Steve,

It would be great to have you at the helm of a public  movement against the new rules. I can't offer you any solid info, but I think you will find with your investigations that the new rules are based on pseudo-science and politricking.

 Any considerations into the efficacy of these rules would have to start by looking at the commercial vs recreational take. Secondly, the economic impact of the new rules would have to be considered (e.g. people buying less rods, tackle, bait, boats). Also, you would have to consider the potential impact of peolpe who used to have the odd crack at demersals, giving up on that and hitting the bread and butter species a lot harder. That is, I am sure that most people who target demersals are generally not very successsful, and the people regularly pulling out the jewfish, baldies, snapper etc are the minority who really know what they are doing. I envisiage the casual demersal fisherman converting thier days drifting for jewies, into 'sure thing' and cheaper whiting and skippy fishing.

the government is making these decisions based on the science necessary to make these decisions

They have been pressured by a minority group (we all know who is that is) to take action and have decided to shut that group up by hitting recreational anglers with a hammer blow. They have then tried to soften the blow and to gain soft support from the mainstream media by claiming the funds will be used to fund the research necessary to make these decisions.

I think the scary thing is that most anglers know that this is just the start of something worse.

there is plenty of information on this floating around the web steve... maybe try looking at the fisheries site for a start. loads and loads of info from past to present.

best bet it to start reading so you know the facts, not just hearsay.

here is a start of some light reading..... loads more if you want it ;)

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/op/op066/fop66.pdf

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/op/op065/fop65.pdf

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/op/op067/fop67.pdf

yes a licence is a pain but i would be willing to pay $30 or $40 p/p p/y but the $150 p/y is a joke as the boaties already have been hit with extra costs and as already stated other industries will suffer as there will be less disposable income, The $180 might not sound like much for a single person but for a family that fishes together it will get expencive for us $720, as far as the fish goes i can see the K G,s getting hammered more than they do now along with the taylor and other bread and butter species, which in turn will then put those species in danger down the track. The 2 month ban on demersals , not the best idea but i think it might be needed , at least its not during the summer like the previous plan , as long as it stays at the 2 months and not extended. others may not agree with my thoughts but so be it. the bag limits have already been reduced for the protection ov the species why do more

1) REGULATION

All the regulations in the world about fisheries (whatever the species) sustainment will not work without enforcement. Unargueably, we have comparatively, one of the largest coastlines in the world, and certainly compared to the population. So effective (and umbiquitous) enforcement is both long overdue and imperative. Without this, we will always have the perception (and actuallity) of impunity.

2) CLARITY

As you are aware, there has been a vumous plethera (if that's not a tautology!) ;), of debate, dicordance and disinformation on the use of release weights. It would seem that the DOF are (at best) unconvinced, that these actually work. Given the emotion and public's (predominantly non fishing) emotive perception about this pivotal issue - we need to put this issue to bed once and for all. Recently, we had a DOF Scientist more than infer that demersal scale fish (majority mortality wise) don't survive baratrauma beyond a water depth of 20 meters. Many of us know this is simply untrue. But we need a campaign that puts this myth to bed!

3) FALACTIOUS FINANCIAL STOCK RECRUITMENT

The 'simple as that' attitude (of the Hom Minister Moore) that there will be a succesful result between a $150.00 (p.a.)  WCB Scale Fish licence and and a 50% reduction is not only naive, but an extraneous and irrelevant effort.

4) TAGGING METHOD

Many have promulgated this method, and (I agree) I see this as both the best and most equitable way to go.

Hope that helps!

welcome back Steve,

e-mail sent, and I'll send some more info on a more pro-active management plan that can serve all fairly in the preservation of our fishing stocks, but still giving WA fisho's a fair-go

Tony

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