North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Hi guys
Anyone know the current situation with permits to fish Bathurst ?
In particular Port Hurd and Apsley Strait
Keen to fish Marie Shoal but want to know what the story is if it is too blowy.

The north of the islands from Ranku and across to the eastern front side of mellive are off limits and can only be fished by the lodges so port Hurd is a no go. Check out the tiwi enterprise website

That's not accurate cozzy, the inter-tidal zone is the only complication and nobody knows where that is. Marie shoal is available as is everywhere else within about six foot of the coast. The only legitimate claim the blue mud bay decision holds over that area is if you enter a creek system. The rest is yours...and the rest of Australia's.

We hit camp point last weekend and inquired about permits,mate was told that permits are no longer needed.Govt has done some deal in last 3 weeks.Plus if asked for permit we were told by a local copper that basically you can tell the TO asking for it to f off now.

bring_it_on ...I heard the same except that only Port Hurd and Apsley were exempt.
Would be nice to get clarification.
Last time I was there we had 4 different fishing guides and a boatload of TO's harassing us for permits.
We were even told that the Tiwi Rangers would "come and get us"

I will inquire with the TLC next week to see what they have to say.

The tiwi rangers will come and get us hahaha hope you laughed your head off the only person that can do anything is a cop the rest can frig off

The lodges paid millions to have exclusive access. When we get our permits that what we get sent and we live here. On a side note the cops here are hopeless, seeing them is like seeing Bigfoot, take it with a grain of salt

Cozzy, no offence, but that is because they don't have time to care about poop that they can't enforce. There is no ability for the tiwi council to sell access to something they do not own. And anyone who paid anything for exclusive rights should make a complaint of fraud, which could be made out. If the highest level of aus legal council can't tell you where the boundaries are, how can Anyone sell exclusive rights?

coppers and rangers over there don't even have a boat i heard

c9h14n wrote:That's not accurate cozzy, the inter-tidal zone is the only complication and nobody knows where that is. Marie shoal is available as is everywhere else within about six foot of the coast. The only legitimate claim the blue mud bay decision holds over that area is if you enter a creek system. The rest is yours...and the rest of Australia's.

Correct. The Blue Mud Bay decision only applies to the intertidal zone (mean low water mark, I think?). For ease of interpretation they draw a line across the mouth of creeks. The rest is available for use by all Australians. They kindly "allow" us access to the creeks in the southern part and Apsley Strait at the moment. The only persons who can ask for your ID are law enforcement officers, not indigenous rangers. So you can politely tell them to be on their way if they ask.

Try contacting the numbers given on the nt govt website or any other related links. No one wants a bar of the whole thing.

here is the link to the land rights act & definitions of boundaries of aboriginal land

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2013C ... c367707427
BATHURST ISLAND

All those pieces of land at Bathurst Island in the Northern Territory of Australia containing an area of 2071 square kilometres more or less being the whole of Bathurst Island above a line along the low water mark and all other islands above a line along the low water mark lying within 5.56 kilometres of the low water mark of Bathurst Island; but excluding from the said line those parts along the low water marks of all intersecting rivers, streams and estuaries inland from a straight line joining the seaward extremity of each of the opposite banks of each of the said rivers, streams and estuaries so that the aforesaid boundary line shall follow that part below low water mark of each of the aforesaid straight lines across each of the aforesaid rivers, streams and estuaries and excluding all that land described in Deed of Grant Volume 22 Folio 196.
MELVILLE ISLAND

All those pieces of land at Melville Island in the Northern Territory of Australia containing an area of 5697 square kilometres more or less being all those parts of Melville and Buchanan Islands and all other islands lying within 5.56 kilometres of low water mark of Melville Island above a line along the low water mark surrounding the said islands; but excluding from the said line those parts along the low water marks of all intersecting rivers, streams and estuaries inland from a straight line joining the seaward extremity of each of the opposite banks of each of the said rivers, streams and estuaries so that the aforesaid boundary line shall follow that part below low water mark of each of the aforesaid straight lines across each of the aforesaid rivers, streams and estuaries.

to me it reads as above a line drawn across each creek is part of aboriginal land & the bluemud bay decision now gives them the watwer over it, as far as intertidal zone that is infinitely variable, is it 5.56km, lowest astronomical tide, or what ?
"Intertidal zone" words aren't mentioned, probably weren't even made up back in 1976
but if anyone knows whether lodge induced closure from cape fourcroy to camp point has changed please kindly share, port hurd, johnson here I come

Update .. applied for an annual permit online Sunday night .. got the permit Monday (today) 10am.
Still not sure where the permit allows me to go.
Called phone number on permit... given another number ...called and left messages ..no reply yet.

Gentleman on the first phone number said "there has been a deal done with the Government but it hasn't been released yet" .. he said he didn't know what the deal was.

So.... it reminds me a bit of artificial insemination ... I know something weird and wonderful has happened but I'm just not sure what !

If anyone wanted to read the whole thing...
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2008/29.html