E-Petition to ban netting in Trinity Bay Cairns

[Scott Mitchell]

CAREFISH

4.11.2011

After a couple of years of lobbying, negotiating, and attending and calling meetings, we finally get towards the end of the procedure to achieve a ”Net Free Zone” off Cairns. All the boxes along the way have been ticked.

Now we have to see this completed. Yesterday we launched a public petition, sponsored by Steve Wettenhall MP, calling on the Government to put the ink on the paper. This is a show of hands from the community. There’s several ways government test public sentiment. Surveys, petitions, and elections.

If ten people sign this petition, it’ll tell the gov something. If ten thousand sign it, it’ll tell them something completely different. Don’t forget there’s over 20,000 boat trailers registered around here. Government will be watching this closely. We in Cairns are not the only ones to be seeking a ‘Net Free Area’ around their town. This is going on up and down the coast. Other areas will be watching as well.

The last sitting for parliament this year is December 1. This petition has to be done and dusted by then.Time is ticking. The goal is 300 signatures EVERY DAY.

This is up to all of you. There’s a hundred or so in CAREFISH so that’s 3 a day each to put it in perspective. We can do that.

The petition is attached along with the’ facts and figures’ sheet. Print some out and get the signatures. Drop them off to Steve Wettenhall’s office at Smithfield or call me and I’ll come and pick them up. There’s also an e-petition. Simply Google Steve Wettenhall/e petition and you’ll find it. The other way is to follow this link…

http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/petitions/e-petition?PetNum=1803 If you can’t open this, highlight it, then right click and select ‘open hyperlink’.

The primary public spots to sign are the locally owned tackle shops (BCF and Rays won’t participate at this stage due to ‘policy’), also up to 30 newsagencies have engaged along with Half Moon Bay Chandlery and Markwell Marine (welcome to CAREFISH). Steve Wettenhall’s office too. The Tinaroo ‘Barra Bash’ committee are thinking about it.

I’ll call on more today and keep you posted on who’s involved. Feel free to find others yourselves, the more the better. Use your e- networks as well. Everyone in Cairns needs to know aboutthis. There must be no doubt in any politicians mind where we stand on the issue ofgillnets in our town.

This is a call to action. If you want the nets out, then get cracking! It’s all about numbers at this stage.

Now it’s up to you.

http://www.scotto.com.au/cmsdocument...on%20Final.pdf

http://www.scotto.com.au/cmsdocument...t%20letter.pdf


Paul Aubin
CAREFISH

[Scott Mitchell]

CAREFISH

16/11/2011

Fishin’ Petition

The petition is still progressing well. I have in my hand about 500 signatures from Bransfords, Barron River Tackle, Les Marsh and me. Bruce Sharples has collected about another 300 from his newsagency and from the Tinaroo Barra Bash. Great job! The e petition has over 200 on it and will likely get a boost with Steve Wettenhall’s newsletter going out soon.I haven’t checked around the other locations as yet (about 30 or 40) so you can take a guess at the total. This is all about numbers now, I’m sure you understand that. Those with media profiles should be pumping it. Write a ‘Letter to the Editor’. Get the public involved.

A lot rests on the final count. We won’t get another shot at this for a VERY LONG time!

I went to the Tradies Bar on Friday afternoon and spoke to 110 people and got 108 signatures. Almost everyone said “yeah, bloody oath I’ll sign that, it’s about time someone did something about the @#$%’n nets”. The 2 that didn’t sign were from NZ and didn’t know a fish from a fush. I also did the Bransfords tackle Expo on Saturday and the Holloways Beach markets on Sunday. I found that almost everyone signed that I spoke to, even commercial fishermen. But as soon as I stopped talking, the signatures stopped.

Clearly, all of us need to keep talking. Pretty well everyone wants it, but we have to explain it first. A simple “Hey guys have you signed the Fishin’ Petition yet? We’re trying to get the gill nets out of Trinity Bay”. This closes on the 30th of this month so that leaves only 2 weekends! We’ve only got a short run time but that’s the cards we’ve been dealt, we must make the most of this opportunity. Everyone who wants a net free zone around Cairns MUST get involved! Print off a few sheets and get to it. It took me one hour to get 108 signatures at the Tradies Bar. I see that as a fair investment in the fishing future of Cairns. All the pubs and clubs should be canvassed. This is your job.

If a hundred of us get a hundred signatures, that’s TEN THOUSAND. That will get instant attention from every politician up and down the coast.

Most importantly, these sheets HAVE to be back to me or Steve Wettenhall by the 30 th. I’m hearing of them being photocopied and ending up in all sorts of places, which is fine but completely useless if they’re still there in two months time. If you hand them out please make sure they know to get them back.

Remember the headline waiting to be written “CAIRNS SET TO RIVAL DARWIN”. It can be so. But we have to make it so. It’s up to you. Be quick.

Paul Aubin
CAREFISH

[lampuki]

signed. I hope you get your 300 a day....You might need to get people to stand out the front of BCFs, boat ramps etc.

[Louis]

I just signed.



Louis

[Louis]

Perhaps this thread should be bumped from time to time until the 1st of December.

I'll be first


Louis

[Louis]

Bump


Louis

[Scott Mitchell]

CAREFISH

22.11.2011

PETITION PROGRESS

<<...>> <<...>><<...>>

The mouth of the Barron River iscurrentlybeing nettedby someone claiming to be apermit holder. Maybe, maybe not butseeattachment anyhow.Therehas also been a net in the Saltwater Creek, it has floats painted black,likelyillegal. If you see these, ring FISHWATCH.The hospital flatsare beingnetted solidly north of the 200 mtr exclusion area of the Marlin Marina (whichwill be legally challenged if this petition falls over). This is a 4 inch netandithas norespectforjuvenile barramundi, or any other barramundi for that matter. Holloways Beachis netted most Mondaysandor Tuesday nights. So does the mouth of the Thomatis. And there’s more furthernorth. Theseonesare likelylegal.

