nah gazza talking about that specific shot .
nah gazza talking about that specific shot .
hi waldo,
look forward to the photos
mangroves in the canals, bloody hell, it would block the view >>
maybe neatly trimmed like a hedge
unfortunatley it will never happen, even though it is a fantastic solution to increase breeding habitat in the estruary.
a bit off topic sorry
always shake my head at the pacific harbour development on bribie, they have essentially completley f#%@ed 2 large mangrove wetlands, but continue to win awards for their "care of the environment" go figure >
cheers
dazza
"blinded by preconcieved ideals or just unwilling to open ur minds to new possibilities " says Waldo.
Waldo, could you send us some photos of an average shot for king prawns so we can compare this fishery against Bananas.
Whiting are another species where you have massive near total clean shots from the shallows without the use of planes or any special technology, although I dont know wether thats still the case.
Were spotter planes introduced into the fishery to make it more efficient ie. target specific / less by-catch or to gain an advantage, are they even still used.
Waldo, youve started a good thread, every-one could learn something here keep it up.
Waldo
Mate yours is an exercise in blame shifting , you are pointing a finger everywhere but at yourself.
At the same time you are trying to convince me that having to accept massive biomass destruction by trawlers is "my business".
In other words I should go and get &^%$*ed because its a problem of perception on my part.
You continually hammer the "look how far we have come" point when you should be hanging your head in shame at the continued level of harm you are causing.
You mention water quality. How much sediment does your net stir up into the water column with every shot and how long does the turbidity so created wash up and down the bay??? multiply by the number of trawlers in the bay & the number of shots per working day and ask the question of yourself . HOW MUCH HARM AM I PREPARED TO DO??
You mention habitat loss how many thousands of kilometres of seabed habitat have you personally destroyed, ask yourself the same question HOW MUCH DESTRUCTION AM I PREPARED TO DO???
You mention habitat restoration, What has the trawl industry EVER done to restore the damage they have caused to marine habitats and what am I doing personally to redress the situation.
You complain of being an easy target!! That is because blind freddy can see how much harm you do. And whats worse is the harm done by years of indescriminate fishing that we can NEVER recover from. And because you claim a greater right of access to the resource by way of your "proprietal access"
The last time I had cause to visit the "Fisheries Act" I seem to remember the act was formulated to bestow EQUAL RIGHT OF ACCESS TO ALL STAKEHOLDERS.
Yes you are making some effort to improve your method of operation( its probably cheaper to operate if you exclude bycatch) but if you were fair dinkum you would'nt be fiddling at the edges and trying to blame everyone else for the problem of falling fish stocks. The problem is largly your doing and that fact is inescapable and it has been created by greedy atrocious behaviour.
I applaude your efforts to improve your operations but find your arguments and blame shifting trite and unsupportable.
Kind Regards
rando
waldo, you're fighting a losing battle with this. You cannot convince ausfish members that what you are doing is sustainable. Even though, in Qld, commercial trawl fishers are required to install turtle excluder devices and bycatch reduction devices. Even though trawling occurs in only about 1% of Qld waters. Even though trawl effort in Qld has dropped consistently over the last 5 years.
You and I both know that those photos are the exception rather than the rule. It would have been better to post a couple from the tiger fishery or the king prawn fishery. These would have been a little more representative, I feel, given that these fisheries have the most effort. The banana prawn fishery in Qld, as you know, has been decimated by the RAP process.
It may be better to cut your losses and run.
Lefty
Jeez Waldo, you try to assist and look where it gets you. I'll stick my balls on the block next and discuss tigers and kings.
Gulf tigers are trawled out of the same water as the bananas - just at different times so make your own minds up about how more representative tigers are.
Kings have got to be the cleanest type of trawling around - 120fa of water and only two shots a night!!! Where else in the world can yu do that? 3% Bycatch would be on overstatement.
Most trawlers that catch 'habitat' end up as the wrecks us recs fish. Scallops and prawns are mainly caught on sand bottom.
I'm talking about 20m 400 h.p. vessels which make up the majority of the export catch here.
I argue that this type of fishing is sustainable and should continue.
I can't argue about bay/river trawlers as I have no first hand experience with them, however judging by some of the retorts here that doesn't seem to matter.
Blaming pros won't fix the issue here.
Quick second point:
Water quality-
Current water quality models being run by DNRM&W show that "if" best practice methods were undertaken for runoff/sewerage treatment were adopted in the near future (they aren't real flash now), water quality in Moreton bay will stay the same and not improve. Population growth is offsetting these measures. There is a point where these lines of extrapolation converge and and the effects of population growth outstrip the measures being taken to control water quality, and the bay is poisoned.
Pro's and rec's are in the same boat when it comes to living with the above effects. There is a bigger picture than turbidity caused by otter trawl.
nil carborundum illegitimi
Watch out gulf there will be a lot of trawlers up that way soon as the fisheries to the south have become unsustauinable. What was the % of fishers that put up their hand for the last buy out scheme a year or 2 ago, huge. I know there was a lot of disappointed trawlermen after they got knocked back. Sustainable isnt a word that can be used in an industry where the majority want out.
