fished-out Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Hey Guy's Just wondering what the laws are regarding cleaning fish at sea,,,,,, Myself and mate were given a written warning about having as the fisheries called it "mutillated" fish on board.We caught some fish outside and felt a bit sick and went back inside waters,,,,,,,while in there we decided to clean the fish we caught and soon we felt better and went back outside to fish some more,,,,,,fishing inspectors wanted to know what we caught ect ect,,,,,,,,told us we are not to have cleaned fish in open waters and we should have put them in the car before going back outside,,,was just reading a post about someone catching dollies and wahoo and filleting them and putting on ice,,,,,,is this ok to do or not???????,,,,,,, If they don't want us to clean fish at sea,,,why don't they provide us with cleaning facilities at all of our ramps,,,,,,i know it makes a horrible mess and attracts all the scavanger birds ect,,,,,,the answer would be like some other states,,,clean fish at sea,,,,,can someone shed some light on the correct thing to do???????thanks guys,,, Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big-Banana Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I've always wondered about this as well. I think its to stop blokes catching undersize fish, filleting them and claiming them as legal fish. Personally I never clean any fish at sea as I've always thought it was against the law. It'd be nice to find out for sure though. Although I do fillet the live bait I catch, does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Im very surprised as i was not aware you couldnt clean fish in the water. We have always cleaned fish in the water...I would also like someone to enlighten me. Maybe Mallacotte Pete could answer as he seems up to date with all the laws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 An interesting question Greg, According to the Fisheries website, fish may not be "mutilated" that is, filleted, beheaded or tailed at sea. Fish can only be gilled, gutted and scaled at sea. I have just now called NSW Fisheries and spoke to Belinda in Recreational Fishing to get clarification on this and she says: ___________________________________________ "The law is that you cannot behead or de-tail fish as this hinders Fisheries Inspectors in carrying out checks on legal length of the fish. It is OK to gut, scale and de-gill fish at sea." ___________________________________________ So bottom line, you can't fillet, behead or de-tail any fish at sea. She also gave me a link to the new 2006/2007 publication called the "Saltwater Fishing Guide" as well as the 2006/07 "Freshwater Fishing Guide". These have just been published and are up to date with everything you will need as far as Fisheries rules & regs. are concerned. The Saltwater Guide can be found here: You will need to download each of them. http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/resource...g-guide-2005-07 The Freshwater Guide can be found here: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/resource...g-guide-2005-07 It's good to clear up things like this with Fisheries and they are very helpful with info if you ever need it. Cheers, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 For those down loading the guide the relevent section is on page 33 Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 (edited) "Although I do fillet the live bait I catch, does that count?" Live bait is exempt as long as it's for immediate use and is not subject to size limits.. Cheers, Pete. Edited December 19, 2006 by MallacootaPete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 I have bleed, gutted, gilled and scaled fish, as this is OK. Bleeding fish is always a good thing to do and then get them on ice as a minimum to keep your catch in good condition for the table. Fisheries want the fish to be in such condition that they can check on size. Have had fisheries check the catch when I had gutted all the fish and never blinked. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 There you go...we learn something every day....we never cut the head or tail off anyway so we would be fine, we just clean and gut them at sea..... All this fisheries talk promtped me to check my fishing license and yes it expired a month ago.....will have to get another this week... Can you still get them from Shell Servo's?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caine Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 nectic my local shell doesnt do it anymore!!! you can do it over the phone now, or at any tackle shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmoshe Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 (edited) There you go...we learn something every day....we never cut the head or tail off anyway so we would be fine, we just clean and gut them at sea..... All this fisheries talk promtped me to check my fishing license and yes it expired a month ago.....will have to get another this week... Can you still get them from Shell Servo's?? You can also get your licence renewed online here: https://pnpnet.qvalent.com/OnlinePaymentSer...cd_currency=AUD Or by phone on 1300 369 365 Or at any of these certified outlets: http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/__data/ass.../NSW-Agents.pdf Cheers, Pete. Edited December 19, 2006 by MallacootaPete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fished-out Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 Thanks Guy's,,,,,,,,,i knew someone would know the score,,,,thanks for all responses,,,cheers guys and have a great xmas and new year Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big-Banana Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Thanks for that, avoids all the confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryan Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 to add to all of the above, you can fillet fish for immediate use, either as bait or for a meal if you are lucky enough to be able to cook on your vessel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abitfishy Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 to add to all of the above, you can fillet fish for immediate use, either as bait or for a meal if you are lucky enough to be able to cook on your vessel. Wondering what fisheries would do if you had cleaned and beheaded a fish, and that fish was still legal size after it was beheaded.....technically this shouldn't be a problem since its all about ensuring the fish is legal size. But I bet some nasty bloke having a bad day would still fine you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fished-out Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 Wondering what fisheries would do if you had cleaned and beheaded a fish, and that fish was still legal size after it was beheaded.....technically this shouldn't be a problem since its all about ensuring the fish is legal size. But I bet some nasty bloke having a bad day would still fine you. That is exactly what happen to me,,,,We cleaned them back in the river and my mate took the heads off his, which left the body which was still well over legal size,,,,,and went back out to catch some more,,,,, and i pointed this out to the inspectors,,,,,,but their comment was,,,you can't have "mutillated" fish at sea,,,,,,,,,never got fined but send a warning in the mail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DV8 Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 This all means that you cannot fillet and use say a salmon, mullet or a tailor for bait even if it is of legal size!! These three have size limits and filleting them or butterflying them would be "mutilation". What would be the ruling if an officer found you using a big slab off tailor next time you hit the Hawkesbury for a big Jew??? Davo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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