fisheries are looking for is unnamed pots...there are plenty of them.....and..that is an easy enforcement choice and a bang to rights confiscation.

I do not think fisheries are going to be out there pulling every pot they see and confiscating every pot that has the smallest non compliance.....hell they wouldnt get far and they would have to tow a barge.

I completly expect them to be doing spot checks and enforcing blatant infringements.

Think of what they need to do to confiscate a pot that at least has a name on it.

think of the paperwork
If it is unlableled, it would be a simple log entry.
" unlabled crab aparatus removed from ____location ____time"

If they are to confiscate some ones property, they have to show just cause, have evidence that an offence has been committed........ and on and on.

Lets not get all twisted about it.......keeping an eye on your pots is more of a problem than the legal requirements.

cheers