Might want to read a few of the posts concerning the bycatch issue up the coast recently. I agree deepwater king prawning is low bycatch. But shallow water (<50fthm) has THE most bycatch of any fishery in QLD.Originally Posted by GBC
GBC
Your point about water quality staying the same does more to support my argument than refute it.
Sewerage outfall is a continuous problem for water quality,( and there is little any of us can do to change that) but runoff require a wet weather event( a bit short on supply over the last few years) and therefore has an intermittent effect.
dragging a chain across the seabed not only stirs sediment into the water column but also stirs up and dissolves nutrients that if undisturbed stay in the sediment. This goes on day after day by multiple operators and once this stuff is stirred up it takes a long long time to settle. (Shake a teaspoon of soil in a glass of water and see how long before it is clear). It is of little surprise to me that the huge changes in outfall quality have had little effect on the overall water quality while trawlers plow the paddock all night
You also proudly quote figures 3% bycatch. Thats about 200 kgs of biomass destroyed per week for each boat. I wonder how many tonnes that is across the fleet.You say (quote) "... trawlers that catch habitat end up as wrecks ..."(unquote) are you seriously suggesting that the seabed is not habitat???
Take the blinkers off and recognize that what you do is inherently bad for the environment AND YOU (trawler operators) ARE PERSONALLY RESPONSABLE . It is not someone else that is creating this problem , it is YOU.
Having said that , please understand I have nothing against you gentlemen personally, but am passionate about this subject, and cannot understand anyone trying to justify such an inherently bad practice.
Much better to say "We do it for a buck, and the consequences are of little concern to us". That at least I can believe.
Regards
rando
Reading this and the other posts regarding trawling, I am a rec fisherman who has a father in law who had a trawler (Retired) and many friends that are involved in the commercial side of things from retail to netting to line fishing.
I could go on about the damage that nets are reported to do, but I have been known to throw an anchor and disturb the sediment, Oh and when I throw a bait net I also disturb all the sediment. And my crab pots do to.
Not to mention if I catch a snag, I admit at times I have broken the snag off and have potentially removed some poor fish his habitat.
I can hear you now saying that yes but howm much is that compared to what trawlers do. What would be the ratio of rec anglers to Pros 50 or a 100 to 1 I would guess at minimum maybe up to a 1000.
So as I live in a glass house I will not throw any stones.
It is good to see Waldo trying to discuss these issues which are so important to all of us. Both the commercial and Recreational industry are an important part of not only our economy but are also part of our culture. Not everyone can go throw a net for fresh prawns. My mother who has had a hip and knee replacement in the last 12 months would probably struggle as well has having two vertebra fused. Yet she loves prawns, and I for one would prefer that they were coming from Australia than Vietnam. At least our Australian trawlers are taking steps to improve their efficiency and reduce by catch through TED's and other changes which have come through regulatory changes. Trawlers do not want to catch by-catch as this increases their costs but at the moment they do catch some. Yes some trawling may catch more than others but then some rec fisherman catch a lot too.. I can remember camping as a youngster and seeing people with tomato buckets full of undersized whiting. I know not all of us do or have done this but some have in the past and still do
Again whilst I would love to have the ocean and particularly the rivers all to ourselves realise that is not likely to happen. People will still want to be able to buy fish and prawns.. I have read the posts on here how most people are against the importation of Seafood. Well if we eliminate the commercial sector in Australia there will be no alternative.
Again we all have very vested interest in this. Either through our way of life or through our earning capcity. Again thanks Waldo for continuing to provide the commercial side of things.
Ross
May your lines be as tight as ....
30+knots at the banana banks. now THAT stirs up some sediment!
Hi GARFISH , why bring ya mummy into it???
Mate ,nobody expects anybodies mum to wrestle a steer to the ground either ,even kill a chook.....My mother who has had a hip and knee replacement in the last 12 months would probably struggle as well has having two vertebra fused. Yet she loves prawns, and I for one would prefer that they were coming from Australia than Vietnam,if she didn't want to
We'd all luv ya to only catch deepwater prawns ,over the imported ones anyday......
Maybe we just can't buy into "unsustainable practice" prawns, where there is a better way ,with Waldo's on-going research.
Waste(by-catch) is waste mate ,on that we all agree...
Not sure if this could be made economically feasable, but how about an idea from the egg industry where you have free range vs caged hens.
If prawns could be marketed as 'Limited Bycatch', or 'Fish Friendly Prawns', etc, because they are from deep water or use the latest by-catch reduction technology, I would choose them over any other?
troy
hey waldo long time since i have seen an all prawn shot like that, on the 50 or so days i went out on several trawlers i never saw anything like it,or water like it obviously nowhere near the bycatch scandall areas bob h
good on you garfish ,sure you wernt a netter in a past life we here from the bribie netters that we need them so the old and frail can get their omega 3 which is essential to them. and how much they contribute to the local economy. makes you wonder if there is a santa as well
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