Where have the fish gone?

[Mac1952]

In a whole weekend on Noosa north shore we saw three fish being landed, of which two were average tailor I caught.
Driving up and down the beach and talking to heaps of anglers over the two days, not one keeper was reported, most guys not even getting the usual undersize
dart/whiting/bream.

Anyone know what's going on?

[skipalong]

dennis its the same offshore, we have had to much good weather for too long now and need a good wind blow to stir things up, there is shit loads of tailor on fraser is, mate came back on the weekend with 90 fish from the camp over 2 days, dad and I are heading up to fraser in 2 weekends for some bait gathering, 60 tailor between us 2 should get us through this summer on the macks lol

justin

[Scalem]

dennis its the same offshore, we have had to much good weather for too long now and need a good wind blow to stir things up, there is shit loads of tailor on fraser is, mate came back on the weekend with 90 fish from the camp over 2 days, dad and I are heading up to fraser in 2 weekends for some bait gathering, 60 tailor between us 2 should get us through this summer on the macks lol

justin

I'm scratching my head too, but Justin, we've just had a heap of wind and rain, so much so that se qld is out of danger from drought - so I doubt its that at all.

After such a long drought, and then a heap of rain, there is probably too much nutrient/polution in the water having been flushed out. Hopefully it is just a cycle and the balance will return .

Scalem

[TimiBoy]

Global Warming Mate. Kevin Rudd knows all about it. Ask him!

Cheers,

Tim

[aussiefool]

Mate I reckon it's the same every year at this time of the yeas Winter is finishing and summer is just starting........ winter fish are moving out and the summer one are still on the way. It will be the same around late April May. Just the change of seasons
Aussiefool
Andrew

[yellowbeard]

I can only speak for the beaches on The Port (we trendies here in Port Stephens call it "The Port"). Whilst the tailor have headed north for their annual feed of cane toads, the surf bream are still here. I'm getting about 3 - 5 every trip.
Here's Saturday's best relaxing on my barbie.

[Slider]

Well having grown up at Teewah and fished this beach week to week for 37 years, I can tell you Mac that netting is by far the most significant reason why we don't get fish in winter anymore.

It certainly hasn't always been the case, as through the 70s and the 80s, tailor, bream, dart, whiting and tarwhine were very easy to find throughout the whole year. The September/October run of greenbacks was still happening and 3lb bream were common from March to November. But as netting intensity increased in the late 80s and early 90s, the winter fish started to dry up and we found the tailor run started at xmas and ended in April. Bream all but disappeared after a 20 tonne haul in front of Teewah in about '91 and the schools of 1kg whiting that we would often see spawning have disappeared also. It is unbelievable to me how rapidly the dart have gone - even 10 years ago, vast shoals of dart were common to see spawning, but now we hardly see anything but the odd juvenile in a wave. Could be just coincidence that the pros started targeting dart around 6 years ago.

Through the 90s we noticed that once netting started then the fish would dry up - all species except flathead, stargazer and shovellies. Fishing with baits for tailor in winter was delivering a hell of a lot of shovellies in fact but very few tailor. This scenario has steadily deteriorated to the point where the situation you describe Mac is the standard for every winter and the other seasons little better. We do occasionally have our moments, but they are once or twice a year when it used to be every month.

There has been something like 180 tonne of fish netted on this beach in the last 10 weeks. Could this be a factor?

There are fish at Fraser because there is no netting permitted between south of Dilli Village and Nth Ngkala. The lack of access to the Cape via the eastern beach has slowed netting there, but they are still permitted to go via the western beach - the only ones who are. Netting at the Cape spooks fish to Indian Head btw.

It is very unfortunate that so many anglers come to Teewah Beach with the expectation of catching fish in winter, when in reality, they are very little chance. Yes there is the odd catch of a few little bream, dart, whiting, tailor, but they are nearly always juveniles and always in small numbers. This year we had a very heavy presence of anchovy which reversed the affects of the netting on tailor - for a little while. But the bait has dispersed as the tuna moved on and now the tailor don't want to know us.

I still say that it is in everyone's interest for revenue from vehicle permits be used to buy back the North Shore licenses.

Lindsay

[greenie61]

I have to agree Lindsay, I think the same thing is happening on the Gold Coast as well.

Up untill several years ago the mullet fisherman would not leave Kirra beach as they could catch as many fish there as they wanted. Since the start of the Tweed River sand bypass system Kirra beach has been badly silted up, They now net anywhere between Kirra & the Spit which i think ( even though they don't target Tailor ) breaks up the tailor schools & forces them out to the local reef's.

