good turn out i thought, the tinny on my truck needed some more color but i was on short notice.

 Loved the truck and tinny!!!

Great pics!

saw a bit on the news as well,Hal looks good as well

Any feedback for the effort? Let's get a new thread going on feedback? Do you think it made a difference or was i just a Rex Hunt show?

Was good to see there were people there who really do care. But I personally was dissapointed with the turnout. That park should have been filled with angry fishos. I hope it's me that's been mistaken with the seriousness of the cause because as I see it people (on the whole)  just don't care. Rex Hunt you are a legend mate for showing up and giving the speech you did and Emma George for your emotion.There is a powerful voice to be heard but it's wimpering at the moment.

Na i agree i thought the turnout was average. Rex hunt was awesome. Next time i would deff get the boat down there for sure , spewing i couldnt!!

As said before, I am in Sydney and could not make it.  These pics brought the story of the day to me in a different state and it is on the internet news sites so the message is definatly getting across.  The turnout may have been less than desired but still, it was on a week day in work hours, so not everyone would be able to attend but I feel the message got out there.

Quadfisher, that article has been on Fishwrecked a few times, its one that I sent in the email to my local MP which helped to provide the photos I have put up today and his attendance at the rally. All is not lost people and good on you for getting out there and making your voices heard. 

If anyone wishes to use these images, please go ahead, if you wish you can email me at @ for the full resolution images if required.

Thanks all for getting out there and supporting this important issue.

Bryan

i watched the 7 news the 2 news and didn't see bugger all about the protest i'm i missing something here please tell me there is a logical explanation why there was no coverage of the event on 2 of the major news coverages in the state. my thanks go out to the bearded burbler and to emma george.

i fear that i may upset some people with this question but it needs to be asked.

have we as a nation become so lethargic and down beaten that we now acceptwhat ever the various governments regulate against and do not raise or objections to such unpopular laws that government can bring in regulations and laws in the full confidence that bearly a wisper will be raise against anything we do.

there is a saying i don't know who said it but it goes something like this, god guns and guts keeps australia free, sadley i think we are loosing the guts to keep our freedom in what we do.

rant over

 But not too many....

Yep the turnout wasn't great, but better than nothing. Hopefully it was enough to make a difference.Rex hunt is a farkin good speaker too.

 Time for the skull & bones flag and extra motor. Piss poor turn out IMO. 

It was a reasonable turnout. From within the crowd it looked ok, but from the outside it didnt look too impressive.

Good effort to get down there for those who did. The message from the speakers was very clear as well and there were no "red-neck" incidents either which was good to see. Well behaved crowd.

Scotto... nice dog by the way. Friendly fella.

Would have been great to see double the crowd. And in all honestly, it should have easily been double because there would only have been a few hundred people there.

Full credit to everyone that attended and I understand that it may have been hard for some people to attend due to time etc but I expected double or triple the amount of people at least! Considering how many people you see at the ramps on a good day it was a very average turnout, bit disappointing! The parking inspectors made their weekly quota in one arvo unfortunately, the signage was a little confusing

I really would have liked to seen alot more too, picked the kids up slightly early from school

because they love their fishing and camping etc, and its them thats going to suffer if we dont fight this.

I am on my break , but if I wasnt , I would have taken the day off.

Meglodon you may have hit it on the head, where is the fight left in people?

And are these the people whom whine the loudest , when something is lost

I think so.

Just what does it take to motivate people?

oh well we attended and supported it , enjoyed it

and learnt some info on how to keep some pressure on.

The great thing is the passion of those speakers and attendies, that was something that

is worth bottling.

I think getting 300-400 people on a weekday is a pretty decent effort.

The conservation groups are lucky to get more than 20 people to anything they organise, and they claim to have almost unanimous support.

It would have been nice to get more along, but I thank everyone who did turn out for making the effort.

I do know one person who was at Hillarys and watched people launch their boats to go fishing while the convoy assembled...he said they had to know it was on...and it upset him a lot.

Channels 9 and 10 both ran stories...and we should see something in the West tomorrow. Also lots of coverage on 6PR and the internet.

 Great effort to all those who turned up. Would of liked to see more. Hopefully it was enough to get us noticed.

Well done guys

 More , but for midweek and during work hours I thought it went well. good to see the boats, signs and TV crew's. I was listening to 6PR as i walked there from the CBD, howard, the bloke from recfish and carl all had a spit which was good.

I hope to see a least a small report on TV tonight.

All the speakers were great, but Rex takes the cake with many classic one liners, 

 " Doing too many U turns under the sheets ". Ha ha

I have read the article on perthnow and it seems to get a message out there. Well done to those who could and did make the effort. If the crowd was double the size it wouldn't have turned it into national news.

the poor turnout are there any plans to have another rally, possibly on a weekend so more can attend?

I would go to a weekend event.

Not possible to go yesterday as like most, under the pump at work (driving to and from work with the headlights on sucks ass)

No time for another Rally - sign the petition and get all you know to do the same BEFORE 10 Sept.

My tub and daughter at the Rally;

A letter from Nomad with the links to sign.

Help Keep Australia, & The Coral Sea, Open to

Sustainable Recreational Fishing

Firstly, Thank you for the letter you sent to the minister through the Nomad SF website a month or so ago, this made a huge difference. However your immediate support, and just one minute of your time, is AGAIN required to help save your recreational fishing rights in Australia. We are in the midst of a nationwide crisis for recreational fishermen, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Every recreational fisherman, in every state of Australia, is now being targetted. The Government policy seems to be one of locking recreational fishermen out of huge areas while welcoming foriegn owned super trawlers? Hard to understand! Your chance to “say no” to the governments nationwide Marine Reserve Closures finishes on September 10th 2012, so right now is the time to act!

