donjuarez Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) I know everyone has an opinion, not trying to turn this into any form of argument, but thought i'd share some stats I've come across. Just an extract ... Statistics of the professional fisherman from the Hawkesbury and Pittwater region off the Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) through freedom of information. This includes Mesh netters which account for most of the fish and also Trappers, Trawlers and Beach Haulers with the Beach Haulers catching the majority of the mullet. 2006 – 07 financial year, The most comon species that rec fishos fish for... Kingies - 260kg Breambos - 24,200kg (at a half kilo average that's about 50,000 fish in a year!) Whiting - 15,000kg Jewies - 5,200kg Flatties - 1,400kg Trevally - 4,700kg Mullet - 230,000kg (That's right! no typo's!) Flounder - 700kg Blue Swimmers - 1400kg Mud Crabs - 1,250kg I know that these a yearly figures, but year in year out, is this even sustainable.. No wonder my trips up to the hawkesbury have been pretty slim... Edited February 12, 2008 by throw me a fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inhlanzi Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Wow!!! Ha ha - But he Kingey figure is pure BS Any figures on slimey mack, yakka and aussie salmon? Oh yea and what about the by catch? cheers inhlanzi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donjuarez Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 Yeah the kingy looks a lil shady, don't know if they've declared the real numbers! Have requested the full stats, so when I get them I'll add details on slimeys, yakkas, salman, squid, etc etc.. Apparently the figures don't include all the undersized/bycatch numbers that get thrown to the pelicans... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh88 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Thats a lot of fish, especially when you consider how much of it isn't purchased and goes to waste. As much as i'd like to believe that was the amount of kingfish taken it seems highly unlikely, but you do tend to see much more of the farmed Hiramasa Kingfish at the fish markets rather than the normal netted ones. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbink Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Do you have a link to that, throw me a fish? Why was a FOI neccessary - aren't catch stats published as a matter of course? As to sustainability have the catches been stable in relation to the fishing effort? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
double pluggers Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I know everyone has an opinion, not trying to turn this into any form of argument, but thought i'd share some stats I've come across. Just an extract ... Statistics of the professional fisherman from the Hawkesbury and Pittwater region off the Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) through freedom of information. This includes Mesh netters which account for most of the fish and also Trappers, Trawlers and Beach Haulers with the Beach Haulers catching the majority of the mullet. 2006 – 07 financial year, The most comon species that rec fishos fish for... Kingies - 260kg Breambos - 24,200kg (at a half kilo average that's about 50,000 fish in a year!) Whiting - 15,000kg Jewies - 5,200kg Flatties - 1,400kg Trevally - 4,700kg Mullet - 230,000kg (That's right! no typo's!) Flounder - 700kg Blue Swimmers - 1400kg Mud Crabs - 1,250kg I know that these a yearly figures, but year in year out, is this even sustainable.. No wonder my trips up to the hawkesbury have been pretty slim... G-day all i have an idea for the hawksbury pittwater waterways why dont we use recreational fishing license funds to buy out all the commercial fishoes. Then we will let all those recreational fishers who parted with their hard earned thinking they were making a difference have it to themselves for a couple of years. Then we will turn it into a marine park, because there could be grey nurse sharks in this waterway & we all know recreational fishers are the ones who have bought about their decline.---no leadership, no science,we need a stronger voice to protect our sport so our children get a chance to enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donjuarez Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) Do you have a link to that, throw me a fish? Why was a FOI neccessary - aren't catch stats published as a matter of course? As to sustainability have the catches been stable in relation to the fishing effort? I sent you a PM Billfisher Edited February 12, 2008 by johnno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnno Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Full report below Hi all, sorry for the late report but I have been flat out over the xmas holidays and are only just starting to get a few days off. Before the report I have the catch statistics of the professional fisherman from the Hawkesbury and Pittwater region off the Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) through freedom of information. I have never said a bad word against the pros because I didn’t know how much they caught but now I know it shocks me to think this is still going on week in week out and surely it can’t go on for to many more years before the Hawkesbury is totally