What you read above is happening nowin the barraclosed season. If you want to see more nets, wait until the seasonopens on the first of Feb.

This is on your doorstep. We have aonce in a generationopportunity to remedy this.The petition hasone weekleft to run.Italldepends onhow many signatures are countedNEXT TUESDAY.There arenotnearlyenough signatureson ityet,to have muchimpact on parliament.

Something is wrong with this picture. Two CAREFISH members have gottenaround a thousand signatures between them. How many have you got? I hear“I haven’tgot time” or“Ican’t force people to sign it”.Neither do I, and neitherhave I!But I’ve still picked up around500 signatures without much trouble!

So, does Cairns deserve a net free area aroundit? Do we really want it? Itdoesn’t look like it from where I’m sitting. We may scrounge together 3000 signaturesby the look of it. Maybe less. If I was Steve Wettenhall, I would have troublefronting up to parliament andsuggestingthat the people of Cairns‘demand this net closure’.

HE NEEDSSIGNATURESAND WE ARE NOT GIVING THEM TO HIM.

I asked for some hands tohelpcanvass the pubs and clubs. No-one offered.No-one.I haven’theard boo from any fishing club. How weird is that? Idropped aroundlarge green“SignFishing Petition Here” posters to prominent recreational fishing businessesat the beginning of this. Half of them are rolled up in storerooms!

If you want the nets gone, every one of us has toput thispetition under the noses of every one that wants the nets gone. That’s an easysell.Almosteveryone wants them gone that I’ve talked to!But if you leave this forothers do, IT WILL NOT GET DONE!

This needs a big push, starting right now. Time is running out.Once again,I’m calling for help to canvass the local hot spots. Pubs and clubs on Fridayand Saturday. Boat ramps. Tackle shops. You think up some places, thisis to yourbenefit! We can do this, it’s not that hard. Time to buckle up andknuckledown.

Call me if you can helpouton the number below, or Bruce Sharples on 0438 668721. An hour or so is all that’s needed.

Something else you might like to consider. TheEast Bioregion Marine Park plandraftis about tobe released.Thisis theCoralSea issue and it’s now on our doorstep as well.State gov is talking aboutinstalling reciprocal green zones in the gulf. They may try that here as well.CAREFISH will be involved in the negotiations andthe more horsepower CAREFISHcan muster, the better our negotiatingposition will beonthis and many other issues..

Get the signatures! I’ll be around next Tuesday to pick them up. Or ifyou’re dropping them off yourselves they have to be at Steve Wettenhall’soffice Unit 7 Stanton Place, Smithfield by 3pm Tuesday29 th Nov to be airbagged toBrisbane and into Parliament.

PaulAubin

CAREFISH

[Camhawk88]

Done- easy dont even need to get off your arse. If your in QLD take 2 minutes from browsing the forum and sign the petition.

[Scott Mitchell]

CAREFISH

27.11.2011

Petition

Time hasticked and soon we’ll see if the numbers add up. On Tuesday, Bruce Sharples and I’ll be picking up the signed petition sheets. Bruce will be doing the news agencies and IGA stores and I’ll be doing the CAREFISH run and a few others as below. There are around 60 in total. If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know, I’m only too happy to come and pick up your sheets or if you know of any one participating they can drop them off to Steve Wettenhall’s office unit 7 Stanton Place Smithfield or to one of the businesses participating by Monday arfternoon.

There is no point having signed petition sheets laying around after this. Every signature counts.

Bransfords,Yorkeys Chandlery, Yorkeys Boat Club, Straight on The Beach, Barron RiverTackle, Dave’s Boat Yard, CNW Elect, Allpower Elect, Capral Aluminium, NBProps, Erskines Tackle, Rankines Tackle, Cairns Boat Hire, Cock n Bull,Markwell Marine, Bill’s Marine, AJ, Eric the Viking, Aussie Marine Repairs

Paul Aubin

CAREFISH

[Macks forever]

DONE ONLINE!!! Takes only 2 minutes as Camhawk says.

Anyone who does not make the effort, such a little effort, should not ever whinge again about lack of fish, at least around Cairns.

[Pazz01]

Did it a couple of days ago.

Pazz

[Funchy]

Done. GOOD LUCK MATE!

[Lucky_Phill]

All,

Apologies for any slight breach in protocol here but we have a chance of a decade here to make the pollies appreciate how much the public dislikes the effects of gill netting.
The on-line petition is at: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/wor...on?PetNum=1803
PLEASE all of you who are QLD residents (only) go online tonight and sign, if you have not already done so and then flick this link to your networks requesting the same.

There are about 3,000 hard copy signatures on their way down to Brisbane tonight and only 488 on-line signatures as I write this – we can at least break the 1,000 mark surely!?

My family raised 231 hard copy signatures over the weekend from the Douglas region which is not covered by the ban.

We learnt was there is a huge sector of the population who are in support of the ban even though they are not recreational fishers.

Please do your bit.

Kind regards,
David Cook
Co-ordinator, Network for Sustainable Fishing in the Douglas Region
"taking a community approach"
For more about our need for better inshore fisheries management, see:
http://www.ffc.org.au/Declining_fish_populations_GBRMP_inshore_waters.ht ml; &
http://www.ffc.org.au/Grey_Mackerel.html#latest;

[Richo1]

Done online!
Nothing worse than seeing nets full of barra - from the mudflats infront of the esplanade during the wet, or seeing a series of nets strung up Hills creek!

Good luck with the petition will pass on the link!

[Gon Fishun]

Signed sealed and submitted.