I don,t know weather Tailor have a big brain but since the net boys have been sitting on Burleigh beach the fish have been sitting off of the point (where they can't net) & have not come into the gutters as they used to.

I also had a good conversation with a fellow Ausfisher on the weekend & we both agreed that something has to be done to cut back the amount of netting taking place before it's to late. My father tried to get something done about it years ago but to get someone to listen to you is near impossible.

I hope you can get something done about it up there before it's to late.

Cheers
Mark

[84mick]

There has been something like 180 tonne of fish netted on this beach in the last 10 weeks.

Lindsay

That just S**ts me!

Mick.

[blueline]

the RFL recreational fishing licence might be a good idea after all as they want to buy out these type of pros.

[straddie]

Heya Mac1952

There have been some wild temperature swings in recent weeks and these can produce big changes in the behaviour of some fish.

I don't recommend doing this but if you have a small tank of tropical fish turn their heater off for a day then feed them next day and see if they act the same as usual (WARNING could potentially kill your fish)

Water clarity, water movement, boat traffic, oxygen levels, salinity, water temps, predation and food availability can all influence feeding habits and whether a species stays in an area.

[Mac1952]

Thanks Lindsay, I think you have nailed the problem. I have also seen the wholesale slaughter of juveniles of all species by these blokes. I just did not realize the huge volumes that are being taken. Thanks for the information, which should have all fisho's up in arms.


Surely, in this day and age of environmental awareness, the Government, D.P.I. and other related instances should stop playing ostrich, pull their heads out of the ground and take note of what is happening to our fish stocks. We can not all be wrong!!!!

I think this calls for some more drastic action than to keep talking about it.
Even a good old-fashioned street or beach rally, to draw media attention, might be the go. Numbers would be the key.

Any thoughts?

[Scalem]

Thanks Lindsay, I think you have nailed the problem. I have also seen the wholesale slaughter of juveniles of all species by these blokes. I just did not realize the huge volumes that are being taken. Thanks for the information, which should have all fisho's up in arms.


Surely, in this day and age of environmental awareness, the Government, D.P.I. and other related instances should stop playing ostrich, pull their heads out of the ground and take note of what is happening to our fish stocks. We can not all be wrong!!!!

I think this calls for some more drastic action than to keep talking about it.
Even a good old-fashioned street or beach rally, to draw media attention, might be the go. Numbers would be the key.

Any thoughts?

Talk to Chris Ryan or Lucky Phil about joining Ecofishers or a similar body so that any of your enthusiasm is well placed with something that already has momentum. Although their plight might not be specifically targeting pro catch rates on beaches ( I stand corrected), their advice on rallys or anything else media seeking would be invaluable. Just my own 2c.

Scalem

[Chris Ryan]

The buy-out of pro's can be a massive helper in the change to an eco-system. However if it is done like the Moreton Bay license buy back, it will be another farce. The licenses were bought by the Government to remove the number of licenses in the system, not the number of fisherman. The fisherman pocketed the money from the Government, went and bought a spare/dormant license or bought into a mates operation and were back fishing the next day. There was no reduction of fishing effort!! So be careful for those that think a rec license is needed to achieve buybacks, because it can backfire quickly and give a negative result.

Join ECOfishers Queensland and add your voice to the fast growing number of other recreational fisherman now helping a hand with these issues. You can join at www.ecofishersqld.org.au and send back the form with your cheque. You can donate online there too via paypal.

Cheers,
Chris

[Mac1952]

The buy-out of pro's can be a massive helper in the change to an eco-system. However if it is done like the Moreton Bay license buy back, it will be another farce. The licenses were bought by the Government to remove the number of licenses in the system, not the number of fisherman. The fisherman pocketed the money from the Government, went and bought a spare/dormant license or bought into a mates operation and were back fishing the next day. There was no reduction of fishing effort!! So be careful for those that think a rec license is needed to achieve buybacks, because it can backfire quickly and give a negative result.

Join ECOfishers Queensland and add your voice to the fast growing number of other recreational fisherman now helping a hand with these issues. You can join at www.ecofishersqld.org.au and send back the form with your cheque. You can donate online there too via paypal.

Cheers,
Chris

The lone amateur who built the Ark conserved all species and survived the trip. The Titanic went down.............

Will join straight away if that will help. I still feel something should be done in the short term.