You can make a difference in under 60 seconds...

Click Here to lodge your official submission

I apologise for making fishing political for you(or if you have recieved this email twice) but there are times when you just have to stand up and be counted, as the alternative is to sit back and watch many of the areas you love to fish get closed over the next few months and years. You sent a letter to the environment minister a month ago, and this made a huge difference, as you can read below, but the time has come to send in your official submission for the last phase of the MPA zoning process public consultation period, and to tell the Government "Don't lock us out". This is now a national issue affecting every part of Australia, including the Coral Sea.

Click Here to lodge your official submission

Share the link to the submission page on your Facebook page. Anyone who cares about recreational fishing needs to do this. It is that serious!

The Full Story - The last letter we asked you to send was a huge success, achieving a great deal, including a statement of support last week from the federal opposition minister Tony Abbott, and you can read below what was achieved as a result of this, but the job is not done yet. If you value recreational fishing in Australia, you need to click the link above and send your own submission, please also be sure to add just a few words of your own comments as well, but please be civilised, as you will be making an official government submission on this link. Please also to remember to share this link on your facebook pages, and get everyone else you know to take action.

Some background info - the above link will take you to the Keep Australia Fishing website, which is the national voice for all recreational anglers in Australia. Every recreational fishing group in Australia (Sunfish,AFTA, Recfish, ANSA, GFAA and every other state organisation) is 100% behind this campaign, and the letter you will be submitting is going to the Federal Environment Department as part of the final round of the three year submission process.

I’ve been in Canberra recently, and been to meetings with the federal environment minister, Tony Burke, and had a significant involvement in this process so far. The previous letter that everyone sent to the minister, through the Nomad Sportfishing website, made this meeting possible, and made the government realise that this is a serious issue for recreational anglers.

All we want to achieve here is to ensure that our marine reserves are implemented with thorough scientific planning, scientific principles and practical outcomes that work for all user groups. All recreational fishing groups support closed off areas, but only when thorough scientific processes have shown that these closed off areas are required. The current process is closing off huge areas to recreational fishermen simply so the government can keep green groups happy and stay in power.

The massive problem that we face here is that Science has long ago been abandoned by the politicians, and they are now playing a game of drawing colours on maps simply to keep the powerful and well funded green lobby groups at bay.

I have a first hand example of this from the meeting with the federal environment minister. The current process is proposing to close off the main area of the Perth trench to all gamefishing activities, essentially shutting down the entire gamefishing industry and community in Perth. We asked the minister why this zone had been placed in it’s proposed position. We were told that the minister drew that zone himself because they needed one in that area, and there was no information to tell him where to put it, so he just placed it where he thought was appropriate.

Are you serious…………? And yes, this is really what we were told. I would not have believed this could happen if I had not seen it with my own eyes! I hate to think how they make decisions about the rest of the country and serious financial decisions! Maybe a dartboard is involved? Nothing would surprise me….

The problem with this entire process is that scientific process has been thrown out the window in favour of keeping green groups happy, and the current Labour party government in power through green group preferences. The point here is that the current process is deeply flawed, and lacking any scientific credibility at all in terms of it’s application and implementation.

The letter that we recently asked everyone to sign and send to Tony Burke, Federal Environment Minister, was a powerful enough message to make the minister change his mind on meeting with recreational fishers. Prior to the letters being sent, he had said that no meetings were happening, and the proposal was final – it just shows what people power can achieve.

I was at this meeting in Canberra, when the heads of every Australian recreational fishing group sat before the minister, and as a united voice, we all told him the same message. “Don’t Lock Us Out” was what he was told, and we explained why the current closures were wrong, and what can be done to find a compromise that works for all parties.

The bottom line here is that we have been given encouraging feedback from the Environment department, and told that if recreational anglers unite, and there is a significant show of support, through official submissions to the government, then the government will take action to amend the marine parks boundaries to provide better access to recreational fishermen. Even the Federal Opposition Leader, and likely next prime minister, has come out in public support of recreational anglers last week.

All that needs to be done now is to let people power win the day.

If you care about recreational fishing in Australia, and having access to areas that you enjoy fishing, if you want your children and future generations to have a say in where they can fish, now is the time to stand up and be heard. Be very clear that if the Australian Recreational fishing community lies down and is not heard at this time, we will be steamrolled by a powerful and well funded green machine, and widespread closures will be proposed and implemented over coming. Don’t let these green groups tell us where we can fish, it’s time to stand up and say that we want proper scientific procedures and research to help decide where we can fish, and how to best protect our waters.  

This is the single most important event that has happened in relation to Recreational Fishing in Australia in the past 20 years, and now is the time to be heard.Just click the link below to take one minute to add in your comments and name and details and you’ll have made a huge difference, and helped to protect your recreational fishing rights for the future.

Click Here to lodge your official submission

Best Regards

The sad thing is that a well organised and well behaved event doesn't get the publicity that one that causes trouble does.  Unfortunate way of the media these days.  You got a couple of people to block the freeway into town in the morning with 3 boats doing 10kms an hour, you watch every news station have choppers flying over the top reporting it every 3 minutes.  We get labelled trouble makers, but the cause gets out there, you just can't win really. 

Congratulations and well done to all those involved and I hope this has some effect, can't help but think the only thing that will save us is a government change - even then that might not do anything either. :(