North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Oh well, they will figure it out. Like charles Wide ect. You used to be able to bag out in an hour most days of the week now you cant get a fish there. The locals
will regret there powers in government and lobbying to keep it fully open. They should have blocked the wall off and left the areas around it open so fish can filter through the areas .IMHO.

On a positive speaking to fisheries and others recently the jewfish licence system is getting a shake up and only those with a proven history of making a living out of the game will retain the licence and the others will be cut back. There has been an influx of people getting reef licences and smashing Jewies because of all the other changes. I still don't see this stopping the pillaging at channel point. Its the ideal place to profish and I can see all the boats smashing that area a lot more.

With regard to the observations from Peter copied above from "Night fishing for Jew" post, I have been thinking about this a bit since I read it. Whilst not surprised if it is true, I remain a bit confused now it can be legally correct now these new regulations are in (at least for us). My understanding of the way it was to work for them listening to all the spin from fisheries and AFANT was that the coastal line boys could only fish in the Darwin zone (which includes Channel Point) if they had substantial history in it. From what fisheries told me only around 12 -15 would have enough history of the 75 or so licences out there. the rest would be sent packing way way east past Coburg. I cant see how the new regs pushed more commercial operators down there to fish for Jew if they weren't doing it before. Unless of course they are fishing in the Darwin zone without history making a bit of hay while the sun shines as it were. If so the vessel monitoring system would help straighten that out and to correct this situation I suggest it would need to be active 24/7 all areas. I could be wrong again with this stuff and there isn't much I could see in the act that talks about a Darwin Zone but I will have more of a look had the wrong coloured glasses on last night.

The laws you speak of come into effect at the end of the month with the Darwin Zone. This means all the part timers have until then to plunder it. Eventually the small operators launching from Dundee will be taken out of the equation.

This being said, the 15 licences that are still working used to spread out. Unfortunately now with the closure of Rocky point, the eastern end of melvill Island, north melvill inshore with the land rights ect they will still be confined to Chambers bay, Caution point and Channel point. I know which one is easier to get to, most sheltered and easiest to fish in general, Most appealing to the remaining few. I guess the reduction of licences is gonna help a little but it still forces the others into the most heavily fished areas IMHO. Channel point has more amature pressure as well as the pros.

How is their new regs come in a month and a half after the armature ones bit of a croc.

Yer, I guess it takes time like every thing. I just don't believe Dundee completely avoided a closure considering the fishing pressure. I guess I should watch out for what I wish for because no doubt when they do decide to close it they will go over board and lock the whole channel out instead of being selective to the main holding/spawning ground of the wall. Same as charles point and Lorna.

Hi all I have seen photo`s from a friend of mine who was on board one of those boats, I was absolutely shocked piles of piles of Jew fish all over the deck he told me they were averaging 500 fish an hour and there were 5 other pro boats waiting in line to hit the same spot. They preach they are the best ones to preserve fish stocks but yet they rape the grounds were Jew fish spawn its bl..dy madness what they have done. I will try to get these photo`s but don't hold your breath cause they now know that a lot of people know about this and should be stopped...

Also he told me this happens once a year at the same time and place, They call it the WALL. And most of the pro`s know this and will hit it hard as they can and take turns on the same spot.......... So to me its a major spawning ground and the pro`s are destroying there own lively hood cause they not even giving them a chance to spawn. So when you head out there to go Jew fishing and don't catch any you know why.

ARGONAUT wrote:Also he told me this happens once a year at the same time and place, They call it the WALL. And most of the pro`s know this and will hit it hard as they can and take turns on the same spot.......... So to me its a major spawning ground and the pro`s are destroying there own lively hood cause they not even giving them a chance to spawn. So when you head out there to go Jew fishing and don't catch any you know why.

There job is to catch fish to make money. They are gonna fish in the place they can catch the most product in the least amount of time and money spent. The only way to stop it is to close it off at the time they spawn. I think 500 an hour is a bit of an exaggeration but I know they get 2 to 3 hundred a night per boat on the good tides. They cant process more fish than this as they will go rotten before they can ice or freeze them. Usually they last for 4 days before they move on or are flogged out.

