for discussion - interferring with gear
The situation. This morning we are checking our pots and come across a cray rope without floats, the end floating on the surface. Its a hazard to boaties. We mark its location and tie a (cheap) spare life jacket on the end.
I reported its location to fisheries.
They have been out and recovered my life jacket. Loaded the rope on the winch and start to pull and the bridle has snapped. Pot is stuck and still there. So i ask the question. Having done the right thing, having marked it for the safety of other boats, having marked and reported its location. After fisheries have tried and not been able to recover it. I asked if i could now try? Fisheries have responded, but before i post it, i'm interested in peoples thoughts.
Go.
Fish! HARD!
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8157
Date Joined: 07/05/12
I thought this was a post
I thought this was a post about my cousin who I took out a few weeks ago who picked up my rod after it had hooked a fish while I was baiting up my other rod.... if looks could kill!
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
hezzy
Posts: 1534
Date Joined: 27/11/09
and they said ???? NO cause
and they said ????
NO cause your interferring with gear right ??
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
uncle
Posts: 9654
Date Joined: 10/02/07
Im with
Hezzy
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
Not going to say, just
Not going to say, just yet.
What do people think the answer should be?
If i were to recover the pot, I've already made reasonable attempts to locate the owner (social media posts and reported to fisheries), so case law says i am not guilty of something referred to as 'stealing by finding'....
Morally, i have done everything in the first instance that i should do....
Common sense (although its not that common) would be that i could salvage the pot.
Hmmmm.....
Fish! HARD!
BlueKiaser
Posts: 422
Date Joined: 22/04/15
Common sense
would tell me that you should be able to attempt to recover with the assurance that you will send correspondence to the Fisheries detailing what you end up recovering.
I fail to see any problem with that.
But modern day way of life tells me that the fisheries considers that you would be breaking the law because it is not your gear. I would not have any real issues with that either, if I knew that the fisheries were going to make further efforts to recover the gear, but they probably won't.
D_d_001
Posts: 1522
Date Joined: 09/03/13
of course (my belief) the
of course (my belief) the answer was don't interfere. but that would be them just reasoning "too hard basket".... "stay legal"
Of course the answer should be "because we will do nothing more you are free to recover it"
because it is essentially an illegal pot.....(no float markings)
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
Hadnt considered the
Hadnt considered the 'illegal pot' argument
Fish! HARD!
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
If we were to dive on the
If we were to dive on the pot and find it engraved with gear ID (as mine are), i'd leave it and tell fisheries to advise the owner. No problem with doing that. But as fisheries pointed out, about 90 - 95 % of pots aren't identifable when there are no floats.
Fish! HARD!
scottnofish
Posts: 1621
Date Joined: 28/08/07
went trough this with some cocks on facebook the other week
They pulled a pot with no floats as they deemed the rope to be a navigation hazard .all i said to them was you cant do that its someone elses pot but i got shot down .all they have to do is shorten the rope mark position and report it to fisheries but no i was called all sorts of shit for telling him that what he did was illegal .the guy did hand the pot into fisheries however and they basicly gave him a pat on the back and said thanks .so its got me fucked as to what the right thing is to do
crasny1
Posts: 7025
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Salvage rights?if it has a
Salvage rights?
if it has a name on it it belongs to an owner and you ARe interfering with gear, ie not legal. If not and it is stuck on the bottom, without a rope it is as mentioned a non legal pot, and just "rubbish" on the ocean floor. If you dont have 2 pots per licence on board already, the pot doesnt have a float, no markings regarding owner etc then I feel pulling it, placing a float on it with your GIN would be a sensable thing to do. Nobody else is going to remove the pot now that it is stuck with no rope. So just polluting the ocean, trap some unsuspecting crays/wobbies if bait left.
However I fear this is not what fisheries have told you. Touching anyones elses pot no matter what is Illegal. Makes no sense though.
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
I accept the argument that
I accept the argument that you just cant find a floatless pot and claim it, as pointed out anybody could (and probably do) try that one on.
But i havent done that. I have marked it for safety and given the proper authority the opportunity to recover it, publish a notice to locate an owner and then dispose of it. Through no fault of mine, they're not going to do that.
And now it sits at the bottom as an illegal pot, potentially catching and killing wildlife until someone else comes along and could claim it. Had fisheries recovered it, i may have been able to claim it as found property (???), although he said that generally the legal pots are used by their researchers.
I say, I've done everything reasonable possible to see it back to an owner. Now i should have the option of claiming it.
Fish! HARD!
Michael Yoni
Posts: 606
Date Joined: 02/01/11
Will a baitless pot that has
Will a baitless pot that has been there for some time attract crays/wildlife into it?
Any wildlife in there that dies will then be recycled by other living fish. Just like the 3rd Dhu you try to return to the ocean but dies and floats away into the deep blue.
BlueKiaser
Posts: 422
Date Joined: 22/04/15
Not yours leave it alone
I would think the Fisheries department should first need to give permission prior to any pots, other than your own being handled. Otherwise, you will end up with unsavoury people coming to shore with other people's pots in their boats and when caught, trying to avoid prosecution by simply saying they found it with no floats on (which they may well have taken off themselves).
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
I dont disagree with that
I dont disagree with that principal. But having already marked it, reported it and given the authorities opportunity to recover it, should that change things?
Fish! HARD!
MandurahMatt
Posts: 613
Date Joined: 18/09/13
Either way ive come across a
Either way ive come across a few in diferent states of condition. Leave it there it adds to the reef structure.
Bewdey Fellaz
little johnny
Posts: 5371
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Get it unstuck
They already no. Hand it into them. Better than than getting rapped up and sinking. No I'd . 1 flyer at ramp (closest )Owner can then chase up with fisheries to claim back.
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
It's complicated
I think little johnny is on the money. Put a flyer up at the ramp with the details (excluding GPS location)and say for further info contact fisheries.
Let the bureaucrats sort it out, save yourself a big head ache.
Belly Fish
Posts: 499
Date Joined: 09/03/12
Interesting scenarios...
Some might recall my post from last cray season.
One of my pots had a plastic pot, complete with 25m of rope but no ballast, tangled in my floats.
I had no option but to pull it. Thinking I was doing the right thing, I threw it back, only to see a floating craypot, plus 25m of rope, floating away to snare the next unsuspecting boater.
My decision was to retrieve it as a safety hazzard, and drop it back on the Ocean Reef ramps...perhaps the owner would find it there.
Morally I sleep well, but I probably broke a few Fisheries rules
shammy
Posts: 231
Date Joined: 03/07/09
cray pot
If there is no ID and the pots still there..
Its been abandoned...its yours..open to salvage......
If someone complains to fisheries they have your details and can collect it minus a recovery fee....lolol
"Life wasn't meant to be a spectator sport"
Paully
Posts: 3246
Date Joined: 15/08/09
Here's a silly question
how do you or anyone else know that it's a cray pot? Could it be an Occy trap for arguments sake.
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
Could be someone sent down to sleep with the fishes.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
And now the rope has my dna
And now the rope has my dna on it! Bugger
Fish! HARD!
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
And here is the response...
And here is the response... hezzy was on the money from the start
"Hi Randall, no, legislation prevents that pot from being interfered with. It's still classified as fishing gear and cannot be touched apart from the owner. If the owner dives that location they may wish to recover that gear at some stage."
My question now is, when does it stop being "fishing gear", and becomes abandoned?
Fish! HARD!
D_d_001
Posts: 1522
Date Joined: 09/03/13
think I'd be sending back an
think I'd be sending back an "official complaint"
titled "illegal fishing gear found" and saying please do something about this.