Should Snapper Size and Bag Limits be Increased

[SeaSaw]

This question has been going throigh my mind a bit over the past 6 months and I would be interested in other views. With the great catches of Snapper coming from everywhere, it has made me wonder if the snapper fishery would be sustainable with a higher bag limit offset with further increases in size limits. This would hopefully giving the fish plenty of time to spawn.

For offshore fishing, it would be great to keep a few more fish, given distances travelled etc.

On the down side, the mortality rate of released fish is not well understood, and there is the potential that this would just result in more snapper being released and then dying.

If you could change the size and bag limits, what would you vote for? I am interested to here reasons why as well.

Cheers,

Mark

[mackmauler]

no and throw in a closed season as well.

[logan_whiting]

i flat out getting one 35 in the southen bay !!!!! come on

[basserman]

yep raise it to 50cm 60cm even better and only one fish

agree with rob a closed breeding session would be great here in NSW

[webby]

The way the snapper populations is being decimated of late, make you wonder if half the breeding stocks are being wipe out, as some just constantly pound the same populated areas.
Yes its been a good 12 months for them. But these cycles only seem to come around every 3-4 years or so.
No need to increase the size or the limit of 5 , but put a closure on them during the winter months the same as for some of the other coral reef species around the full and new moons, so as to give some respite during there most active periods.
regards

[chanquetas]

Closed season....give them a chance. The best thing to do really though is to buy back a few more fishing licenses, and reduce the rape and pillage by the pros.

[straddie]

Hi SeaSaw, increasing the bag limit and size limit is really just moving the distribution more into the favour of the guys that are already getting good catches. Mean while Joe Average that fishes the bay has to churn through even more unders just to get a legal fish.

I wouldn't like to see a totally closed season, even if it was only a 1 fish limit for the period so the guy that latches onto that once in a life time fish can keep it if he chooses.

[-spiro-]

well Mark i have lost my thought train on this.
We have also thrown a cat in amongest the piegons with a clossed session.
This will get more interesting im sure of it.
Waitting on the out comes

[SeaSaw]

Thanks, some very good points raised already. I have modified the poll to include an option for a closed season to see how much support there is for one.

Mark

[markpeta]

Just because there are a few extra posts on snapper catches this weekend people get into a panic. If there are as many out there as shown by the posts doesn't that mean that what is in place now is working. I'm not going to spend the dollars to go out and kiss the fish good bye or take one home. Half of the time the fish is buggerd from bringing it up from 60-80m lets throw some more shark food out better in my boat I reckon.

Mark

[willbarra]

40cm 5 only and a closed season

[620sf]

Good topic Mark, i think this season we are having a top snapper run right up the coast with everyone nailing some good catches. Maybe this is becaused of the 5 per person bag limit and size of 35cm.

i know what you mean by traveling 50 odd km catching 10 or 15 snapper between 2 or 3 and thinking what do we do now, but i like the idea of 5 per person, for us it gives us a good feed of fish for a couple of weeks and by next trip we can do with a bit more fish in the freezer.

The thing i would like to see is them policing it alittle more back at the ramps on a good day, couple of hours here and there. It keeps the ego's of some fisho's within limits.

Luke

[NeilD]

The notion of a closed season should be looked at if the fishing effort is disturbing spawning aggregations. A week either side of the full moons during winter may do the trick.
I think a 35cm squire is pretty small for offshore but I am quite proud of them on softies inside the bay.
Five fish is good for a feed and if you are trying to catch more fish than the fuel and bait cost to get them then perhaps you are fishing for the wrong reasons.

Neil

[damons33]

i think from what i see at the ramp, the "average joe" has trouble getting five even at seasons peak!
and the amount of fish around suggests there isn't an issue with over fishing on the hard reefs. Except for inshore on the goldie and the sunny coasts....where it is rumoured that some pro's have been conducting illegal drift netting/gilll nets :-(.

I don't like taking fish smaller then 45cm as when you fillet them, you don't get a hell of alot off them. ideally fish in the 4 to 6kg class are the best for fillets.....smaller stuff eaten whole.
the current bag limits are a good deterant to shamatuers because of the fuel costs associated in getting to the good grounds...eg-barwon banks.
fish is best eaten fresh, so if you catch 5 fish average of 3kg you get around 8kilos of fillets, how much more do you need? as brownie say's "dont destroy what you love and enjoy".
i think a maximum size bag limit would be a better way of futher controlling amatuers say 2 fish over 75cm and 5 between 40cm and 75cm.
another way could be rotational based annual spawn time closures on certain reef areas to guarantee that all of the "micro-environments" maintain there vigour.
Lifting the crazy grey nurse protection zones,the real damage was done during the shark finning days that the fisheries managers failed to stop in time to save the grey nurse shark, it is on its way out in these waters and its too late baby now! as there is not sufficiant numbers to maintain them as it now stands 60 sharks ain't going to make 2500 at flat rock not with their reproducive cycle the way it is you need to do something artificially in tanks mixing eggs and sperm from adjacent reef areas to stop inbreeding........like people from burpengary ;-p. i think i just wet my pants!lol

but i like the current closures untill rotational seasonal closures are introduced.

one year you could close say, shallow tempest for 3months of the winter spawning time, then next year move it to smiths rock and the following year up at hutchies, if that was done you'd see a lot more quality of all of the fish species local to those areas...not just snapper, i myself am more concerned with spangled emperor numbers then snapper around the cape you don't see as many smaller fish like i use to, or coronation trout or red throut emperor. just snapper after boring old snapper again and again and again.

damon ps-Will, i don't think we are talking about your waters, down there you got a real issue of lack of sizable fish haven't you? to revive the days of good reds in sydney harbour and long reef will take some real wise and strong management from the n.s.w fisheries dept. as a boy i remember seeing snapper caught from long nose Pt, some in "old man" calibre. brisbane to the greater extent is protected by "distance" as from the closest to the cape spawn areas is 45km by sea going boats(excluding moreton island launching and at $150 per barge ride i don't think its a worry ;-).

[chanquetas]

On the other hand does 1 person NEED 20 fish?