I was out yesterday all day on one of those commercial Darwin fishing charters. We were out the front of Charles Point at the place that I thought was closed off? North East of Fish Reef, I didn't have a GPS but roughly calculating.
There was another 3 of these boats in the same area, and at the rate every one was moving about, it was poor fishing.
11 people on our boat fishing, only small reef fish and shark came on board and thrown back.
No jew fish or decent reef fish.
Spoke to people from another charter when we got back, they were tourists and proud off their catch. A couple of small cod, red fish and spanish flags.
I aware the tides were not good or the moon not right this day. But I do better only 5 km from Darwin on similar conditions.
That area out the front of Charles point has been raped!

Yeap just the point I was making, we all know you have to make a living some how and pay the bills but once the breeding stock is gone its all over in that area for years to come......

Here is NT Seafood Councils take on the risk of commercial overfishing Vs the risk of recreational overfishing.
The risk analysis on impacts to commercial coastal line fishing was derived directly from the report attached to NT Seafood Councils Coastal Fishing report.
http://www.ntsc.com.au/wp-content/uploa ... MS-web.pdf


Unsustainable depletion of target and/or by-product species as a result of commercial fishing
Initial Risk: LOW
Likelihood: Unlikely
Consequence: Maximum acceptable level of impact

Recreational sector overfishing, illegal fishing and black market activities.
Risk: HIGH
Likelihood: Likely, expected to occur
Consequence: Serious impact, recovery measured in years to decades; or highly significant impact on public perception of the fishery

This is what they truly believe and are telling the entire world.

Now I don't want to get into Recreational versus Commercial argument.....but they started it first I understand that these guys need to make a living but at whos expense.......One boat takes more jewfish in one night than I would ever take in my entire lifetime.

Both sectors have a big effect and over the period of a year rec fisho's will take more than the pro boats by pure number of lines (total number of rec boats/people) in the water and total time fished. The difference is the pro will wipe a whole school off the face of the earth in one hit not allowing them to spawn ect. Rec fisho's will pick one of here one of there and the 2 per person limit stops a complete depletion of a school in one hit.

The pro fishermen (fishery council) will use those numbers that the rec fishos take more (total fish)to there advantage, not looking at the bigger picture. The science of recent times that proved that the limited range of these fish is there biggest enemy should be evidence enough that wiping a complete aggrigation zone is the biggest failure in managing the Jewfish stock. IMO

These areas need a break for the fish to do there thing then reopen it. Spawning closures would be the ideal solution. Problem is that fisheries will close it off full stop. This doesn't really suit any one IMO. If they do close it off it has to be more selective to the major spawning area rather than a huge tract of water which then forces more people in other areas causing more pressure on them.

Swoffa I think your actual response to that drivel shows a wonderfull economy with words be I agree whole heartedly with you.

Peter I think you are ask you are also correct aside from the numbers that they use against us are bullshit derived from flawed phone surveys multiplied by people on the water. The data is rubbish less than 3 % of peoe get their bag limit that go fishing and that number would be falling looking at the experience level on the water

AM wrote:Peter I think you are ask you are also correct aside from the numbers that they use against us are bullshit derived from flawed phone surveys multiplied by people on the water. The data is rubbish less than 3 % of peoe get their bag limit that go fishing and that number would be falling looking at the experience level on the water

Hmmm, maybe but technology is taking a lot out of the guess work now days and any stemi with no idea can now catch fish when given a GPS and a mark. Marks are cheap these days. Not like the past where time on the water was the only way to find grounds.

Either way the whole point in my view is the sheer numbers of fish taken off one mark in a short period of time. If 6 pro boats puled 100 fish a night for 4 nights it equals 2400 fish. How big are the schools of fish??? How long can those numbers last???

It would take 1200 people to bag out off that spot to do the same damage! Those numbers aren't gonna happen in 4 days.

On another point imagine if those 2400 fish were allowed to spawn. Now I don't know the percentage of male and female fish and I don't know how many eggs each fish will lay but if its like other fish I would suggest 100,000's of thousand's per fish. Think off the immediate difference each year if they were allowed to spawn in peace!

I totally agree with you all, its getting to the stage the fish need a safe heaven before all the breeding stock is all gone.