North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Five years ago I would have wanted to you Max. Now I recken that everyone should ask for the guide to skin there fish when the charter is finished as I dont care any more and it would p..s off all the other guides and deckys. Excellent work

Chris Makepeace wrote:Hi Jeno

Sorry, I wasn't avoiding this issue. It's just that I don't have a detailed or definitive answer at this stage. NT Fisheries is currently conducting a review of the fishing tour industry. A preliminary discussion paper was put out for comment late in 2009 and AFANT made a detailed submission at that time. We indicated then a need for an overall limit on the number of fishing tour operators and a need to limit the number of operators in some particular areas. Since then we have addressed the issue further through the relevant fishery managemnt advisory committees. I belive that NT Fisheries will shortly release a further discussion paper on the fishing tour industry for public comment and I do know that the issues you are concerned about are to be considered in that paper. I'll make sure I alert FFF when that paper comes out because it will be important to get as many people as possible to add weight to any position we may want to take.

Just to be clear, we supported a reduction in recreational possession limits for black jew and we will probably support some measures to reduce rec fishing impacts on golden snapper (at least in the Darwin area) but we clearly recognise that these measures have to be reflected accross the board. That means we are arguing very strongly for reductions in catches of jewfish and golden snapper, particularly in the Darwin area, by both commercial fishers and charter operators. It makes no sense if the only reductions come from recreational fishers.

Regards

Hi Chris, thanks for the reply mate, I appreciate it! I'm very happy to see that the issue is included in discussions around fishery management for our future! I appreciate the work that AFANT does and I'm glad to see that the whole sector is being looked at. I look forward to seeing what comes out in the above mentioned discussion paper. I do think that most (read most) of the charter operators do a good job, but I also believe they do have an impact on the fishery.

Regards, Jeno

Hi Everyone

I note the comments on the skin on fillets issue.

In March this year, after a year or so of AFANT trying to resolve the issue we wrote to Minister Vatskalis as follows:

"I have done some investigating and have found where it was agreed by the Minister of the day and Police Marine Fisheries that skins only need to be left on unmanaged species. This was discussed and formalised at a meeting of MACRF on the 12.02. 98 at which the Fisheries Minister Mick Palmer was the chair person and the then Director of Fisheries David Hall was present.
Item 5.4 of the agenda: (This is the minutes of the meeting)
Decision re skin and scales left on fish fillets.
"Phil Hall advised that the final decision regarding this matter culminated with a requirement that anglers leave skin on fillets of non- managed species to allow practical identification by enforcement officers."
This finalised the general fish possession limit issue and DPIF brochure which outlines the new controls was distributed.
Minister, this is what we all thought was the new rule and all fisheries literature reflected this including Kakadu laws as well.
In 2008 when Chris Makepeace and myself where reviewing the fisheries act we found it had been written into the act totalling different to what was agreed to by the Government Minister at the time. HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?.
Then there was this mad scramble by Fisheries to rewrite all the regulation booklets to reflect the following:
The entire skin must be left on fillets and trunks of all fish species.
Why did we just accept what was in the regulations?. Why didn't we look at the reason for the rule to be totally different to what Fisheries Department was informing recreational fishers for the last 10 years.
In 2008 there was a couple of interstate fishing parties caught exceeding their bag limits in the gulf region but they had no skins on there fillets, so Marine Police still had to identify them which they can quite easily. I have heard of no angler exceeding their bag limit with the skins still on their fish. Yet I have received numerous complaints from anglers who have been pulled up by police and warned or charged for having no skins on their Barra fillets but have not exceeded their bag limit. No one likes leaving their skins on Barra fillets as it spoils the fillet and is messy when they get home to have to then remove the skin.
Could you please look into this and can we discuss this matter further together before a decision is made."

In October we recieved a letter from the Minister which acknowledged that what we had found out about the original agreement was true but that "cirvumstances have changed" over the last decade. The Minister responded:
"My Department...is further discussing this issue with the Water Police and is looking at options for how the existing legislative provisions may be amended, without compromising the ability to enforce fishig regulations. I am happy if your association wishes to contact my department to pareticipate in these discussions..." We obviously said we wanted to be involved but no discussions have taken place yet.

I belive that Police are pushing to keep the skin on fillet rule and the only way to get it changed is probably for big numbers of people to let the NT Government know that it is not needed. Our bottom line position is that it shouldat least be removed in respect of barra.

