Nippers, pipis and beach worms - sustainability issues for fisho’s

[Pickles]

I stumbled across this report (https://bit.ly/3k9Yafp.)

on  nippers specifically (https://bit.ly/3kbgteN)

from DPI (Total Allowable Fishing Committee 2021-2022), that is worth a read by those (especially in Port Hacking area). It outlines that at the amounts stated at the end of these comments, that the fishery is sustainable - I had no idea that in the period 1989-95 670 Tonnes of pipis were commercially harvested per year - until a rapid decline. Now 150 Tonnes per year.

Being a keen bait fisho’ I do use lures, but far more experienced with bait - need a few lessons from @DerekDand @Scratchie) and a proud Christian indigenous man responsible for country, I’m  always l interested in info on our fishing stocks.

The total reported commercial catch of Ghost Nippers increased steadily from 1 - 2 tonnes in the early 1990s to around 4.5 tonnes in 2019/20. Catches fluctuated between 2 and 4 tonnes over 1995/96 – 2008/09 and have averaged 4.1 tonnes per year since 2009/10. Over the past decade, > 90% of this catch has been made in the Port Hacking area, supplying the Sydney recreational bait market. There is substantial recreational harvesting of Ghost Nippers for bait in estuaries north and south of Sydney, with estimates from surveys indicating a decline in recreational catches from about 7.5 tonnes in 2000/01 to about 2 tonnes in 2017/18.

QUOTA’s for 2022 from the 

Pipis - 156 tonnes

Nippers - 5.6 tonnes - 95% of all Nippers collected n NSW are from Port Hacking area.

beach worms - 8.5 tonnes

 

Some interesting info in the report based on data, not guesswork.

[Isaac Ct]

Really good to know that data @Pickles. I have noticed massive quantities of ‘previous nipper pump spots’ on mainbar so I suppose those are from the recreational catches?

[bessell1955]

Do you feel that this may lead to a ban on harvesting?

 

[Restyle]

2 people pump nippers for every bait shop in Sydney, on a good day a bait shop can go through 1000 nippers easily but in the winter you’d be lucky to sell 10 nippers per shop. It gives the system abit of time to recover as they may only pump 400 nippers a week instead of 10-15,000 nippers a day during summer and on long weekends. They are a fast growing species and live for about 4 odd years and reach sexual maturity quickly 

[Little_Flatty]

Thanks for the link to the article @Pickles, that's very interesting.

That is quite a staggering annual haul of nippers from Port Hacking! Amazing that the fishery sustains such a catch. There must be amazing populations of these critters on Sydney flats.

On lures, I've had these soft plastic nipper imitations which I've had since I was a kid. I haven't really used them. They might get a dunking next time I'm fishing over the nipper beds at Rushcutters. If a dead-sticked cranka crab works, there's no reason why a nipper imitation wouldn't!

[Yowie]

Having fished Port Hacking for about 60 years, and pumped nippers for over 50 years, I can say that there are still many nippers at Maianbar flats, where the professional nipper gatherers work.

There are other sandflats that produce nippers, mainly Grays Point area. I do have a couple of secret nipper spots - will remain secret - and nippers also can be found on the edge of sandbanks that are permanently underwater, several feet below low tide mark, so these areas are only targeted by fish.

I have caught jewies over the years, early mornings, with a belly full of fresh nippers, so I can assume that they are heading into shallow water during the night to suck the nippers out of the sand. 

The Greenies many years ago tried to ban the pumping of nippers from Maianbar flats, but that request was ignored, I think denied by Sutherland Shire Council.

Pumping of nippers in Gunnamatta Bay is prohibited.

An interesting article Bob, as I was not aware that so many nippers from the Hacking were used to supply Sydney bait shops.

 

Along the sand bank near The Ballast Heap many years ago were large cockles, about 8cm across. Only a few were needed for bait, so there was plenty to go around, however, people began to harvest them for eating, so the population was quickly wiped out.

At the Maianbar flats can be found pipi shells, however, they are only small pipis shells and it is rare to find any live ones anymore. Their size would not make it worthwhile to be harvested for bait.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Yowie

[noelm]

9 hours ago, Yowie said:

Having fished Port Hacking for about 60 years, and pumped nippers for over 50 years, I can say that there are still many nippers at Maianbar flats, where the professional nipper gatherers work.

