Coalition supports end of commercial netting in the bay

[fishingvic]

Thursday 12 November 2015

Coalition supports end of commercial netting in the bay

The Liberal-Nationals Coalition will support the Fisheries Amendment Bill 2015, but will move one amendment to bring forward the date to end netting in Corio Bay.
The proposed Bill schedules the phase-out of commercial net fishing in Port Phillip Bay by April 2022 and Corio Bay by April 2018.
Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Agriculture Peter Walsh said the Coalition’s amendment proposes bringing forward the date to end netting in Corio Bay to April 2017.
“This date change would bring faster resolution to a long-fought local issue, and would ensure it is resolved well and truly before the next election,” Mr Walsh said.
Mr Walsh said the policy to end commercial netting in Port Phillip and Corio bays was first announced by the Coalition in November last year.
“This will help to protect the health of the bays and will give the state’s 838,000 fishers a better chance of a catch,” Mr Walsh said.
“Fishing is a popular pastime in Victoria and is a great way for families and friends to spend some time outdoors together.
“Recreational fishing generates $7.1 billion in economic activity for our state and supports around 34,000 jobs.
“Phasing out commercial netting will ensure we have healthy bays and better fishing opportunities for many years to come.”
Media contact: Sarah O’Connor 0432 074 888 sarah.oconnor@opposition.vic.gov.au

[cobby]

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....

[hornet]

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.

[Fishsniper]

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....

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:

[Fish-Hunter]

Awesome announcement :victory: it's about time all commercial netting was removed from bay's, inlets, estuaries :cheers: :banana: :super:

[cobby]

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 bull 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 **** bait you bought was ****, I'll grab a knife and tell you to sit on it

[frozenpod]

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

Dead right Cobby but we are wasting our breath mate.

The science has been proven over 100 years that the method used is sustainable, has near zero effect on bycatch as the fish are sorted live and doesn't damage the sea floor.

These blokes refuse to see the truth and the reality is a sustainable industry is shut down and 100's are put out of work for no reason.

I guess we will see what happens in 10 years when they cant catch a fish who will they blame them?

[4liters]

The issue isn't one of sustainability, it is who the government wants to allocate the PPB fish stocks to. With 300,000 (about a 30% increase if my maths isn't ****) or so new fishers expected under this Target One Million plan they need to ensure there are actually enough fish for people to catch or it'll end up over fished and result in frustration for both new comers and current fishermen alike.

[ingeer]

The issue isn't one of sustainability, it is who the government wants to allocate the PPB fish stocks to. With 300,000 (about a 30% increase if my maths isn't sh*t) or so new fishers expected under this Target One Million plan they need to ensure there are actually enough fish for people to catch or it'll end up over fished and result in frustration for both new comers and current fishermen alike.

Agreed, the policy has nothing to do with bycatch of unwanted bait fishes. It's about re-allocate the measurable fishery resources. As been fishing for over years, I can see an obvious declining catch esp. for those who fishing LB. If the government thinks the economic benefit to have 1M fisho are greater than having all those dead one sold on market, why not have a try and we'll see in a couple of years how it's going.

By the way i don't really care about the economy part, all I care is if I can regularly catch something from piers or banks

[Rod Bender]

................................................................................................................................................................................. 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................................. Who discovered a smaller Snapper spawn during April? 1 Commercial fisherman. Who provides the bait you buy? Commercial fishermen.
......................................................................................................................................................................................................

.......................................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?

...........................don't ***** to me that the imported sh*t bait you bought was sh*t, ...........

Not sure what you mean in regards to your Westernport/lack of Whiting/targeted by netters comment. Guessing you are not blaming the netters. Same with the comment regarding netters discovering the low snapper spawn...are you saying they provide useful info?

Where will the bait and fresh fish come from then if netting is stopped? Do netters operate in other parts of Oz? If so, then we get our bait/food at someone else's loss. Is there much fresh fish farmed here or does most of it come from the wild?

Not sure who the '3 of you' were who were very vocal about Addis...I'm not going to check but no doubt they know who they are. I would be interested to hear from them if they have previously used bait that has been netted. Would be interested to hear a response from anyone in regards to using netted bait and what alternatives there may be.

Sounds as though netting in the bay will be stopped eventually...so if you are dead set against it, then be happy. No point continuing on about it. Would assume fish numbers will prosper. Us country folk are so lucky here, can go fishing, take a shrimp net and get all the bait we want. Shitloads of food is produced here, people bag farmers/orchardists for using too much water (the water would be better off left in Eildon to keep it full so the whingers can fish it) /chemicals blah blah blah...despite the fact that the majority (of primary producers) have cleaned up their act. I don't mind eating it! I know what standards they have hear. Looking forward to going to 'Solar City Seafoods' here in Shepp years from now to purchase some ???????????
cheers
Team Bender
Saltwater simpleton