Great news!

[Jewhunter]

I read with great interest today that the state government is

going to open up locked out marine parks to no bait, lure only

recreational fishing practices.

Apparently grey nurse sharks are unlikely to be hooked on a lure.

WOW! Really?! I'm shocked. Common sense prevails.

I wonder what the greens are going say about

that one.

Cheers,

Grant.

[arpie]

That is great news indeed, Grant. Even if it were catch & release only - it still would have been a win/win situation! Is it going to be ALL Marine Parks? So lure fishos can now go back to the Pin here?

Before I got to the bottom of your Post, I was thinking ..... wait for the Green Backlash ........ and then you said it toO! Great Minds must think alike!

I remember that Martin Salter's submission was somewhat along those lines mentioned above - a bit of give & take to get the public to be compliant.

A great day for recreational fishing

Roberta

Edited September 21, 2012 by Roberta

[Blood Knot]

Thats excellent stuff :thumbup: :thumbup: a bit of sanity at last

Blood Knot

[hottyscotty]

I can sense tackle shops rubbing their hands right now!

[GreyNurse]

That's a great win all round if it comes off. A win for the fish, the rec anglers and retail. A rare combination indeed!

Nursie

[4x4fisherman]

I think we're going to see a huge backlash from the greens and see it soon. Anyone who follows politics regarding the environment knows the greens will likely get smashed at the next federal election so I'd expect them to tread quite heavily on all of their agendas until then.

Fishing exclusion zones and marine parks are not the only way we are being locked out of some of the country's best fishing, National Parks & Wildlife Services are steadily closing access to big parts of the coastline around Australia Recently there was a rally and protest over track closures to some awesome fishing, camping & 4wd'ing in Tasmania. The politician that signed off on the closure had NEVER BEEN THERE! Their excuse was NPWS didn't have the resources to look after the area which was very lame as 4wd clubs and individuals which included a lot of fishos helped keep the place clean and tracks clear for years. Currently there are considerations to limit access to the Stockton Beach area, possibly charging camping fees above the vehicle beach pass we already pay for but also a possibility is no camping and no access to some areas. Since NPWS handed management to the traditional land owners after spending a fortune on access and traffic control, there has nearly always been someone checking window stickers at the Anna Bay entry to make sure everyone has paid their fees and considering the amount of noise made about introducing camping fees I'm sensing a revenue raising theme.

I know most of us lead busy lives but we should all do our part to make sure government and NPWS don't lock us out, just sending emails and voicing your objections to being denied access to your country and resources helps considerably. These organisations use a formula where they consider for example 1 in 400 unhappy voters will take the time to send a complaint so this means 1 person DOES make a difference. I have taken dozens of friends, mostly new to fishing to Stockton Beach, Bennetts Beach and a few others up the North Coast over the years and had many awesome times, if all of a sudden some of these are closed it puts enormous pressure on the other areas and effectively locks everyone out because 4wd is the only way to access the area.

Something the freshwater fishos know well is Sydney Water's ability and willingness to keep everyone away from waterways. We have dams with farming in the catchment area, houses and in some cases light industry yet nobody can get near the fishing. Along the southern shoreline of Lake Burragorang there are picnic areas and huts and all the infrastructure you'd expect in a national park, you and I pay big dollars for our water so they can build this but you're locked out. Lake Burragorang is the worlds largest private fishing pond full of trout, cod and other species and believe me it gets fished... Just not by the general public.

Yep it's so very generous of them to open up the 1% of Australias fishing that we're locked out of, I think it gives me a warm feeling... Or maybe I just peed in my pants.