There are other sandflats that produce nippers, mainly Grays Point area. I do have a couple of secret nipper spots - will remain secret - and nippers also can be found on the edge of sandbanks that are permanently underwater, several feet below low tide mark, so these areas are only targeted by fish.

I have caught jewies over the years, early mornings, with a belly full of fresh nippers, so I can assume that they are heading into shallow water during the night to suck the nippers out of the sand. 

The Greenies many years ago tried to ban the pumping of nippers from Maianbar flats, but that request was ignored, I think denied by Sutherland Shire Council.

Pumping of nippers in Gunnamatta Bay is prohibited.

An interesting article Bob, as I was not aware that so many nippers from the Hacking were used to supply Sydney bait shops.

 

Along the sand bank near The Ballast Heap many years ago were large cockles, about 8cm across. Only a few were needed for bait, so there was plenty to go around, however, people began to harvest them for eating, so the population was quickly wiped out.

At the Maianbar flats can be found pipi shells, however, they are only small pipis shells and it is rare to find any live ones anymore. Their size would not make it worthwhile to be harvested for bait.

In a funny kind of way, that exact story relates to Lake Illawarra, Nippers are easy to get, even though they get a "hammering" by fishermen, Squirt Worms are not so easy, but a few "secret" spots has plenty of big ones, Cockles where in abundance, and 15 minutes would see you with enough for bait (or eat if that's your thing) but, word got out about the cockles and people started getting them by the car load, so much so, that it made the news, and fisheries started enforcing the limit (and reduced it) but, it didn't stop the die hard gatherers, people filled their car boots with them, locals started confronting the offenders and fights broke out, now you need to know where to look to get them. Similarly Pippis are pretty scarce on any of the local beaches, but I think that was due to disease, not over harvesting!

[noelm]

Just to wander off topic, what's the correct pronunciation of "Mainanbar" seems like some say "main bar" others say "my an bar" while others say "ma I bar"

[noelm]

Yep, the Cockle "raping" is still going on, the Lake is fished Commercially, but there is nowhere near the number of pros these days, and they don't work weekends.

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, noelm said:

Just to wander off topic, what's the correct pronunciation of "Mainanbar" seems like some say "main bar" others say "my an bar" while others say "ma I bar"

Maianbar pronounced "main bar" to us locals.

[Yowie]

2 hours ago, motiondave said:

I

 Ive got  pack of nipper soft plastics here, I tried them, but I didnt persist. Then again, I fish mostly baits, so when they go off, lure lines get ignored.

 

I tried them once, never had a bite on them at all, so the pack is still there gathering dust.

[Little_Flatty]

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

Maianbar pronounced "main bar" to us locals.

Interesting. I just looked it up. I thought it had to have been an administrative typo, but it turns out it means 'water hole' in Gamilaraay language.

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

I tried them once, never had a bite on them at all, so the pack is still there gathering dust.

I think I had a similar experience. That said I'm a lot more cluey about where to cast lures these days, so I might give it another shot. Can't hurt to throw one out and just leave it there, while fishing other baits, or supervising kids with their fishing.

[Pickles]

On 4/26/2022 at 2:40 PM, bessell1955 said:

Do you feel that this may lead to a ban on harvesting?

 

I’m just a poor simple farm boy - I certainly hope not as there are “bag limits it’s” now.

[Yowie]

10 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Interesting. I just looked it up. I thought it had to have been an administrative typo, but it turns out it means 'water hole' in Gamilaraay language.

 

Up behind Maianbar flats are 2 waterholes.

One is Cabbage Tree Basin which is hard to access at low tide by boat. There was a small Fisheries Research station there many years ago, and a few fish swim up there at times.

The other is Fishermans Bay, again hard to access at low tide by boat due to increased sand movement and hence blocking of the channel. A number of boats are moored there, the larger ones unable to leave at any time because of the shallow water in the channel. A number of houses are built around it's foreshore. I fish it occasionally and pull out a few fish at times, though only small quantities.