out of fish. Anyway to the numbers and this includes Mesh netters which account for most of the fish and also Trappers, Trawlers and Beach Haulers with the Beach Haulers catching the majority of the mullet.This if for the 2006 – 07 financial year, 24,200kg of bream (and at an average of 1/2kg per bream that’s 50,000 Bream being taken out in one year and that’s not including the small ones they feed to the pelicans or the dead ones they throw back. Whiting is 15,000kg, Mulloway (Jewfish) is 5,200kg, Flathead 1,400kg, Trevally 4,700kg and the big one Mullet which is 230,000kg (no I didn’t write too many zeros on the Mullet that’s the number), then there is Blue Swimmers 1400kg and Mud crabs 1,250kg to my surprise there were only 260kg of Kingfish and there was also 700kg of Flounder. I have only listed the bread and butter fish that I mostly fish for but if you want the full list I will happily send them to you if you email me and I have the last 5 years results if you want them. I hope the trawlers will still talk to me because it’s not them that take the most fish, out of a full days trawling they are lucky if they catch 10 fish they only trawl for Squid and Prawns . The number of pros in the river has increased since they have been kicked out of Sydney Harbour by a lot, you can tell by the amount of traps around now and they come from the Hawkesbury, Pittwater and Brisbane Water and there are a lot more coming from Sydney and putting there boats in by trailer at Mooney in the Hawkesbury or Bayview in Pittwater and mostly work of a night time so they don’t get abused by fishos who are just trying to catch a feed. Apparently Sydney Harbour hasn’t fished this good for 20 years since they got rid of them and I wish they would find dioxins in the Hawkesbury so they would ban them from there too. When the fishing license first got brought in the government bought out a few trawlers licenses from the Hawkesbury River and the next day the trawler owners went and bought a license from the old bloke down the road who hadn’t used his license for years and made a very nice profit, about $50,000 so I am led to believe, if the government did there homework first they would have bought out the licenses not being used first for a lot less money, anyway that’s my rant for this month now to the fishing report. Finally some surface action in Broken Bay with schools of Tailor and smaller schools of Frigate Mackerel and Bonito smashingFlathead baitfish you just have to move around and find them and wait for them to pop up. Some days they are at the box and sometimes at Flint and Steel or right up in Pittwater near Scotland Island and other days been in front of Lion Island. 7 gram Gillies baitfish lures are the best I have come across, they are small but still weigh enough to get a good cast on them with 9lb line. Flatties are a very reliable feed this time of year with the sand banks in front of Lobster Beach being the best place to get some and we have caught them up to 80cm there all on soft plastics but if it’s a terrible day weather wise so is the Flathead fishing usually drifting in front of Patonga with bait will catch a good feed of Flatties too if you are down the Hawkesbury. Use Whitebait for bait because there is plenty of baitfish around at the moment. Bream and Whiting have been great one week and quiet the next and I don’t know why we are using the same baits and fishing the same spots with Hardies Bay one of the most consistent but the Little Beach on the eastern side of Patonga has been producing some Whiting to 42cm on Pink Nippers and Tube Worms with a few Bream and Flatties chucked in. Blue Swimmers are still around with most days getting 6 to 10 in our traps and if your lucky a muddy down the Hawkesbury but I haven’t targeted them in Brisbane Waters for a long time.Mud Crab-Hawkesbury River Jewies are still a bit quiet but we usually catch a few when we target them but they are only about 2-3kg and taking fresh Squid or Slimy Mackerel fillets and the best spot has been down Mooney Creek or the road bridge at Mooney. We had a good 2 weeks on the Jew at the Rip Bridge in Brisbane Waters where they were there every day at the top of the tide for about an hour. We got them every day we were there on fresh squid but they were only 40-60cm but everyone was still happy and once the word was out there were lots of boats there for the tide turn. Kingies are still very disappointing down in Pittwater and Broken Bay. We have caught them but not in numbers and mostly throw backs, bait hasn’t been a problem with plenty of Squid and Slimy Mackerel around West Head but the Kings have been quiet even around all the wrecks down in Pittwater which I am finding more of every time I am down there but it still isn’t helping. Maybe next week they will turn up because they are outside on the 40m reefs and we have had our best ones come from West Head, Barrenjoey or the Box so it might just be a late season for them. The Frigate Mackerel are at Terrigal Haven too, but be prepared to fish shoulder to shoulder with everyone else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjneville Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I don't bother fishing the Hawkesbury anymore. It's just an exercise in frustration. Mind you, living near Tunks Park, why would I bother?? With the pros