Have your say on the review of NSW recreational fishing rules

[Scratchie]

The point about recreational versus commercial fishing regulations is that the pros seem to have very few restrictions applied to them, especially in estuaries, where as we recreational fishers face more and more restrictions on where we fish and what we take. Do the 86% of non fishers have the "right" to consume unsustainably caught fish as many sold in the markets are? There is a lot of other sustainably produced food (including farmed fish and prawns) out there to eat.

Additionally, the pros don't have to catch a few of one species then switch to another . Why should I? I really feel that it is up to me what species I target each trip. Lizards on lures one day, whiting on bait another etc. Why do I need to go prepared for several different methods of fishing if I don't want to? Over time, the biomass of each species that I keep will be much the same as if I am restricted to a small quota of each on each trip.

i live a good hour away from the closest ramps that give access to the places i like to fish. A typical trip would cost me about $50 in car and boat fuel alone. Restricting my catch to 5 x 40cm lizards (that is my own personal size limit) seems rather unfair to me.

Here is another problem with this particular limit. Imagine one has caught and kept 5 small flathead (say low 40s). Then you move on somewhere else and find s few larger ones (say 50-55 cm)? Much more food in these. The temptation for many (assuming they like to fish within the rules) would be to ditch the smaller ones and keep the larger ones. Should we be encouraging that?

I am a keen conservationist and I release lots of legal fish. I sometimes keep my bag limit if I am fortunate enough to catch it (which is rare). At other times I keep enough for my immediate needs and perhaps a few for the freezer to keep me going until my next trip out. I think there are many fishermen and women just like me. We abide by the rules and have our own self imposed ones. These new changes will impact on us far more than they will on the types who fish outside of the rules with little chance of getting caught. Instead of wasting our licence fees and taxes on making these unnecessary changes, NSW Fisheries would achieve far more in terms of fish conservation by employing more compliance officers and properly policing the regulations, bag limits and size limits that are currently in place.

That's my view and i'm sticking to it.

+1. Policing of the existing rules first!

Cheers scratchie!!!

[Snagmaster]

This discussion is about Recreational Fishing, not Commercial fishing. Of course commercial fishers have an enlarged catch because they're feeding the 86% of the population who don't fish. But, lets not get side tracked. This topic on discussion is Recreational fishing rule changes.

• Please note the future implementation of new fishing arrangements to achieve recovery of mulloway is not part of the above review.

Written on the Info review page and within the FAQs. The Mulloway discussion paper closed from public review on 16 October 2012. No use bleating like a stuck lamb now that you've missed it, place your focus on something you can change.

2. We are already restricted in terms of size limits with dusky flathead, with only one above 70cm.

My Opinion on the proposed rule changes:

I agree with the changes to reduce bag limits for sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3; having set bag limits of 10, 5 and 2 keeps things simple. Reducing baglimits is a way to increase fish stocks without creating more locked out of areas.

Section 1.4: I believe the lenient baglimits should be adopted. As fishmaniac has pointed out the money spent on boat fuel chasing larger game fish is not worth the dividends if the bag limit is set too low. Sea conditions already limit the amount of times boats can chase these larger fish. Catch rates are highly variable compared to inshore species.

Section 1.5: I agree a 20 finfish (not including baitfish) limit per person is plenty! Even if that person only gets out for a fish every few months.

I would also support fin clipping of fish with bag limits under 5 to reduce Illegal fishing for commercial gain.

5 (just) legal flathead gives 10 fillets so it would easily feed 5 people, if one of your teenagers came out with you then you would have enough for 2-3 days of fish. That's just one species, nothing says you can't go target bream or whiting after that.

The rationale is written in the discussion paper, I won't post it here but you'll find it on page 10. I agree with their deduction.

The waterways are not exclusive to just you or just line fishers, they're used by many other user groups. I can't think of any logical reason why we wouldn't allow bow hunting of carp. It's just another form of 'sight fishing' a declared noxious species.

What makes that blue groper more special than a black drummer? Both are great eating fish, both are amazing fighters.

Groper are majestic and beautiful creatures...that is all. Like I said, it's just my choice. I see them differently to you, obviously. You see them as sport and food, I see them as majestic beasts of the sea. I can't bring myself to kill something so beautiful. But drummer, tailor, salmon, trevs, squid...no problem.

It was a comment, I'm not debating.

[sniper]

Great comments Kel my feelings exactly.I put the same comment about the flathead only I was very blunt about it My comment was deleted. perhaps if Ihad embellished it it may have been allowed

[Muzza416]

Slowly Slowly i believe this will be the start of the end to rec fishing, i am opposed to these rectrictions, has anyone or government dept ever thought about how much money some rec fisho forks out every year to pursue their sport/pastime,,,you have paid for a boat, then you pay for a boat licence, then you pay for a boat rego not to mention the trailers rego, then you need a friggin fishing license which they said would help to pay off the commercial fisherman and this would restock the harbours(this is a con in my opinion) , perhaps you need insurance for boat and trailer,,etc etc i could go on and on, and meanwhile more and more restrictions are placed onto the rec fisho, heaven forbid i should get lucky one time and catch 20 of any species would be a miracle and i only bring home what is legal, but to continually impose restrictions on us for smaller bag limits and bigger fish sizes when anyday of the week you go to the fish shop and you will see who is really rapeing the waters....I think this is very unfair,

[Benzeenees]

The thing that surprises me is that there appears to be no justification for the review. There is no suggestion that fish stocks are reducing. The only justification seems to be that as the population of NSW increases, the pressure on fish stocks will increase.

It looks like we have some public servants who, in order to justify their existence, need to do a review every 5 or 6 years. And if you review bag limits, you aren't going to increase them are you?

That said. I do think that 20 sand or tiger flathead is excessive. Ditto tailor and bream. But reducing kingfish to 2 when the minimum size is 65cm does seem over the top. Let's leave it at 5 unless there is evidence that numbers are reducing.

Science is about evidence and the review is very thin on evidence - the main justification seems to be that people don't need to catch more than enough fish for a day or two. That's a value judgement, not evidence.

[piratesgold]

I watched a fisheries officer nab an extended family who were taking box loads of urchin off Bass Point. chatting to the officer later she recons the bag for urchins is way, way way to low as the urchins are in plague proportions and are destroying the weed bed habitat all along the coast. habitat for lobsters crabs and many fish species. having had a snorkel about I tend to agree, plenty of scarred and bare rock where the weed used to be, and clusters of many many urchins. put limit for urchins up to between 60 and 100 for a year and monitor it. any spear fishos or lobster divers care to comment? Also with the expense and time of towing a boat from Orange to the coast, damn right I want a decent bag, I can only get out every 6 or seven weeks, and don't like freshwater fish

Edited May 23, 2013 by piratesgold