Coalition supports end of commercial netting in the bay

[Fishsniper]

Netting destroys future juvenile fish stocks, bottom sea floor structure and other unwanted by catch, our twin bays are the winners here..

Anyone remember when the scallop boats were banned from our bays ? the sea floor recovered after two short years, sea grass and coral returned, the commercial and amature catches recorded after the banning grew exponentially.

I rest my case.

Mesh nets aren't tiny. Majority of juvenile fish escape before nets are even hauled.

Refer to previous topic on this vote grabbing piece of legislation. As Dougiek found out through actual research and not b******* conspiracy theories, netting does very minimal damage to the bottom. If a study was done on the damage rec boat anchors do on a single weekend, the greens would push for zero anchoring in the bay.... Scallop dredging was entirely different, that PURPOSELY destroyed the bottom to catch and shouldn't have ever been introduced.

The way I see it, more baitfish in the bay means more fish in the bay, if thats your only conclusion then we are all in trouble, I dont really care too much about netters in the bay, I am concerned about netting in Corio bay because it is small and it genuinely has an effect on fishing there but if westernport is thriving due to the banning of all commercial fishing then it can only be a good thing :thumbsup:

Maybe in some grand utopian idea. Recs take more out of the bay annually than commercials. And the rec take is a conservative guess. Westernport isn't thriving like everyone suggests. Last season Whiting were hard to get, they were the main target of Westernport netters. It's still the same fishery it's always been the last 20 years. Ever wondered why there's all this data on PPB but nothing recent on Westernport? It's majority collated by commercial fishing. Who discovered a smaller Snapper spawn during April? 1 Commercial fisherman. Who provides the bait you buy? Commercial fishermen.

It's quite hilariously hypocritical when one of the most vocal, prominent opponents of commercial fishing in the bay was quite happy to buy and sell at a bloody huge profit (assuming they were bought at usual market rates) and actively promote fresh PPB pilchards for Tea Tree weekend.
Same goes for the 3 of you who were very vocal about Addis, but opening that up benefits you 3 so who gives a **** right?

If it all goes through and I'm forced back into retail, don't ***** to me that the imported sh*t bait you bought was sh*t, I'll grab a knife and tell you to sit on it

Plenty of netters working bass strait and plenty of quality bait will come from there, no one was trying to make a profit from the reopening of Pt. Addis, alot of good fisherman on this forum catch there own bait, no need to get all fired up, its just peoples opinion, PPB should be for rec Angling only, its not that big on the scale of things, and Western port is thriving, especially for Snapper fishing and the average size whiting is much bigger than PPB

[matt1991]

As long as it brings in a better fishing experience for me, my future kids and other recreational fishers that all that matters in my books.

[Brett]

http://www.theaustralianseafoodshow.com/#!episodes/cq4e

Episode 6 and 7, might be worth watching.

[re-tyred]

Ingeer is absolutely correct. It is all about reallocating the resource. If the recreational angler population is to increase then there is only two alternatives. Cut bag limits and put other restrictions on or move the commercial fishers out. Cutting bag limits would lose a heap of votes unless the commercial fishers are gone first... Current catch rates are sustainable but an increase of 30% in the recreational catch without a reduction in commercial catch would likely not be sustainable.

[fishlips]

Bring on the ban i say and the sooner the better

plenty of ground outside the heads for the pro,s leave the bays alone and i don't believe the crap being spouted about no longer being able to get fresh fish/bait from our markets/restaurants etc What are you saying there's no fresh fish outside the heads?

beside us recreational anglers far outnumber the commercial fisherman so we will make this happen its just a matter of time

i also believe we need to further tighten bag limits for recreational fishermen i only ever take what i need for a feed that night or the next morning
too many greedy buggers around ruining it for everyone !!!

Sheafer

[bowl]

Once the netters are banned... Who will be next..... Rec fishos will be, marine parks will double n triple in size n bag limits will get smaller ect.
I have no issue with netting, as long as its regulated properly and certain areas of bays are not over netted.

[4liters]

i also believe we need to further tighten bag limits for recreational fishermen i only ever take what i need for a feed that night or the next morning
too many greedy buggers around ruining it for everyone !!!

Sheafer

Check out some of the size limits, bag limits and closed seasons in other states. From memory WA has a closed season on snapper over the breeding season, minimum size of 50cm and a bag limit of 2 fish. Might be one reason why people keep saying the fishing interstate is so much better than here in Vic.

[FishnMiss]

All I'm going to say is what a bunch of whiny little selfish sooks us recs are as a collective...

Good luck to the guys who buy their 'fresh' bait fish from the local monger. It'll soon be a whole lot older and dearer....

What you talking about. With netters out the bay hopefully our bays fish stock improves.
Netters as far as I know will still be able to fish with long lines till 2022 (I stand to be corrected). Much of our fish come from outside the bay.
I don't buy fish from shops unless the wife wants pink salmon I go catch my own in the bay :thumbsup:

By the way Whiting get swept into the bay by westerlies blowing them in as they go past. They enter as tiny as half a match stick, once theyr'e bigger they move out the bay traditionally (they don't even spawn there). Then they head to S.A where they get really big n fat.

[cobby]

If the recreational angler population is to increase then there is only two alternatives. Cut bag limits and put other restrictions on or move the commercial fishers out. Cutting bag limits would lose a heap of votes unless the commercial fishers are gone first...

And yet the fishery is fine, cuts to bags, limit increases aren't needed, closed seasons are stupid.

Pros being forced out and the argument goes 180 and the bays ******. No one can catch a fish. They have to go. They destroy everything.

Nothing but whinging, selfish, gullible sooks

[Tonyzee]

Face it cobby your time is up!! The majorty will always win the argument, no job is ever a certain thing even, if it means you have to change your life then get over it you might learn something new. Whinging, selfish, sooks?? Do you own a mirror?

Seeing commercial netters dropping their nets right in front of a local pier very recently, is nothing short of disgraceful, whatever few fish some of us were taking home for dinner are now gone to greedy consumers. What about all the other people, with other nets taking away their pastime? You have to think about the bigger picture allowing fish a safe haven in our bay could only be good for the fish, get there numbers up and then more and more breeders will produce a more sustainable outcome.

I say bring the end of commercial netting quicker, this year has been the leanest pickings for not just me but all my friends and family. It would be nice just once to take the family out fishing and be able to catch the dinner. If the bay was more populated with fish, then this maybe a more regular occurence. Isn't this what fishing is all about?