Regards

i personally think bag limits are a total crock of poop
why should recreational fisherman have limits when generally
any recreational fishermans esky would not even have a dent in the fish population?? when you have commercial boats out there
that catch and waste more fish than any recreational fisherman would in there entire life even there bi catch that gets turfed back over
why any recreational fisherman would wont to lower the limits is beside me thats for sure
yet the recreational fisherman gets policed the hardest.. generally the recreational fisherman
take fish to feed them selves and family and at the cost of fuel and everything else that goes with it
the stricter regualtions are a joke in my eyes.... on the other hand any recreational fisherman who is caught selling fish fillets should be fined hard to prevent greed in taking unwanted fish... that is just my belief from someone who was taught and brought up to take what you wont as long as its not getting wasted

People like this is the reason that recreational fishermen cant be trusted to manage themselves.





Hedland fishing cases lead to big fines - Department of Fisheries media release

Four men have been ordered to pay more than $23,000, in fines, penalties and court costs, after serious fishing offences were dealt with in Port Hedland Court yesterday (22 November).
One of the men, 54-year-old Zainel ALPAN of South Hedland, was also disqualified from holding a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence for six months.
The Prosecutor had requested the licence disqualification, as it was Alpan’s second serious fisheries offence and it involved a significant breach of bag and size limits.

Alpan was jointly charged, with 71-year-old Daw LAUDER of Katanning, over excess bag limit and possession of undersize fish offences that were uncovered on the afternoon of Sunday 25 July this year (2010), when the pair was apprehended at Finucane Island Boat Ramp.

The men were found with a total of 115 various species of fish (84 over the daily bag limit) and 48 of them were undersize. Each of the offenders was ordered to pay $8164.60 in fines, mandatory penalties and court costs.

In another case, before Port Hedland Court yesterday, 57-year-old Hasbullah BIN ARIFIN of South Hedland was ordered to pay a total of $4119.20 in fines, penalties and court costs for taking 30 spotted javelinfish, in excess of the daily bag limit, found when his vessel was checked by Fisheries and Marine Officers at the Finucane Island Boat Ramp on 8 October this year.

The court also ordered 45-year-old Amer BILTON of South Hedland to pay $2729.20 in fines, penalties and costs for having 11 tropical sea perch more than the bag limit, when he was apprehended at the Finucane Island Boat Ramp on Sunday 11 July this year.

Pilbara-based Supervising Fisheries and Marine Officer Mike Dunne said recreational fishers needed to be aware that bag and size limits were set, to ensure current and future generations could go out and enjoy catching fish and feeding the family.
“The large fines and, in particular, the disqualification of a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence for one of the offenders, reflects both the Department of Fisheries and local community’s feelings towards fishers who disregard fishing regulations,” Mr Dunne said. “It is very disappointing that some fishers blatantly ignore the rules.

“These convictions are a direct result of people being apprehended by the department’s new mobile compliance teams and a timely reminder that these mobile patrols are out and about checking recreational catches across the State.”

Anyone with information about illegal fishing should call FISHWATCH on 1800 815 507.

I wouldnt really say they had the book thrown at them from those fines. There was no mistaking that they set out with intent to exeed any limit set.
The problem facing the amature impact in this is the multiplier factor. Have a look in the car parks over the weekend the number of boat is enormous, a lot of them mightnt catch much a fair percentage of the time but when there is a bite on if there were no limits they would fill the boat. They may not do it every time but you can only keep a fish once, and as my father inlaw said ( a commercial line fishaman in Qld retired) .... "there is only so many of erverything "

Back to the enforcment issues and penalties Dodgyones provided above, I have reread the release and I reckon if deportation to country of origin were added to the list of fines etc the ledger would be just about even.

They are Australian though....

Chris this subject really needs some time for others outside of afant and this forum to get get involved in as it will effect so many people in the community before they even have time to fathom what's happening let alone understand it. once these new proposed rules are put in place it will be extremely difficult to take back and I don't believe the recreational sector is having the biggest effect on fish stocks compared with the commercial sector. each year the commercial sector accounts for 1000 tonnes of barra from its nets,250 tonnes from its coastal line fishery, 34 tonnes from it coastal netting licences, 505 tonnes from its dimersal fishery which extend s from 15nm and beyond and I haven't included the Timor box area! the recreational sector from the last survey accounted for 600,000 whole fish kept which is but a drop compared to the commercial sector. As I have researched a lot on this subject I believe that it is other area's that need improving outside the rec fishermen and the regs we have now need to be enforced more stringently before we set new size and possession limits.
Email will be sent soon!

BEAR

Hi Bear

We agree. As I said when we started this process, it was always our intention to use the input from this round of discussions to develop a more refined paper that would then go out for further consideration and comment. We are working on that paper now. I hope it will be out before Xmas and there will then be two or three monts for further comment. We will alert as many fishers as possible through our memebrship, fishing clubs, FFF and the media so they have an opportunity to have a say.

Regards