Gee Dad, where were you when the fishing stopped?

[Derek_Bullock]

I'm with you Phil

[BAIT_MAN]

Me to mate

[Gazza]

Me 3 Phil

p.s. the word you(s) needed wasn't "harvest"......
EXPLOITATION
i.e. under ,or fully, or OVER-exploited

[webby]

I meant every word i said, no need for smilies, as i dont think its a smilieying matter, and even if it was blunt to the point, if you start codeling people you'll get no where.
This is serious business and we need serious people to obtain the objective.
regards

[Lucky_Phill]

[smiley=angryfire.gif] [smiley=argue.gif] [smiley=furious.gif] [smiley=furious2.gif] [smiley=rifle.gif] [smiley=smash.gif] [smiley=wut.gif] [smiley=thumbsdown.gif]

are all smilies that reinforce the seriousness of our words and thoughts.

They are just another tool for expression in the world of the written word.

Yes Brian, we know it is serious, more serious than most believe.

Cheers Phill

[karana]

Interesting thread. Perhaps my reply should be headed "I Refuse to Get of My Bum."

The whole discussion relating to recreational fishing especially the contributions by those in power is a joke. Much of the so called evidence put forward for the further control of recreational fishing is a joke. Much of the government expressions of concern about recreational fishing impact is based purely on knee jerk reactions to emotiional input.

The cards are marked in advance. Try and put forward an argument based on reality and you will be shunted into the background unless you fall into line with those who want to curb and further curtail recreational fishing.

It would seem, other than those government employees who hope for quick progess upwards and therefore nod in the direction of government policy, real or propsed, that recreational fisherman listened to fall into two distinct groups.

1. Those who profess by membership of some organisation to speak for recreational fisherman. These people are often folks who have the opportunity to fish on a very regular basis and thus any increase in restrictions have very little impact in their overall fishing life.
2. The 'ordinary' recreational fisherman who it seems are vast in numbers but the only other vast they have is the ability to bitch and complain about 'lack' of fish or to bemaon the so called 'fact' that fishing was better in the old days. They of course have the numbers on any carefully worded 'survey' that may surface from time to time. These 'surveys' are constantly referred to by those who would increase controls on recreational fishing.

For those who would put forward arguments against further controls by placing solid and long researched data on they table they find that this data and research is often ridiculed by other so called 'experts' as incomplete, inaccurate (based on what I don't know) or the simple statement that these are not the findings of the majority of recreational fishermen. The vast majority of recreational never could fish well, remember one or two good trips or bask in the writings of some fishing journalists who have to sensationalise to look good and keep the cheques rolling in.

The dismissal of this hard evidence in an off hand manner probably make those who do it feel good and allows them to be invited back to another paid for gab fest to put a tick on some new 'initiative' that is nothing more than a further restriction on recreational fishing.

A couple of minor points.

1. Recreational Catch V Commercial Catch.
I was surprised to read here and elsewhere that one of the reasons for the apparent increase of recreational catch compared with commercial catch is a reason for unbridled concern. Ummm if commercial fishing has been substantially curtailed in many areas and recreational fishing has increased due to increased population then the recreational catch will make up a higher proportion of the total catch in those areas. Wow this must be a surprise to some I guess. It is of course simple mathematics although I have this increased percentage argument used as a reason the further curtail recreational fishing. I guess you can fool a large proportion of people most of the time.
2. The Ugly Fisherman Story.
There are always stories of the ugly fisherman trotted out. In every thing we do there are always bad examples and there is no difference in the recreational fishing area. Yes some fisherman ignore simple nicities but in 99.99% of cases these 'ignorings' are not a major crime by any means and in fact are so minor that only a fervant arctivist looking for a 'cause' could possibly get emotional about them. The vasy majority of fisherman are considerate. More is the pity that we never hear many good stories but that is apparently the way of the world these days.

So with the cards marked in advance I will sit on my bum and watch from the sidelines in some amazement as the various stories on why we should have more controls unfold and will look carefully at the names of the people and organisations that support these controls and smile. A free beer, a sandwich or two and trappings of power do wonders for some people's egos. In fact these cheap trinkets assist them in selling out reasonableness. Nothing has changed since peddling dollars and privileges for the trappings of influence, read cowtowing obience for that last statement, became part of the life of political skullduggery, lies and thuggery.

[wayne_cook]

Getting complicated.
Starting to forget whos side i'm on.
Many valid points on both sides.
What am I saying "SIDES"
Thought we were all working for the same cause. "sustainable fishing"
Get it right before it's lost to everyone.