out north & south of the place, small wonder it's getting hammered so hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilm Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I saw that report too. I have also contact DPI and have asked for a quote to get the following statistics (yes it costs money): I sent: "I am after some statistics for the kgs of fish caught every year from 2003 to the present in the Pittwater/Hawkesbury system by haul netting and trawling, I am interested in the result of the closure of the Sydney Harbour fishery following the dioxin scare and the subsequent effect on the Hawkesbury/Pittwater system. The species I am interested in are: Prawns Southern Calamari Arrow Squid Yellowtail Kingfish Bonito Frigate Mackerel Cobia Australian Salmon Tailor Yellowfin Bream Dusky Flathead Sand Flathead Flounder Mulloway Whiting Trevally Mullet I believe this information is available to the public domain, and I also understand that a cost may be associated with obtaining this data. Would you kindly advise how much the fee for obtaining this information is. " My intention is to be able to understand the effect of the closure of harbour fishing, and then subsequently to understand how the MPA and friends may try to use the stats to create a marine park. This is surely happening by design. When I get this information (they haven't yuet given me a quote - I asked more than a week ago for the quote!) I will post. BTW - on the kingfish stats that wouldn't surprise me, season before that they took tonnes out off Pitty, and have probably changed their tactic to netting just outside Broken bay when the rats come marching in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniak Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I saw that report too. I have also contact DPI and have asked for a quote to get the following statistics (yes it costs money): I sent: "I am after some statistics for the kgs of fish caught every year from 2003 to the present in the Pittwater/Hawkesbury system by haul netting and trawling, I am interested in the result of the closure of the Sydney Harbour fishery following the dioxin scare and the subsequent effect on the Hawkesbury/Pittwater system. The species I am interested in are: Prawns Southern Calamari Arrow Squid Yellowtail Kingfish Bonito Frigate Mackerel Cobia Australian Salmon Tailor Yellowfin Bream Dusky Flathead Sand Flathead Flounder Mulloway Whiting Trevally Mullet I believe this information is available to the public domain, and I also understand that a cost may be associated with obtaining this data. Would you kindly advise how much the fee for obtaining this information is. " My intention is to be able to understand the effect of the closure of harbour fishing, and then subsequently to understand how the MPA and friends may try to use the stats to create a marine park. This is surely happening by design. When I get this information (they haven't yuet given me a quote - I asked more than a week ago for the quote!) I will post. BTW - on the kingfish stats that wouldn't surprise me, season before that they took tonnes out off Pitty, and have probably changed their tactic to netting just outside Broken bay when the rats come marching in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donjuarez Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 I saw that report too. I have also contact DPI and have asked for a quote to get the following statistics (yes it costs money): I sent: "I am after some statistics for the kgs of fish caught every year from 2003 to the present in the Pittwater/Hawkesbury system by haul netting and trawling, I am interested in the result of the closure of the Sydney Harbour fishery following the dioxin scare and the subsequent effect on the Hawkesbury/Pittwater system. The species I am interested in are: Prawns Southern Calamari Arrow Squid Yellowtail Kingfish Bonito Frigate Mackerel Cobia Australian Salmon Tailor Yellowfin Bream Dusky Flathead Sand Flathead Flounder Mulloway Whiting Trevally Mullet I believe this information is available to the public domain, and I also understand that a cost may be associated with obtaining this data. Would you kindly advise how much the fee for obtaining this information is. " My intention is to be able to understand the effect of the closure of harbour fishing, and then subsequently to understand how the MPA and friends may try to use the stats to create a marine park. This is surely happening by design. When I get this information (they haven't yuet given me a quote - I asked more than a week ago for the quote!) I will post. BTW - on the kingfish stats that wouldn't surprise me, season before that they took tonnes out off Pitty, and have probably changed their tactic to netting just outside Broken bay when the rats come marching in. Hi Neil, I've got the stats for the past 5 years now, if you/anyone wants a copy, PM me your email address and I'll happily forward it on. Cheers, AJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilm Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Hi Neil, I've got the stats for the past 5 years now, if you/anyone wants a copy, PM me your email address and I'll happily forward it on. Cheers, AJ PM sent, thanks mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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