SEQ Anglers. A must read.

[Lucky_Phill]

RECREATIONAL FISHING TOURISM is for today and tomorrow and the next day. This is all of us unless you live on a creek and never fish anywhere else. We pay to travel to our favourite spots, whether it is fuel for the car and / or boat, barge fees or plane tickets.

With increasing population densities Moreton Bay is one of few remaining safe areas for families to fish that is reasonably accessible from all of Brisbane and the surrounding regions. Every year hundreds of kids learn to fish in Moreton Bay. Records indicate that Moreton Island alone is on average 80 percent non-residents on any given day. When considering recreational fishing tourism some of the items to be valued include fresh fish on the table, healthy activity for any individual irrespective of physical or intellectual capacity, age, sex or socio-economic status, tackle bought, bait, fishing apparatus, boats, fuel, vehicles specific for fishing, accommodation, meals and transport costs to access the island.

Because of the limited access and the National Park designation, these commercial enterprises are limited in number and nature on Moreton Island. Many of the purchases are therefore bought in local communities prior to departing for the island. This means that a significant reduction in recreational fishing tourists will not only impact Moreton Island Ferries and local Moreton Island businesses but businesses throughout the greater catchment area.


Currently it is almost impossible to catch a legal sized whiting on Moreton or Bribie Islands on beaches open to netting in what is their peak season. In addition the whiting being netted is not appearing in local markets but we have reason to believe going directly to Sydney markets.


Both of these islands are National Parks designated for recreational use. Many trips to these national parks include fishing as one activity. At the moment the benefit of this is being denied them.


In Moreton Bay like many other population centres we are becoming increasingly aware of areas of localized depletion resulting from concentrated, repetitive, commercial gill netting. I, myself witnessed this personally as recently as last week. I spoke to several groups fishing on the same 500 metres of beach who indicated that contrary to previous trips they had been unable to catch anything of a legal size. Between them they had spent $6000 on their trips that week.


Fisheries Queensland do not have a mechanism for either measuring or managing localized depletion at this point in time. In the national arena at the moment though there are currently investigations into areas that may become closed to commercial fishing so that the recreational sector can still have an enjoyable experience. The commercial sector still have the same allowable catch as previously but just leave some high value recreational areas untouched. Many believe this is the way of the future for Moreton Bay as well as many other high population centres along the Queensland coastline.


We are asking for a small portion of Moreton Bay Marine Park including both Bribie and Moreton Islands’ foreshores to be set aside for recreational fishing. In most areas we are only asking for a strip 400 metres wide. We are NOT asking for access to existing green zones within the area we have highlighted but just to ensure that in future they will remain clear of commercial fishing should the zonings change.

Moreton Bay Marine Park covers 3400 square kilometres. The three sub areas that we have identified total 115 square kilometres that is not already excluded to commercial saleable take, that is only a little over 3 per cent. For the 405,000 recreational fishers in the Brisbane and Moreton Bay areas (according to Fisheries Queensland Recreational fishing survey 2010) that is a very, very small ask.


Commercial catch data on the Fisheries Queensland website is quite coarse. As a result the figures we have been able to extrapolate include the tunnel netters and offshore netters in grids W36, W37 and W38 (Moreton Bay Marine Park) who will not be impacted. As a result the catch estimates we are using will be significantly higher than reality. In 2013 about 1,384 tonnes was recorded in logbooks in these grids this equates to about $6.9 million to the fishermen. 3% of that equates to a little over $207,000. This hardly warrants a buyback.


Last financial year the recreational boat owners in the Moreton Bay catchment area paid over $1.9 million in Recreational Use Fee that is included as part of their boat registrations. We think that putting $207,000 a year for the next three years from that into FRDC (the Fisheries Research Development Corporation) for investment into research that will have flow on benefits to the commercial sector would be fair and reasonable.


We need a significant show of support to demonstrate the importance of recreational fishing and the value to our community of recreational fishing tourism. Please don’t assume that our political representatives either know or acknowledge this. Also please do not assume that it is so obvious a solution that lots of people will raise their voice. We need you and your family to do so for the future of recreational fishing in Moreton Bay for our children and theirs.