[dfox]

I read most of these reports as do many others and take on much of the information they contain. Usually i dont reply as i have nothing constructive to add, im sure many others do likewise.
Ive grown up in a family that contains both rec fisherman and pro's. Ive seen family members split over fishing related matters, brothers who will never talk to one another again over stupid single minded attitudes.
This thread is related to the fact that there are groups out there trying to stop "ALL" of us from fishing.
Panther has raised the issues and asked what we are doing about it! and what happens? we are argueing over pro verse rec crap again!
Stop argueing with one another, all recs and pros refer to yourself as "fisherman" and do your little bit to help where and when you can.
Im may only be a little fish in this fight but watch out ive got poisoness spines...foxy

[MulletMan]

BOING!

[Gbanger]

kudos to you pp for starting a thread that has put some 'fire in the bellies' and given some of us some food for thought...

i have only just come across this thread, and it will definately inspire me to ATLEAST take more notice of the political side of things... whereas prior to now it was something i never worried about... in saying that, its a little disappointing that fishing IS and will continue to be a political issue.

even if people dont reply or really care, atleast they know it is an issue that their peers are thinking and concerned about... which is definately better than nothing...

[cuzzamundi]

great topic once again panther!

gday lucky phil,

you must have a killer vocabulary to congratulate your fellow fisher mates on their catch without using some of your abovementioned examples!!! that's just the point, i feel pride in seeing some of my 'ausfish mates' pull in ripper catches, and yeah, i do feel the need to sometimes reply with a simple, yet very warranted 'great catch mate' etc etc. as you are a moderator, i feel comments such as that coming from you may do this site, on which you are an integral and valued part, a major disservice. everyone should feel free to post what they feel is worthy - so long as it's within the guidelines of course! having 'nouse' isn't just about lengthy responses. i do believe i've read countless threads under general and saltwater that have incited equal amounts of thought, agreement, disagreement, solutions etc. i just wanted to get that across. this site is fantastic though, whichever way you look at it. Go the fishing party next election!!!

cuzza

[shayned]

I'm fairly new here but some of the things I've been witnessing in the areas I fish have been niggling at me for a while. Recently another thread like this got me a little hot under the collar and I wrote two emails to my local member at Kallangur Ken H. outlining my concerns. On the last one I even suggested that a politician showing some concern and action on these issues would attract an increase in votes due to the number of fishing households in Queensland. Of course this would have to balanced by a whole range of policies on other issues eg health, employment ect. . I even suggested if he wanted to take on a leadership role he should join this very forum, identify himself and give himself the opportunity to gain feedback directly from your average voting rec. fisherman and find out first hand the strength of concern that exists.

Almost a month has passed since my first email and I still eagerly await a response of any type. So now sitting on my desk is a completed membership form for the fishing party, not owning a cheque book it will wait until I can pop into the post office(hopefully next week) do a money order and send it off.( Being able to do this via credit card would make it a lot quicker for myself at least.) I have never done anything like this before and where this will end up leading to who knows?

To answer you PP the apathy can be shaken off but will enough of us do it and soon enough who knows?

[fishingjew]

Well you got me thinking and realizing how deep my head has been in the sand . A very good read. but dont think its not sinking in it is and what to do about it. There is probably a lot of people like me who wont wade in to a to a post as there are others who are more informed. I for one have learned more on the plight of rec fishing and on other issues that i did not know existed. I do know where my vote will be going next time the fishing party

[flatstrap]

Just to add to the mix of this discussion:

Why should pro fishermen be treated differently from any other resource harvester?
If the pro's continue unsustainable and utterly indefensible fishing practices, they should GET OUT of the industry. The practices I specifically refer to are:
a) netting during spawning b) deep trawling using steel balls on the bottom of the nets that destroy ALL structure on the sea floor to spook the bottom feeders to the nets c) massive amounts of bycatch that gets dumped eventually

It's simply a numbers game. Keep taking more than you replace and you'll end up with ZERO, nada, zilch!

Just because it's a livelihood is no excuse to keep it going. In parallel, if I invented a car that maimed people in vast numbers, emitted noxious poisons; would this excuse permit me to continue because it's my livelihood?

The livelihood of a LOT more people will be destroyed when the fishing degrades to a level that it's just not worth the effort to launch the boat. Think intra state tourism; boat & tackle sales, 4X4's and `SUV's, local economies along the seaboard will wither if you take away the nation's most participated activity. I don't want to catch everything, but it would be nice to have a couple of edible recognised table fish for dinner at the end of a fishing day...flatstrap