Landline Sunday 14th May
Anyone else see Landline on Sunday where they were speaking to the Shark Bay shire president? Shark bay council are now evidently concerned that the demersal ban will push all fishers to Shark Bay as the first location outside of the south west bioregion zone. They also strongly revisited the "bins full of fish frames" discussion of a few years back. Lots of gratuitous photos of an overflowing bin for effect.
Long story short they have lobbied the Minister to reduce catch limits in Shark Bay to ease the assumed impact of the extended demersal ban on the area, unsuccessfully at this stage. They interviewed Minister Punch who said that no changes would be made unless there was solid evidence to prove it was needed (seems contrary to the approach taken for the extended south west demersal ban!!)
The shark bay council are evidently monitoring boat launch numbers this winter and if they exceed usual numbers they will be going back to the minister/govt with this as evidence of a need for reduced catch limits. What they are using as their control data to compare against is not clear.
It seemed pretty clear in the interview with the Shire president that toursim is the sole focus of their interest, all discussion of the town relying on visitors to survive was aimed toward "tourists" not people coming to fish, or at least it came across that way to me.
.thumbnail.JPG "King George PB")
Swompa
Posts: 3882
Date Joined: 14/10/12
I wouldnt mind betting that
I wouldnt mind betting that most places east of Augusta are experencing the same as those north of Kalbarri
Dont most people that head to Shark bay go and take a boat or a fishing rod?
Bodgy 79
Posts: 286
Date Joined: 04/08/22
Yeah similar around our
Yeah similar around our local area in down south.With the extended bans there was optimism about more $$$ being injected into these smaller towns from more fishos heading there but it's not the case from what I've seen.A lot are just day trips with almost 100% making there purchases of fuel,ice,bait food and grog in the bigger centers before they get there Simply to save a few bucks wich is understandable. Just an observation I've made that's all
hezzy
Posts: 1521
Date Joined: 27/11/09
cant blame them to some
cant blame them to some degree bodgy , nephew paid $74 bucks apparently for a ctn of beer at bremer bay about 6 months ago ,, and the IGA bill for grocerys was around the $400 mark for 2 of them to last 4 days ,,
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Sea goat
Posts: 965
Date Joined: 26/03/17
i feel the shark bay limits
i feel the shark bay limits are pretty generous. a bit of a reduction wouldnt bother me that much personally.
sea-kem
Posts: 14973
Date Joined: 30/11/09
But it wouldn't just be
But it wouldn't just be Shark bay the whole region would be affected.
Love the West!
Bradmac73
Posts: 201
Date Joined: 22/03/17
me either
Wouldn't bother me either SG, I head up there for a week every year never get anywhere near the limit and dont go with that intent in the first place. And to be fair the accessibility of Shark Bay to smaller boats make it a more popular target perhaps? That said, I think the greater philisophical question for me is this. There will always be a "shoulder location" to areas of reduced limits or bans, so if you then reduce in those areas also, then another area becomes the shoulder and so forth.
Rob H
Posts: 5796
Date Joined: 18/01/12
The ultimate plan will be
The ultimate plan will be that the "shoulder location" will be the NT and SA borders.
Already underway to reduce both bag limits and add "marine protection zones" along both coasts.
Make sure you sign the petitions for both South Coast zones and Firearms
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
sea-kem
Posts: 14973
Date Joined: 30/11/09
They already halved the
They already halved the demersal catch, that whole incident was related to Covid border measures opening and people fanging for a holiday with perfect weather in the mix.
They run a holiday/fishing tow yet laughably they're worried about an influx of boaties bringing money to the town.
I wonder if the local bottle-o or pub is whinging about extra people coming to visit for a week.
But one thing I do agree with is the waste, clowns need to learn how to fillet properly and how to remove wings. U usually take my heads home too from northern trips for cray bait.