Please like our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/MoretonBayR...nalFishingArea

From Judy Lynne

further reading below:-



LP

[tunaticer]

Thanks for the post Phill.
Can you attach the map in hi def PDF form please.
It is too grainy to read.

How's this ?

[Still_Dreamin]

Hey Phil, the reason you can't buy the whiting is it is pet food. I know most of you are going " not another urban legend" but back in 1993/1994 I was coming back to Scarborough on the old Combi trader. The barge was about 100m off the beach when this rusty old land cruiser Ute came bouncing out the track that runs past the helipad at Bulwer hooting his horn. Anyway for the first time I had ever seen the barge actually returned to the beach ( usually if the barge had left you had to wait for the next day) They unloaded 9 large blue crates full of massive whiting and very little ice. Two wet hessian bags were draped over the top and the landy left. On the way back in was surprised that these prize fish were left on the deck in the sun. For those of you who remember the Combi took over 1 and 1/2 hrs to get back to Scarborough. I was having look at them when the deckie who helped unload the Ute came over for a chat. I asked if they should have more ice on them to which he replied it didn't matter when it was only for pet food. Now he may have been joking and for last 20 odd years I have been hoping he was but as it has got harder to get a feed I fear the was truth in his words.
Also had a similar conversation with an accountant by day pro by night at the Biggera Waters boat ramp one night in 1998 when we returned to the ramp at the same time only this time he was full to the gunnels with luderick.
By the way I am not anti Pro fisher as I buy lots of seafood is would not otherwise have available to me. Just highlighting another avenue of wastage of prime eating fish

[Rodman]

Talking about netters and fish available for the angler to catch I heard a rumour
that theTin Can Bay netters are now using jet skis to scare the fish into nets from creeks. I would hope that Is not true. The local MP Gibson said that if he was elected he would buy back licences but nothing has happened, The Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay townships need amateur fishers to spend money but if there is no fish to catch the there are no fishers to spend money.

[samson]

Looking at the maps it looks to be going a bit beyond net zones and more into a lot of commercial line areas e.g.the group area and other offshore zones, considering from fisheries data and my local experience from some of these areas a massive proportion of the pressure isn't from commercials in these offshore areas it's from recs and if something like this was to go ahead i very much doubt it would improve the fishing when yearly the rec fleet grows significantly.

[Shark Poker]

I certainly like the idea. We do have industrial and recreational defined areas in our towns and cities for obvious reasons anyway.
What more can one do to support this after they Like their Facebook Page?

[liltuffy]

Ah, the old pro beach fisher story again. No disrespect Phil but this has been going on for years and years - and still we are no further down the track. I've been fishing the surf at Moreton since 1982 and have watched the fishing there turn to crap. Since Hawkins upped the barge fares why would rec anglers really see value in going there. To take an average 4WD and camper and stay six nights for 3 people will set you back in the order of $600 - to more than likely catch bugger all.

I'd love to see the pro's booted off all the islands, especially Moreton and Teewah and sent somewhere else to rape the environment, but for some reason they are harder to shift than chewing gum off your shoes. I grew up fishing the beaches with my dad and have priceless memories of us in the old VW buggy plying the gutters and having a ball, sadly today with my children in 4WD's to catch a reasonable feed in the surf is a thing of the past.

I'll like the Facebook page and sorry to rain on the parade but I really can't see things changing for us lazy smelly old salts.

Craig

[Crunchy]

I went to the website and made a "campaign submission", it was very easy to do and took a few minutes, the hardest part was figuring out the anti-spam code word.

I also donated $10 to become a gold member which was very painless too, its a great initiative and if people make the little effort required to support it you never know, those dumb arse polly's may start to listen.

However if you sit back and think "Nope I can't be bothered wasting 3 minutes of my time to do this I'll leave it up to everyone else, gee I wonder what Nagg is saying today", then you need to take a long hard look at yourself IMO!

Follow the link and do your bit to support the cause.

www.keepaustraliafishing.com.au/index.php/campaign/moreton-bay/moreton-bay-info