Should there be Boat Catch limits?

[cobby]

only looking for the (inappropriate)

Assuming you're referring to me, I'm not sure of what you mean?

I wasn't referring to anyone per se. It's a phenomenon that's subsided somewhat anyway, but there was a time where it seemed like the die hard snapper fishos had their boats out for 3 months, packed them up for the rest and bragged about 50+ fish 'seasons' where most fish were no bigger than 4kg.

Winter generally has bigger fish, can be as simple as bag out in 1 hour from launch to retrieve once you've cracked the code. Maybe it's me getting older and grumpier or I just have completely different objectives as to why I fish to everyone else. I'd rather have near empty ramps and multiple donut trips with hardly any boats around before cracking the code in late autumn-early spring. It's much more satisfying with average fish like snapper

[Delirium]

only looking for the (edited)

Assuming you're referring to me, I'm not sure of what you mean?

I wasn't referring to anyone per se. It's a phenomenon that's subsided somewhat anyway, but there was a time where it seemed like the die hard snapper fishos had their boats out for 3 months, packed them up for the rest and bragged about 50+ fish 'seasons' where most fish were no bigger than 4kg.

Winter generally has bigger fish, can be as simple as bag out in 1 hour from launch to retrieve once you've cracked the code. Maybe it's me getting older and grumpier or I just have completely different objectives as to why I fish to everyone else. I'd rather have near empty ramps and multiple donut trips with hardly any boats around before cracking the code in late autumn-early spring. It's much more satisfying with average fish like snapper

Well I don't disagree with any of that and I spend as much time out there in winter as I do any other time of the year.

The point I was trying to make was...if you going to have a closure (and I'm not saying there should be one), there is no sensible time to have it in our bays. The resident fish are vulnerable all year round anyway and the spawning visitors are only here for a few months. So you can only protect them while they are here or not at all.

[nhillboy]

Hi all, 30cm limit as already said a number of times by others...Me and my fishing mates have that as our rule..whiting, flathead, pinkies only over 30cm are keepers...anything less has little meat on it...my 20 cents worth...cheers...

[Wolly Bugger]

Hi all, 30cm limit as already said a number of times by others...Me and my fishing mates have that as our rule..whiting, flathead, pinkies only over 30cm are keepers...anything less has little meat on it...my 20 cents worth...cheers...

The sad thing is that there will be people who will deliberately exceed bag and size limits regardless, and don't worry about being caught.

[4liters]

Why people suggest closed seasons on fish that show no signs of needing a closed season is beyond me.

As for most estuary species. The min size needs to be lifted 3-5cm across the board. Then maybe. Just maybe as a collective we would have bigger fish before they are harvested. Who actually knows if that would happen though.

I'm not sure if it's a case of needing a closed season but SA and WA seem to have much better fisheries than us and they both have closed seasons. Obviously correlation doesn't equal causation but I reckon it'd be worth looking into, even if it was just for a couple of reefs that are important breeding areas or something.

[frozenpod]

Why people suggest closed seasons on fish that show no signs of needing a closed season is beyond me.

As for most estuary species. The min size needs to be lifted 3-5cm across the board. Then maybe. Just maybe as a collective we would have bigger fish before they are harvested. Who actually knows if that would happen though.

I'm not sure if it's a case of needing a closed season but SA and WA seem to have much better fisheries than us and they both have closed seasons. Obviously correlation doesn't equal causation but I reckon it'd be worth looking into, even if it was just for a couple of reefs that are important breeding areas or something.

What are you basing this on. This comes across as the grass is always greener....

I have fished in WA I would not consider it to be much better at all.

I cannot comment on SA.

[yepi'mon]

I'm all for upping the size minimum of some species as I think it's something that genuine law abiding fisho's can do to increase the quality of our fisheries. Anything around that 28cm mark is pretty much a hassle to fillet for little return anyway.

At the end of the day, decreasing bag limit's and increasing minimum sizes isn't going to stop those who don't follow the rules anyway...... Heavier fines and a greater presence on the water will do that.

[Westfish]

Why people suggest closed seasons on fish that show no signs of needing a closed season is beyond me.

As for most estuary species. The min size needs to be lifted 3-5cm across the board. Then maybe. Just maybe as a collective we would have bigger fish before they are harvested. Who actually knows if that would happen though.

I'm not sure if it's a case of needing a closed season but SA and WA seem to have much better fisheries than us and they both have closed seasons. Obviously correlation doesn't equal causation but I reckon it'd be worth looking into, even if it was just for a couple of reefs that are important breeding areas or something.

What are you basing this on. This comes across as the grass is always greener....

I have fished in WA I would not consider it to be much better at all.

I cannot comment on SA.

The Ban in WA came in because the Snapper fishery (Metro) had all but collapsed through over fishing.
The Snapper there all come into the 2 sounds to aggregate and spawn which make them very easy targets for over fishing.
The ban came in and when it re-opened a 50cm size limit and 2 per angler was introduced.
The Ban is still in place for the main spawning period but the fishing either side of it is pretty amazing.
Slightly different situation as the size of the Snapper school can be 2-3 footy field in size and generally in the same spot each year.
This make it an easy slaughter if left unchecked.