Love the West!
stricko
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 10/05/10
Landline with the sharkbay
Landline with the sharkbay article as above comes on again at 4pm today havnt seen it yet but beer in hand bracing myself for a avalanche of pure bullshit
Belly Fish
Posts: 499
Date Joined: 09/03/12
Double standards here
Just got back today from 8 days staying in Denham but fishing Monkey Mia, offshore from Steep Point and Dirk Hartog Island. Went fishing 4 times and did OK. Probably brought home 7kg of fish x 3 anglers.....but we left several thousand dollars in the town on accommodation, fuel, grog, meals and food.
Meanwhile the shire just today started a week long Shark Bay Fishing Fiesta where it invites everyone to participate. Why would you run this event if you are worried about tourists flogging the fish stocks?
stricko
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 10/05/10
Yeah might thoughts exactly
Yeah might thoughts exactly a shire president complaining about people bringing large amounts of money into their shire sounds a bit wrong in my opinion I know fishermen with boats would bring a lot more money into the local economy than caravanning nomads and backpackers would be interested know what local businesses owners think and not just economy charter operators and pro fishermen in the town.
Bradmac73
Posts: 201
Date Joined: 22/03/17
agreed
That was my biggest take away Stricko, the people they talked to all had a vested interest. A fisherman asking if people really needed 5 fish a day as he's filmed circle netting a whole school of fish (tarwhine and Grassies by the looks) loses a little credibility. And then there's the tour operators who'd 100% benefit from being the only activity allowed within the region. Not that a one sided story is a huge surprise from thre ABC these days.
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
Leon Deschamps
this particular Fuckwit is the majority of the driving force behind these accusations, and also behind the recent limit changes to that area. He is a shark tourism operator, (also ex pro fisher) and is also one of the loudest voices behind protection of sharks everywhere, state wide, but specifically Shark Bay. His tour operation is called "SharkArk Project". All this info is just FYI, but also an important reminder on if a solitary, loud, annoying, and partially educated opinion is persistant enough to be heard continually, it often doesnt go away.
Shark bay is a MASSIVE area. I go there regularly (2-3 times yearly) with my family and also mates, and fishing is generally the driving reason I go there. I love finding beaches where I can catch whiting, bream, cobia, tailor, trevally, etc, and the kids can play in the water all day. the misso sets up her coolcabana with a beer, and we park there til the sun goes down. we also love goin on the boat through any of the shallows, spotting turtles, dolphins, rays, sharks, and dugongs. we often wet a line at some stage of the day, and bring home a fish or 2 for tacos that night. we also do overnighters at DHI, and I'll bring home a trout or 3 with a few baldies and mackies mixed in, and take some fillets home with me when I do as its a great reward for the money we're compelled to spend on accom, park entrance fees, fuel, groceries, hospitality, etc etc.
We are never anywhere near our fish limit when we do this, but I'm at the point in my life where if one more detrimental but illogical change is made by fuckwits with no idea, to appease more fuckwits with even less idea, and directly affects my hobby/passion/upbringing/wellbeing/recreation, I may as well throw in the towel and go develop a drug habbit.
Rob H
Posts: 5796
Date Joined: 18/01/12
.
Im with ya Scotto,
Dealing with the demersal stuff, then firearms, the South Coast Parks and to top it off this morning while drafting my RFW submission I hear on the news that they want to ban calf roping at the Mullewa Rodeo.
Because its cruel.
I'm sure its not a pleasant experience for a calf but it also a required industry skill and there is a benefit in promoting and honing these skills.
Not in the Metro region of course.
It is obvious to me there is way too many people of governement influence based inside the city limits who have absolutely no knowledge, experience or interest in what happens outside of Peel to Butler.
Whether this is fishing, feral animals, gun sports, primary production or just general lifestyle issues.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Swompa
Posts: 3882
Date Joined: 14/10/12
I was watching a video on
I was watching a video on youtube last night of some guys set up at Steep Point. www.youtube.com/watch
9:21 into the video, you see the freezers set up.
Yeah I understand that there are a few people here though this gives me the irrits as I feel it it directly impacts my future chances of heading up and catching a feed at any point in the year.
Am i just being sensitive?
We're heading up there in September. Is this the thing to do at Steep Point?